Richmond pastor headed to Rome after parish recognized for synodal efforts

St. Joseph the Worker pastor Father Pierre Ducharme, OFM, has been chosen as one of three Canadian delegates going to Rome for a synod focusing on parish priests and their implementation of synodal principles at their parishes.

“It is good to get priests on board with the synodality process,” the Richmond priest told The B.C. Catholic about his invitation to Parish Priests for the Synod in Rome April 28 to May 2.

“Synodality is really about hearing the voices of the Church,” he said. “I am quite looking forward to it. It is something I believe to be very important. It is an honour to be invited.”

When choosing their recommendations for delegates, the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops was asked to submit names of priests who have successfully implemented synodality in their local parishes, something Father Ducharme says has been accomplished at St. Joseph the Worker.

“Unless you are hearing from parish priests themselves, it’s really hard to understand the complexities of implementing synodality at the parish level,” he said.

Before “synodal” became the word of the day, the synodal process was used at St. Joseph the Worker to create a pastoral vision for the parish rooted in Pope Francis’ Joy of the Gospel. Additionally, it has been integrated into parish council meetings to help make decisions about parish life.

“Synodality is a frightening thing for parish priests and for anyone in leadership,” said Father Ducharme. “It demands a lot of leadership from us. It’s hard because canonically speaking the parish priest has a lot of authority and a lot of control - he can really act on his own if he so chooses.”

Priests are being asked to “lead differently and to bring forward the gifts of the people and how God speaks thought them.”

Father Ducharme will join Father Fabio DeSouza from the Diocese of Calgary and Father Daniel Ouellet from the Diocese of Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pocatière as the Canadian delegates to the synod.

In all, the Vatican has invited 300 parish priests to the Fraterna Domus retreat centre in Sacrofano, near Rome. It will be a meeting of “listening, prayer, and discernment” that will help shape the next synod assembly’s discussions.

The goal is “listening to and valuing the experience of parish priests” and providing them with “an opportunity to experience the dynamism of synodal work at a universal level.”

The General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops said the meeting was organized in response to the first synod assembly’s Synthesis Report, which identified a need to “develop ways for a more active involvement of deacons, priests, and bishops in the synodal process during the coming year.”

Participating priests were selected by their local bishops’ conferences in the Latin rite as well as by the leadership of each Eastern Catholic church. The number of priests selected from each region was commensurate with the number of members in the bishops’ conference.

Bishops were asked to give preference to parish priests with “significant experience in the perspective of a synodal Church,” while also selecting priests from “a variety of pastoral contexts.”

For five days, priests will participate in roundtable discussions, liturgical celebrations, workshops on pastoral proposals, and “dialogue with experts,” according to a press release by synod organizers. They will also have the chance to speak with Pope Francis in an audience May 2.

The meeting is co-organized by the General Secretariat of the Synod and the Dicastery for the Clergy. The results of the priests’ meeting are expected to be taken into account by the drafters of the Instrumentum Labouris, the working document for the second synod assembly in October 2024.

With files from Catholic News Agency.

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