"Conversations in the Spirit” for women in a synodal Church

Around 1,400 people from all over the world are expected to gather online to put synodal methodology into practice, with a focus on the participation of women in a synodal Church.

By Francesca Merlo

Around 1,400 people are due to gather online, from all over the world, on 23 April, to prepare for the second session of the Assembly of the Synod on Synodality to be held in Rome in October this year.

The event

In a press release dated 15 April, the World Union of Catholic Women's Organisations (WUCWO) writes that the online event, “Conversations in the Spirit”, organised in collaboration with its World Women's Observatory (WWO) and the Ignatian Encounter Ministry, will be a demonstration of walking, together with the whole Church, in the synodal process initiated in 2021.

“This event, which will take place via Zoom aims to put into practice the synodal methodology and to delve deeper into the participation of women in a synodal Church in mission”, reads the statement.

For all

“’Conversations in the Spirit’ will be structured in various groups and different languages (English, Spanish and French) so that all participants can share their ideas and listen to other experiences and points of view. The statement announces that 300 ‘facilitators’ from five continents are being trained and that they will be moderating the small groups to “ensure that the "Conversations in the Spirit" takes place according to the established methodology”.

The statement concludes by announcing that WUCWO, which represents more than 8 million Catholic women worldwide, “is confident that these conversations will help to promote Catholic faith communities to form, participate in and promote these encounters of active listening to the Spirit, shared silence and collaborative discernment.”