Question: When was the last time a Catholic pope asked what you thought? Yes you, the one who is so spiritually lapsed, it seems likely that your religious subscription could never be renewed? Yes you, the one who walks through the cafeteria of catholicism and chooses only dessert (“I’ll take a little Christmas, and a side order of absolution, please.”) Yes you, the one who’s not Catholic, or Christian, or even a believer in any higher power. Yes you, the true believer, the every Sunday mass-goer.

Answer: Never, until now.

As Father Jim of the St. John-St. Paul Collaborative in Wellesley explains, times are changing. In an announcement to parishioners, he shared that Pope Francis, the leader of the Roman Catholic church, has called for a Synod in the church, asking all to engage in, “listening deeply and allowing all voices to be heard, especially those on the margins.”

“Synod” comes from the Greek for “assembly” or “meeting,” and the Collaborative has been holding lectures and a discussion series, to which all are welcome. “Unlike past Synods,” Fr. Jim Laughlin said in an announcement, “this is not simply a discussion for the hierarchy, or for those on the inside—Pope Francis is calling all of us to express our faith, our hopes, and our dreams for the Church.”

Kelly Meraw, the Collaborative’s Director of Collaborative Pastoral Care, and one of the Synod discussion facilitators, said,”The Synod is for the purpose of growing and for changing the culture of listening within the church. It’s about listening, not about debate, or judgement.”

The next community lecture takes place with Fr. Bryan Hehir on April 7, 7pm, at the St. Paul parish hall, 502 Washington Street.

Learn more here about the Synod and how the process is unfolding worldwide