Diocesan Synod Enters New Phase

On March 8, 2023 the Diocese of Kalamazoo entered a historic moment in the life of the Church. Bishop Bradley officially opened the first-ever diocesan synod on Priestly Life and Lay Ministry with the opening Mass celebrated at St. Augustine Cathedral. Synod delegates, which include all priests in active ministry as well as delegates representing the diaconate community, religious life and lay leaders from all five deaneries attended. During his homily, Bishop Bradley affirmed the importance of the synod process.
“It’s so good to be here together, at the end of a long, other-wise ordinary day of ministry, work and parish/family responsi-bilities to celebrate this special transfiguration type of extraordi-nary moment in the life of our diocese,” said Bishop Bradley.“Under the maternal intercession of our Blessed Mother, I called for this first-ever diocesan synod on her birthday last Sep-tember,” he continued, “and since then, somewhat quietly, the synodal process has been underway: first through a small group who have been planning and designing the best process for us to follow and have guided and coordinated the first two phases of our synod, the Listening and Consultative phases, which have now been completed.”During the Listening and Consultative phases priests, deacons, religious community members and the lay faithful were invited to offer their thoughts, ideas, opinions and recommendations. Information was gathered at listening sessions andthrough an online survey.During the Mass all attending delegates were asked to recite and then sign an Oath of Fidelity, which was then witnessed by Bishop Bradley and Father Robert Creagan, rector of the Cathedral. This oath affirms the delegates’ commitment to Church teaching and adherence.

“I do believe the Holy Spirit has been guiding us to this moment for a particular purpose,” said Bishop Bradley.Throughout March, April and May, the delegates will gather for a number of meetings to address and discuss the topics related to priestly life and ministry. They will use the Pre-Synod Report, a synthesis of information collected during the Listening and Consultative phase, as a starting point for their work. The final result will be a collaborative document of recommendations that will be voted on during the Synodal Assembly on May 31, 2023, and presented to Bishop Bradley at the final closing liturgy on that same day. Bishop Bradley will review the recom-mendations and prayerfully discern his response, which will be captured in the final Synod Document. In his closing, Bishop Bradley affirmed his wish to see the faith in the diocese flourish.“[My hope] is that this is our time of true spiritual renewal; a time to ask the Holy Spirit to ‘set us on fire’; to reignite our faith and our love for Jesus and to hope for and work for a new focus that moves us from only being intent on the minutiae of mainte-nance into a renewed effort to embrace the mission that Jesus gives to each of us — to bring the Good News to all.”
 

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Oath of FidelityI, [insert name] with firm faith believe and profess each and everything that is contained in the Symbol of faith, we just professed:With firm faith, I also believe everything contained in the word of God, whether written or handed down in Tradition, which the Church, either by a solemn judgment or by the ordinary and universal Magisterium, sets forth to be believed as divinely revealed.I also firmly accept and hold each and everything definitively proposed by the Church regarding teaching on faith and morals.Moreover, I adhere with religious submission of will and intellect to the teachings which either the Roman Pontiff or the College of Bishops enunciate when they exercise their authentic Magisterium, even if they do not intend to proclaim these teachings by a definitive act. I, [insert name] in assuming the office of Synodal Delegate, promise that in my words and in my actions I shall always preserve communion with the Catholic Church.With great care and fidelity I shall carry out the duties incumbent on me toward the Church, both universal and particular, in which, according to the provisions of the law, I have been called to exercise my service.In fulfilling the charge entrusted to me in the name of the Church, I shall hold fast to the deposit of faith in its entirety; I shall faithfully hand it on and explain it, and I shall avoid any teachings contrary to it.I shall follow and foster the common discipline of the entire Church and I shall maintain the observance of all ecclesiastical laws, especially those contained in the Code of Canon Law.With Christian obedience I shall follow what the Bishops, as authentic doctors and teachers of the faith, declare, or what they, as those who govern the Church, establish. I shall also faithfully assist the diocesan Bishops, so that the apostolic activity, exercised in the name and by mandate of the Church, may be carried out in communion with the Church.