Identity and Mission for a Synodal Church (CT9011C)

Content

This unit introduces learners to theological and cultural frameworks for mission in Catholic communities, in light of a renewed emphasis on discernment and synodality in ecclesial practice. Recent demographic and cultural trends in Australia and globally will help to identify key factors affecting the transmission of religious faith and nurture of faith communities. The ongoing reception of Vatican II's understanding of the church and its mission in contemporary cultures will be explored. The communal practices of engagement, dialogue and discernment will be investigated as means to enhance the synodal character of the church in mission through pastoral practice, faith formation and religious education.

Learning outcomes

Unit sequence

Foundational studies equivalent to BS8602C and CT8605C

Pedagogy

Learners will engage with lecture input, directed reading activities, facilitated peer discussion, electronic resources and formative feedback, in synchronous or asynchronous settings, to achieve the learning outcomes.

Indicative Bibliography

• Becquart, Nathalie. “The Synod on Young People, a Laboratory of Synodality.” International Bulletin of Mission Research 45, no. 4 (2021): 411–226. https://doi.org/10.1177/2396939320951566.
• Benedict, and Peter Seewald. Light of the World: The Pope, the Church, and the Signs of the Times. Translated by Michael J. Miller and Adrian J. Walker. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2010. https://divinity.on.worldcat.org/oclc/688493182
• Catholic Social Services (Vic.). Listening, Learning and Leading: The Impact of Catholic Identity and Mission. Edited by Gabrielle L. McMullen and John Warhurst. Ballarat, VIC: Connor Court Publishing, 2014.
• D'Orsa, Jim, and Therese D'Orsa, eds, New Ways of Living the Gospel: Spiritual Traditions in Catholic Education. Mulgrave: Garratt, 2015.
• Dumais, Marcel. After Emmaus: Biblical Models for the New Evangelization. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2014. https://divinity.on.worldcat.org/oclc/874223834
• Francis, Evangelii Gaudium. Apostolic Exhortation, 2013. https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/apost_exhortations/documents/papa-francesco_esortazione-ap_20131124_evangelii-gaudium.html
• Francis. Walking Together: The Way of Synodality. English language ed. Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books, 2023.
• Hughes, Philip, ed. Charting the Faith of Australians: Thirty Years in the Christian Research Association. Nunawading: Christian Research Association, 2016.
• Lee, Brian Yong, and Thomas L. Knoebel, eds. Discovering Pope Francis: The Roots of Jorge Mario Bergoglio’s Thinking. Collegeville, Minnesota: Liturgical Press Academic, 2019.
• Pascoe, Susan. “Synodality in Theory and Practice.” The Australasian Catholic Record 100, no. 2 (2023): 131–48.

Assessment