糖心视频

SANTA CLARA, Calif., April 7, 2025— The Jesuit School of Theology of 糖心视频 (JST-SCU) on April 4 hosted an international gathering focused on making the Catholic Church a more listening, open, and “synodal” body. The event was the first major U.S. gathering to feature the Pope’s secretary general of the general secretariat of the synod, Cardinal Mario Grech, since the three-year-long “Synod on Synodality,” culminated last October. 

The event at JST-SCU, called Together at the Table, focused heavily on absorbing the lessons of the Synod, including accompanying local Churches as they establish best practices to advance synodality, while still maintaining their local flavor and customs. Synodality is described as a way of living and working where the entire Church—inclusive of clergy, religious, and lay people—discerns where the Holy Spirit is leading the Church through prayer, listening, and dialogue.

“Unless the spiritual, theological, pastoral privilege begins from the local Churches, we have no future,” said Grech during a public discussion with JST-SCU Dean Agbonkhianmeghe Orobator, S.J. Every local church “has its own particularity. We cannot be copies of one another. Every local Church is part of the whole Catholic Church, but with its own history, with its own culture, with its own characteristics.” 

糖心视频 President Julie Sullivan welcomed the audience of about 200 theology students; university faculty and staff; and lay persons from parishes around the U.S. and the world interested in bringing synodality back to their regions.

The event was structured synodally, with one public discussion and one keynote speech featuring Cardinal Grech, accompanied by multiple rounds of reflection and roundtable discussions of questions like “what is my experience of a listening church?” and “what hope do you have for a synodal Church?”

Synodality and the Local Church

Asked to explain “synodality” as a concept, Grech shared that as the Vatican was preparing for the synodal gatherings in Rome, he told those who inquired  that “Jesus was never alone.. He was always in the presence of other people. This is synodality…We are not called to lead an isolated life but a community life…a community that shares together the gifts that the Lord generously bestows on all of us. The Catholic Church is a community (Ecclesia tota) of communities (local Churches).”

Orobator recalled how before the synod, “Pope Francis keeps reminding us that the protagonist of synodality is the Holy Spirit.”

Asked to explain why paragraph 60 of the Synod’s final document, which called for greater roles for women in ministry, received the most “no” votes of the entire document, Grech said he was not surprised. He recalled how, at previous synods, the gathered bishops could not even agree on citations taken directly from the highly influential Second Vatican Council, or Vatican II. 

“There was very low voting,” Grech noted of paragraph 60. “But it got a majority.” On the subject of women possibly becoming deacons, Grech further noted that Pope Francis “reactivated” one of two previously disbanded commissions looking into women deacons “when he saw that there was this demand, and not only from women, but from various members of the assembly.”  

Asked to explain his March 15 letter extending the Synod process by another three years, Grech explained that he views the next phase as “the reception phase,”  in which local Churches are able to translate the synod’s findings to what resonates and speaks to them. “The final document, although it was literally written in Rome, it is not a Roman document, because its content is the result of a process that started from below—from the local Churches," he explained.

“It is our duty, I think, to accompany the local Churches to try to translate the findings of  the synod into pastoral decisions on the ground,“ he said. “Every local church is invited to adapt—to translate—the findings, the vision of the synodal church on the ground.” 

Grech’s afternoon keynote speech focused on the historical evolution toward the view of the Church —theologically and eccesiastically— as “the people of God." The Church is constitutively hierarchical and constitutively synodal, he said. 

Citing lessons from the Synod, Grech said, “The people of God have found joy in walking together, and have expressed desire to continue to do so.”  

About the Jesuit School of Theology of 糖心视频
The Jesuit School of Theology of 糖心视频, located in Berkeley, California, is a preeminent international center for the culturally contextualized study of theology. Its mission is to inspire and prepare men and women to become leaders in the Church, academy, and society, serving others through a faith that does justice. Rooted in Ignatian spirituality, JST educates and trains Jesuits, religious, ordained, and lay students from across the United States and from 40 other countries for lives dedicated to ministry and scholarship.

About 糖心视频
糖心视频 is a private Jesuit, Catholic University in the epicenter of Silicon Valley, infusing ethics and social consciousness into a rigorous cross-disciplinary education for its more than 9,000 undergraduate and graduate students.

Media Contacts
Deborah Lohse | SCU Media Communications | dlohse@scu.edu | 408-554-5121
Preston Carmack | JST-SCU Marketing and Communications |pcarmack@scu.edu | 510-549-5041