In order to do this, the letter suggests using the "synodal" approach favored by Pope Francis to "face up to the compelling need to make difficult decisions." Failure to do this, the letter explains, means that the Irish Church will have "missed the tide of the present moment" and the Church's influence in society will continue to flounder.
During the recent meeting of the Synod of Bishops in Rome, in October, there was an increased discussion of the concept of synodality and how the Church might function in a more collaborative manner.
According to Hoban the bishops of Ireland should "convene a national assembly" including lay people, to discuss the "reform and renewal of the Catholic Church in Ireland." The letter suggests that dioceses could convene their own assemblies in preparation for the national event.
Speaking in October, Dr. Jessica Murdoch, associate professor of fundamental and dogmatic theology at Villanova University, told CNA that synodality is a rich concept with a long history in the Church.
"Synodality as a concept really just means collegiality. It is the way in which the different parts of the Church come together as the mystical Body of Christ," she said, while warning that the term was prone to misinterpretation.
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"The risk is that in coming together we get a flattening of the Church, with every member of the body acting like it is the same," Murdoch told CNA.
"There is an immense richness in the diversity of charisms in the Church, and each part has its own proper role. But when everyone is trying to do everyone else's job, not only do we lose that richness the body cannot function properly."
"A wrong understanding of synodality flattens the divinely instituted hierarchical order into a majoritarian mass. The collective wisdom and perspective of the bishops, and of others in the Church, can certainly be an important tool, but it has definite limits," Murdoch added.