Synod shapes new priorities for Archdiocese of Sydney

By CathNews New Zealand

May 8th, 2026

(Alphonsus Fok/Catholic Weekly)

Pastoral priorities for the Archdiocese of Sydney focused on more prayerful liturgies, Christ-centred communities and renewed missionary outreach have been recommended by a local synod and accepted by the archbishop.

A four-day synod closed with Mass at St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney on May 3 after more than a decade of consultation and discernment.

Requested by the Fifth Plenary Council of Australia and the universal Synod on Synodality, the synod was also the result of more than a decade of consultations, including three regional consultations held across Sydney in 2025, which drew almost 1000 participants.

These yielded 500 submissions, compiled into 18 ideas for synod members to discern, and grouped under three “longings” of Sydney Catholics: that liturgies be more prayerful; that parish and other church communities be more Christ-centred; and that they be more mission-oriented.

Sydney Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP said the synod advised that ongoing liturgy formation in view of, but not limited to, the International Eucharistic Congress in 2028 should be a priority; recommended that parishes and communities collaborate to offer more options for sacraments and prayer, longer opening hours and active ministries of welcome and hospitality; and proposed there be more training for clergy and laity in different ways of evangelisation, including digital evangelisation.

“I’m pleased to announce that I readily accept all of these recommendations from the synod and will make these pastoral priorities for the archdiocese going forward,” Archbishop Fisher said.

The synod opened with 170 synod members and observers joining Archbishop Fisher at the cathedral for an evening Mass and informal reception on April 30. Then followed two days of speeches, discussions and voting on which ideas should be implemented in the archdiocese. This phase concluded with Mass and a BBQ for synod members.

Following the final voting session at the synod, Archbishop Fisher and Auxiliary Bishop Daniel Meagher, vice chair of the synod working party, each thanked synod organisers and participants.

“The prayerfulness, positivity, wisdom, practicality and sheer fraternity in this synod hall have been most uplifting,” Archbishop Fisher told the assembly.

FULL STORY

Sydney Synod sets new pastoral priorities (By Marilyn Rodrigues/Catholic Weekly)