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March 12, 2024 | Eleven years ago Pope Francis stepped out on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica with words of welcome and gestures of humility. He has spent the following years emphasizing that we are called to be a “poor Church for the poor” committed to the most vulnerable among us. Pope Francis prefers “a Church which is bruised, hurting and dirty because it has been out on the streets, rather than a Church which is unhealthy from being confined and from clinging to its own security,” and has lived that mission through his powerful words, his global travels, and his actions to renew the Catholic Church.

One of Pope Francis’ most hopeful efforts is Synod 2021-2024, an unprecedented multiyear global process seeking to listen and learn, strengthen communion, broaden participation, and renew the Gospel mission of service to those left “lying wounded by the roadside.” As theologian Anna Rowlands says, one goal of the Synod is “an outward-facing Church that is healthy from the inside.” This past October Catholic lay leaders and bishops gathered in Rome for the first of two Synodal Assemblies to listen and learn and discern paths forward. After another year of consultation and discernment, the second assembly will take place in October 2024.

This Dahlgren Dialogue focused on Pope Francis’ mission and message and this extraordinary effort to build a Church that listens and lives out the Gospel. This dialogue particularly focused on two major Synod themes: promoting lay leadership in ecclesial and public life and strengthening our response to Catholic social thought, answering the Gospel call to “bring glad tidings to the poor… to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free.” (Luke 4:18)