An inside guide to the 2026 Archdiocese of Adelaide Synod
News
About 100 lay women and men, clergy and religious, will attend the first plenary session of the Archdiocese of Adelaide 2026 Synod on Saturday 30 May. After much listening, discussion and communal discernment on the Synod’s five core themes, the time to make decisions that will last long into the future, has come. RICHARD EVANS put three questions to some of the lay people who will contribute on the day and at the second, and concluding, Synod session on 27 June.
QUESTION ONE – Why does the Synod matter to you on a personal level?
Christian Martino, APRIM at Nazareth Catholic College
“I am invested in the future of the Church in Adelaide. Being part of a faith community has been life-giving for me, and I want that to be the experience of others. I value the opportunity to share my views and be in dialogue with others.”
Gael Little, Chair Lefevre Catholic Community PPC
“My faith is about listening and action, so that we continually refresh and renew. The Synod is an opportunity to listen and respond to our many communities with faith love and action.”
Sue Williams, CWL SA State President
“I have to remember that it is not about me personally, I am there to represent a particular group, in this case Catholic Women’s League. I try to relate all my Synod readings and discussions back to my experience of Catholic Women’s League and our place in Parish life.”
Petra Ball and Terry McDevitt, Responsible Couple, Oceania Super Region
“As a member of a family, and local and global community that draws strength and inspiration from our humanitarian spiritual tradition, the joy and work of outreach, listening, compassion, non-violence and respect for life have never been more important.”
Mario Trinidad Parishioner of St Ignatius and a Vinnies volunteer.
“A listening Church is a community (people of God) faithful to Jesus of Nazareth. Therefore, a synodal Church supports, challenges, guides and inspires me — and fellow Christians — in our efforts to follow Jesus in our world today.”
QUESTION TWO – Are there any Synod themes that you are particularly drawn to, or that resonate deeply with you? And if so, why?
Christian Martino
As an educator, I am drawn to key theme three: The mission of Catholic education and being Church together. While most of our students identify as non-Catholic, families have still chosen Catholic education, which suggests openness and interest. For our baptised Catholic students, we have a responsibility to provide a high-quality Catholic education that supports them to explore and deepen their faith.
Gael Little
Yes, key theme three, The Mission of Catholic Education and Being Church Together, resonated deeply with me because the students of our schools thought so deeply with great respect about their faith journey. They provided very thoughtful ideas on how we can be more responsive, inclusive and forward thinking. I felt that Dialogue Week highlighted how much our young people have to offer us as a faith community. I congratulate the Dialogue Week organisers on their inclusion of Catholic Education as one of the five themes of the Synod.
Sue Williams
As a representative of Catholic Women’s League (CWL) to the Synod, I look at each theme and try to determine how CWL members and Branches are addressing that theme or how we could improve the way we address that theme. I also contemplate how the CWL could be of benefit to the Archdiocese in achieving that theme. While we can find common ground within all the themes, I think theme one, ‘ Becoming Missionary Disciples’ is the one where I can see the most crossover.
Terry McDevitt and Petra Ball
“I am particularly interested in the way we educate and form authentic inclusive face to face ecclesial communities of love and action. Probably intersects with most Synod themes! Why? A background in education, and ecclesial movements such as Marriage Teams (known also worldwide as Equipes Notre Dame) which model deep spirituality and long-standing respectful complementarity of vocations and synodal practice.
Mario Trinidad
Our Church, our archdiocese, is called to the “existential peripheries” because that is where we meet God. A self-referential/navel-gazing church will stumble and fall! Like the Apostle Thomas, our Church is called to recognise the Resurrected Christ by putting our fingers in the wounds of suffering humanity.
I pray that our Synod identifies concrete actions, processes and structure — we have more than enough statements and declarations — that opt for the vulnerable and marginalised as the centre of church life; promote lay leadership and ministry of women and men, and support (and not just encourage) and finance, their continued formation; confront clericalism and sexism in the Church; imagine and create a world without hunger and poverty, war, injustice, racism, patriarchy and environmental degradation; live the Eucharist.
QUESTION THREE – How important is a Synod to the Archdiocese of Adelaide and why?
Christian Martino
It is important because it ensures we are not simply accepting things as they are. It creates space to listen, dialogue, and reflect on our Church so it can respond to the needs of today.
Gael Little
The Synod is critically important because it is about the preservation of our traditions while allowing for important review and action. It is “Our Synod”, the Holy Spirit has called us to listen, be inclusive, take action, honour traditions but embrace the present. It is not a ‘one off’ happening but is a path that is to be continually followed, always listening with open hearts and minds to the word of God.
Sue Williams
The Synod is one of the most important things that has happened in our Archdiocese in recent years because it gives everyone a chance to be involved and to have their say about where our Diocese is going over the next decade or so.
If you don’t participate, you only have yourself to blame if you don’t like the way the Archdiocese is tracking. From here on, the important thing will be feedback to all participants so that they can see how valued their input is and whether their voices were heard.
Terry McDevitt and Petra Ball
It is part of a long tradition, and concrete commitment to deal with obvious current crises and responsibilities, build connection and love, and respond to our shared baptismal and apostolic mission.
Mario Trinidad
It might hopefully embolden us to leave the one in search of the 99. Not to pack them into our church buildings, but to enlarge the tent where all — especially the vulnerable and the marginalised — have a place. Todos, todos. Our Synod is not a destination but a journey without end.
