The Synodal Team of the Portuguese Episcopal Conference is participating, in Wels, Austria, in a European symposium on synodality that brings together around 180 representatives from 31 countries and 29 Episcopal Conferences. The meeting, entitled "Shaping Synodality in Europe: From Vision to Roadmap", runs from September 14 to 17 and is part of the Implementation Phase of the Synod on Synodality, which runs from 2025 to 2028.
The symposium is supported by the Council of European Episcopal Conferences and is held in cooperation with the Private Catholic University of Linz and the CCEE European Taskforce. The initiative aims to start from the experience of Baptism and liturgy to promote listening to the different realities that characterize the European continent and reflect on the necessary transformations in the life and structures of the Church.
Portugal is represented by Anabela Sousa, Father Manuel Barbosa, Carmo Rodeia and Father Eduardo Duque, who intend to bring to the European debate the experience and the path developed by the Church in Portugal during the synodal process. Among the topics under analysis are war, migrations, polarization, nationalism, ecumenism, the digital world and the challenges of catechesis.
The symposium also constitutes a preparation stage for the European Ecclesial Assembly, planned for spring 2028, which will precede the World Ecclesial Assembly in October of the same year.
