The Catholic Union is launching its 2023 webinar programme with a major discussion on the Church’s Synod.
The online event will bring together an expert panel of speakers to consider the theme of “The Synod on Synodality: Where are we now – challenges and opportunities.”
Our speakers will be Gavin Ashenden; Columnist at The Catholic Herald, Christopher Lamb; Rome Correspondent at The Tablet, Anna Rowlands; Professor of Catholic Social Thought and Practice at Durham University, and Sr Gemma Simmonds, Senior Lecturer in Pastoral Theology at the Margaret Beaufort Institute of Theology, Cambridge.
Each panellist will provide their views and perspective on the Synod before taking questions from the audience. The Catholic Union is encouraging as many people as possible to take part.
The webinar is taking place on Thursday 9 February from 6.30-8.00pm. It is free to attend and open to everyone, but people will need to register in advance in order to receive the link to join the talk. Further details can be found here.
The event coincides with the Continental Stage of the Synod and the gathering of Bishops for the European Assembly in Prague from 5 – 12 February, which makes this discussion particularly timely.
The webinar builds on the Catholic Union’s proud history of leading public discussion, including our annual Craigmyle Lecture and a new “Pub Talk” series which starts later this month.
More information about the speakers taking part in our webinar can be found below.
Dr Gavin Ashenden is a columnist at The Catholic Herald. He is an author and academic, having spent over two decades as a senior Lecturer in the Psychology of Religion, and one time BBC radio presenter. Gavin is a former Anglican priest and previously served as a Chaplain to Her Late Majesty The Queen. He was received into the Catholic Church in December 2019. As well as writing for The Herald, Gavin’s work has appeared in other media outlets including The Spectator, The Times, The Sunday Times, and Daily Telegraph.
Christopher Lamb is The Tablet’s Rome Correspondent. He worked for the Daily Telegraph before joining The Tablet in 2009 and since 2015 has been covering the Vatican and the Francis papacy. As well as writing for The Tablet, Christopher writes regularly for other media outlets and in 2020 published his first book, The Outsider: Pope Francis and His Battle to Reform the Church. He recently featured in BBC Radio 4’s The Shadow Pope and his opinion has been widely sought following the death of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI.
Professor Anna Rowlands is the St Hilda Professor of Catholic Social Thought and Practice in the Department of Theology and Religion at Durham University. She is also the chair of the Centre for Catholic Social Thought and Practice and a member of the Centre for Catholic Studies at Durham. Anna is a Catholic commentator and a familiar voice as a contributor to BBC Radio 4’s Thought for the Day. She is the author of Towards a Politics of Communion: Catholic Social Teaching in Dark Times. She has been closely involved in the Synod process, assisting in work on the Continental Stage document for the Synod.
Sr Dr Gemma Simmonds CJ is a sister of the Congregation of Jesus, Director of the Religious Life Institute and Senior Lecturer in pastoral theology at the Margaret Beaufort Institute of Theology, Cambridge, teaching Christian spirituality within the Cambridge Theological Federation. She has been a spiritual director, retreat giver and lecturer for over 25 years, as well as being a religious broadcaster for the BBC & other media channels and having worked as a prison and university chaplain and a missionary in Brazil. She is the author of The Way of Ignatius and Dancing at the Still Point.