The Church of God is currently convoked in synod on the theme ‘For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation and Mission’. By means of this convocation, Pope Francis invites the entire Church to reflect on a theme that is decisive for its life and mission.

The Synod process is now in the continental stage that consists of a time of listening and discernment of all of the People of God and of all local Churches on a continental basis, leading to a series of continental assemblies. This is not a replication of the consultation, listening and discernment that already took place, and that was an invitation to all of the People of God. This is, rather, a deepening of that discernment process by people identified to represent the local Churches in the pre-assembly processes prior to each Continental Assembly. It is understood that there will be differences in approach that take account of the established practices, cultural and language elements, geography, and logistics of each continent.

This Continental Stage is marked by the document ‘Enlarge the space of your tent’, that was written after careful reflection on the fruits of the first stage from the syntheses of all the Episcopal Conferences of the Universal Church, including the Maltese one. 

Between the 5th and 12th February 2023 the European continental meeting will be held as part of the process of the Synod on Synodality, during which the document entitled ‘Enlarge the space of your tent’ will be discussed.

In preparation for this meeting, you are invited to provide your feedback. As guidance for your comments we are proposing the following guidelines:

As you read the document, what resonates with our local context (Malta/Europe)?
What does not? Which areas do you feel require more reflection/depth?

You are invited to send your feedback by Monday 30th January 2023. The document ‘Enlarge the space of your tent’ may be accessed on church.mt/synod and feedback may be sent either by means of the online form on the website or by sending an email to [email protected]. All feedback will be passed on to the Maltese Episcopal Conference delegation that will be participating in the European continental meeting. The members of the Maltese delegation are Archbishop Charles Scicluna as President of the Maltese Episcopal Conference, Fr Daniel Sultana, Sr Natalie Abela soc and Mr Francesco Pio Attard.