Introduction

The Pope announced in 2021 that there was to be Synod of the whole Catholic Church in 2021 – 2023 and asked that all baptised members of the Church take part.  Consequently a set of questions was created and passed on for discussion and a response.  Coming, as it did, in the middle of a pandemic when it was not possible to attend Mass, let alone have public meetings to discuss the Synod input, the parishes of St Mary’s,Chippenham and St Patrick’s, Corsham adopted a set of online questionnaires accompanied by a video introduction.

Around 100 responses were received, including some from family groups, so we estimate the views of about 120 people were gathered.  This was far more than we could have reached using live meetings of 5 or 6 people, the recommended meeting size.

A detailed report containing all the responses received was submitted to Clifton Diocese and was sent on by them to the Conference of Bishops of England and Wales.  Although the questionnaires were completed anonymously many of them contained personal information that, to someone with a knowledge of the Parishes, would identify the respondent.  Therefore, in accordance with the Privacy Notice that formed part of the questionnaires, this report must remain private.

A brief summary of the Parish questionnaire inputs, in bulleted form, has been created to inform our parishioners and to form the basis of an action plan to be implemented at local level.

Reports

The subsequent reports (click to read) from:

• Clifton Diocese
• Conference of Bishops of England and Wales

were remarkably similar to the findings coming from our own parishes.

A printable pdf version of the parish report can be downloaded from this link. synod report

A slide show presentation can be viewed below, click on the 3 vertical dots below the slides to view controls including a full screen view..

Questions and Comments

Your questions and comments on the parish report and action plan are welcomed and can be submitted by following this link. You will need to enter your email address in order to leave a comment so that we can respond in private if necessary but your email address will not be published and will not be available to others.