Archbishop Coakley calls for simpler presentation of synodality
July 07, 2026
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CWN Editor's Note: Following a recent synodal planning meeting in Rome, the president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops called for a simpler presentation of synodality.
“Synodality is often presented and perceived by many as a cumbersome and complicated process with language and terminology that is unfamiliar to most Catholics,” said Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City. “Unless we can simplify how synodality is presented, it risks becoming the exclusive domain of specialists or ‘the initiated’ rather than a way of simply living our faith together.”
The Church in the United States is “very accustomed to welcoming and fostering lay involvement, from both men and women, at every level of Church life,” Archbishop Coakley added. “We need to continue to deepen our practice of discernment within those bodies and to develop and deepen an appropriate spirituality based on discernment and rooted in prayer.”
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