Following the Synod Assembly in Rome in October 2023, the church was asked to continue the conversation about the subjects which had been discussed, and feed back our views before the next Synod Assembly meeting in October 2024.2

The Lay Dominicans held discussions across the province, on Zoom, in our fraternities and by inviting individual contributions. We chose 2 subjects from the Assembly’s synthesis report:

1. Ministry

This seemed particularly relevant to conversations we have had about the various apostolates Lay Dominicans are involved in. The relevant sections of the synthesis report and the question we considered are set out in this document:

2. Consecrated Life and Lay Associations and Movements: A Charismatic Sign

The Assembly synthesis document had a chapter on the relationship between those in religious orders and lay associations and their Bishops’ Conferences. This chapter formed the subject of our second discussion.

Letter to the Bishops

Following our discussions, a summary of the views of the Lay Dominicans of the Province has been sent to the Bishops’ Conference of England & Wales and the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland, for inclusion in their reports back to the Synod Assembly. The letter to the Bishops’ Conferences is attached below.