MISSION statement: Revised 2026

We are a group of Catholics, some of whom are ordained, brought together by our love of Christ’s Church and a desire to be part of the synodal renewal it needs.
 
Inspired by the legacy of the Second Vatican Council, and the call to Synodality for the Church of the third millennium, we want to contribute fully to the life of our Church so that it may be a more effective and inclusive sign of the Kingdom of God.
 
To enable this, we wish to promote listening, dialogue and receptivity within the Church, and with all people of good will, open to the promptings of the Holy Spirit.
 
Accordingly, we aim to facilitate opportunities to share experiences, practices and insights to discern our hopes and aims for the Church in the world today.

THEOLOGY statement:

ACTA is a movement built from below by clergy and laity alike in every diocese in England and Wales. It exists to give those people an effective voice. It is an instrument to establish and promote space for a trusting dialogue within a hierarchically structured people’s Church.
 
ACTA believes that the reforms of the Second Vatican Council are the only way forward for mission to modern society. It is not a small chapel of selected followers; it believes in the Church as a “big tent”, with open doors. As a free and representative association of believers, it seeks to liberate the expertise in the ranks, so as to bring added energy and witness to the Church in the world.

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Tom O'Loughlin

Written by: Alex Walker

https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/humanities/departments/theology-and-religious-studies/people/thomas.oloughlin

The best way to introduce myself is through what I write. These two recent papers are on open access - you can download them for free!

Celebrating Synodality: Synodality as a Fundamental Aspect of Christian Liturgy

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/nbfr.12807

and Equality as a Theological Principle within Roman Catholic Ecclesiology

https://brill.com/view/journals/ecso/18/1/article-p35_35.xml

Celebrating and Sharing Good Practices in a Synodal Church

Written by: Frank Callus

Nov. 12, Nov. 19, Nov. 26, Dec 3 (four consecutive Wednesdays) : 19.00- 20.30 UTC [GMT] / 20.00- 21.30 CET / 16. 00-17.30 BRT

The International Church Reform Network [ ICRN ] is working with Catholic Church Reform International [ CCRI ] and partners to present a series on good synodal practice from different parts of the Universal Church. From Asia and Africa to Europe, the U.S., Oceana, and Latin America, we have identified examples of synodality at work that we can learn from and emulate. 

Read more: Celebrating and Sharing Good Practices in a Synodal Church

The Future of Synodality - how we move forward from here

Written by: Martin Pendergast
You might like to know that myself and Janet Obeney-Williams, a Farm Street Jesuit Church Parish Council member, have been facilitating a series of Synodal Listening Gatherings over the past 3 years. We are both Synodal Representatives in our parishes. Mine is St. Joseph's, Bunhill Row, on the edge of the City of London. These have gathered people from around 15 parishes plus some religious communities in Brentwood, Southwark, and Westminster Dioceses. I attach the latest submission we sent to both the Vatican's Synod Office, from which we had a very positive response, as well as the CBCEW and the Bishops of these three Dioceses.
We have also been running a a Reading Group, using The Future of Synodality - how we move forward from here. This meets on the 4th Saturday of each month, 10.00 (refreshments) for 10.30-12.00, at the London Jesuit Centre, 114 Mount Street, London W1K 3AH. All are welcome !
 
I also attach a paper, based on our local parish experience, which I gave at the 2018 Catholic Theological Association Conference. We have been without a resident priest for 20 years but, remaining an independent parish in Islington Deanery with an active Pastoral Council and a formal Ecumenical Partnership with 3 other churches, we are canonically administered from a parish in the neighbouring City & Westminster Deanery.
Best wishes
Martin Pendergast
 
 

Celebrating and Sharing Good Practice in a Synodal Church

Written by: Alex Walker

We are at a mid point between the Synod on Synodality, ending in Octber 2024 and the start of the next phase in 2026-2027. It is an appropriate time to identify, to celebrate and to share examples of good practice from different parts of the universal Church. This is a process – it identifies some areas from which we might learn- and as such it has no natural end point. In three or six months we should be able to highlight other examples of where synodality has taken root and strengthened the local church. 

ICRN is working with partner networks – CCRI, We Are Church Intl, and Spirit Unbounded – to identify some examples of where synodality has taken root and started to nourish the church envisioned by Pope Francis.

Read more: Celebrating and Sharing Good Practice in a Synodal Church

Catholic Church Reform International - Events

Written by: Alex Walker

 

Part 1 Training on overcoming the obstacles to becoming a synodal parish . . . especially positional thinking

Wednesday October 15, 2025

 

One of the biggest challenges to creating a synodal parish is positional thinking, i.e. sides each holding on to their position so strongly that each one is unable to really listen and learn from the other side. This training session will help address this issue and offer guidance how to move past this obstacle to holding the belief that maybe, just maybe, each of us has something more to learn about all of this. 

 

This program is sponsored by CCRI and is Part 1. Part 2 will follow on Saturday, October 18 where participants will move into breakout rooms and will have the opportunity to put this training into practice. 

 

Sign on is https://zoom.us/j/2429500175: Password is spirit. To find the times for you in your locale, click on Our Universal Calendar and scroll down to this date, October 15.

Read more: Catholic Church Reform International - Events

  1. Realising the Sacred
  2. ACTA - AT THE CROSSROADS?
  3. The Season of Creation with SCIAF
  4. Scottish Laity - Season of Creation 2025

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