The word synod comes from the Latin synodus meaning “assembly” or “meeting.” A synod means an “ecclesiastical council,” or when leaders and laypeople. of the church come together.
In the Diocese of Dallas, the last time a synod was called was in 1939, under Bishop Lynch. A couple of years ago, Bishop Edward Burns, the bishop of the Diocese of Dallas called a synod after things had started to recover following the historic Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. As part of the synodal process, Bishop Burns has been stopping by at all the Catholic High Schools in the area.
Most recently, Tuesday, September 26, he came by Jesuit Dallas to speak with all the students and celebrate Mass. During his day at Jesuit, Luke Patterson ’26 and I had the opportunity to interview him.
The Youth and the Church
After all the information has been gathered through listening sessions, Bishop Burns has toured through all the High Schools. Bishop Burns wanted to hear from the youth of the Diocese. Among his stops were John Paul II High School, The Highlands, Bishop Lynch, Ursuline Academy, and Bishop Dunne. Through his trips, Bishop Burns hopes to gain a new perspective on how the church can better serve our young people, saying, “you [the youth] have a better perspective of the complexities of today then a bishop who was ordained a priest 40 years ago.”
“the church presents the teachings of jesus who is the way, the truth, and the life.” – Rev. bishop Edward Burns
According to Word on Fire, the organization founded by Bishop Robert Baron, 50% of those raised Catholic no longer identify as Catholic today. On top of that, 7/8 of those (roughly 79%) of those who leave the church shed their faith before age 23. Bishop Burns did bring this up in his homily, and I asked him what the diocese’s plans are for getting young people back to the faith.
Bishop Burns started by talking about how the Church presents the teachings of Jesus, the “way, the truth, and the life,” as they are. Speaking of the modern age, his excellency talked about how there are “different complexities and ideologies” that contradict the true teachings of the church. Bishop Burns calls us to remain close to our Lord, the Lord who presents “commandments of love, respect, and how to be faithful disciples.”
Calling for a reawakening of truth, Bishop Burns encourages the church to have effective dialogue with people. He speaks of “upholding the dignity of every human person” because every person is “created in the image and likeness of God.”
Diocesan Outreach and Immigration
While not all of the suggestions have come in, the diocese has already seen some patterns and trends. The main things have been the need for better and more effective communication between the diocese and the people. The outreach has been “phenomenal,” but the diocese needs to do more of it.
In talking about the Diocese’s outreach, Bishop Burns mentioned how the church has done charity work as part of it. Last year, the Diocese of Dallas put 300 homeless in permanent housing. This is something that has been appreciated by the City of Dallas because of its intentionality. Bishop Burns then talked about how the Diocese has lived out the Corporal Works of mercy, how they are getting to the basics of “feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, giving drink to the thirsty, welcoming the stranger.”
“every country has a right to protect its borders, but every family has a right TO a better life.”- Rev. Bishop Burns
In connection with welcoming the stranger, Bishop Burns spoke about the immigration crisis happening along the southern border. Speaking of this crisis, Bishop Burns stated, “every country has a right to protect its borders, but every family has a right to a better life,” saying that we should take care of them not only because they are our brothers and sisters, but that they were created in the image and the likeness of God.
Bishop Burns talked about Jesus as an “immigrant God,” juxtaposing the connection between the immigrants’ journeys to the United States with Jesus’s migration to Egypt. More importantly, he talked about Jesus’s crossing “the border to between heaven and earth to be one of us,” again drawing a comparison between Jesus and the refugee.
The Diocese’s plan is to work with Catholic charities on the issue. They already have a parish ready to be turned into a shelter if needed. Bishop Burns then referenced the 3,200 unaccompanied minors who were housed in the Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center three years ago, talking about how Catholic Charites was “instrumental” in making that happen. He says that “whatever we have to do, the Lord calls us to do, and we will do.”
Returning from Covid and Getting People Back to Mass
Bishop Burns opened by saying, “it was the most excruciating thing for me as a bishop to know that my churches are empty.” During Covid, Bishop Burns conducted televised masses that were broadcasted weekly. He started at the cathedral and then went to different parishes. This allowed masses to reach people through four medias: cable, Instagram, website, and Facebook. Bishop Burns then recalled a beautiful letter from a woman she had written, stating that “she had two sons serving in Iraq and Afghanistan who would wake up in the middle of the morning to watch Mass with her.” Bishop Burns gave thanks for “the Lord blessing their endeavor to work miracles.”
Another major problem coming from Covid was the church numbers. The number of attendees has gone down significantly from before the pandemic. Part of Bishop Burns’ plan is to encourage people watching the online Masses to go to church in person. He then stated that “he knew the pandemic was a historic event, and that he would need to have a historic response.” The historic response was calling the first synod since Bishop Lynch.
“i knew immediately that this was a historic pandemic, and that it would require a historic response.”- Rev. bishop burns
Bishop Burns is seeking to “shake the faith.” His goal is to get back everyone to the faith.
Message for the Youth
Bishop Burns’ message for the youth is to stay strong in the faith. He encourages us to stay close to Jesus Christ but especially through his mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary. Bishop Burns says that every day, we enter into the battle for good in evil. Calling the Rosary a “powerful weapon,” he encourages us to pray the rosary and receive the sacraments. He most importantly is encouraging us to stay strong in our families stating, “if there is anything the evil one wants, it is for the division of the family.” He goes on to say that it is important to stay strong in our culture, the Catholic culture.
Luke Patterson ’26 contributed to this report.
Stay tuned to The Roundup for more updates on the Synod and the Diocese of Dallas!
