Synod returns to diocese

By DAWN PROSSER
Director of Communications
 
The synod isn’t done.
 
From 2021 through 2023, dioceses around the world, including the Diocese of Sioux City, participated in Pope Francis’ Synod on Synodality. Information was shared during synod listening sessions at each parish, which was summarized into diocesan reports and at subsequent levels until it reached the Holy Father.
 
Final reports from the Vatican and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) were compiled and posted in 2024. Catholic News Service reported in July 2025 that the Vatican Synod Office provided guidelines to help local churches and bishops implement the proposals from the first round which occurred 2021-23 at the parish and diocesan levels.

 Archbishop Paul Coakley, president of the USCCB, sent a letter Jan. 13 to his brother bishops regarding the implementation. Deacon Mark Prosser, Bishop John Keehner’s chief of staff and director of the diocesan synod efforts, explained that dioceses were directed to reference the final report and evaluate how that will “get put to use in our parishes and diocese.”
 2026 synod team
The first step was to either update the previous team or construct a new synod team with five to seven members, the deacon said.
 
The synod team for this new round of synod activities includes some who served in the past and some new members.

• Bishop John E. Keehner
• Deacon Mark Prosser
• Father Andrew Galles, director of worship
• Karmen Bower, director of faith formation
• Father Patrick Behm, pastor of St. John Paul II Parish in Carroll
• Dawn Prosser, director of communications
• Mayra Castelan, director of operations of Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in Sioux Center
• Sandra Hildreth, director of religious education for Our Lady of the Plains Parish in Lake City

 
Deacon Prosser pointed out that each member brings a different perspective, expertise and experience to add to the process. Once the team membership was determined, the team information was forwarded to the USCCB.
 
Father Behm, a member of the diocesan Presbyteral Council, volunteered for the team when Bishop Keehner asked if any priest was interested in serving. He said his experience participating in the 2021-23 synod dialogue is what drew him to stepping forward to serve on the team.
 
“In the last round, I felt like there was a lot of complaining about pastoral planning and parish restructuring, as well as some requests that simply were not in line with Catholic thought or dogma,” the pastor said.
 
On the positive side, he saw the benefit of the dialogue in the first stages of the synod and in the upcoming phase of the synod.
 
“What I thought emerged was a true desire for people to participate in the life of their parish,” Father Behm said. “Since then, I’ve become a pastor of a large parish and what I’m realizing is that I need the input of the laity to better understand how to serve them.”
 
Hildreth led the efforts for the parishes that now make up Our Lady of the Plains before it was canonically merged. Having previous experience with conducting a similar process in a six-county area in eastern Iowa, she was able to coordinate dozens of gatherings and train parishioners to moderate sessions.
 
“We held meetings with men’s groups, women’s groups. I did sessions with all the youth as well,” she explained, adding that the parish team gathered feedback from 250 of the faithful.
 
Hildreth summarized this large amount of information into 20 pages to send to the diocese, then summarized it down to two pages to serve as a working document to address issues in the new parish.
 
Hildreth said she was interested in serving on the new synod team after seeing the benefits of parishioners actively participating in the first phase of the synod.
 
“I see it as an opportunity and a tool for people to be more engaged in the Catholic Church and their parishes,” she said. “The life in our church is not just Sunday. There are other things that factor into what we are as Catholics.”
 New to the synod process, Castelan explained she was willing to serve on the team to represent her parish and ensure that the diocesan faithful have a voice in the synod process.
 
“I believe my openness, compassion and willingness to listen will allow me to contribute in a meaningful way and help strengthen our parish as we continue the church’s mission together,” she said of her service to the team. “Serving on this team feels like a natural way for me to give back.”
 
Next steps
Deacon Prosser pointed out the bishops and dioceses are “not exactly sure what our marching orders are for moving forward,” but some steps are being implemented now to start the dialogue process.
 
The metropolitan bishop of each province, which would be Dubuque Archbishop Thomas Zinkula in the Iowa province, will convene regional meetings of bishops “to consider the final document that came out, to answer some questions and at the same time, consider those questions at a parish level,” the deacon said.
 
This week, pastors received a list of questions to pose to their parishioners to identify progress and/or change made since the feedback was gathered from meetings and reports compiled from the first phase of the synod. The bishops received similar questions.
 
Questions for parishes:

• How is the work of synodality being incorporated into the different ministries of your parish?
• How is the work of synodality being integrated into the parish participatory bodies [i.e., parish councils, finance committees, school boards (if applicable) etc.]?
• Approximately how many committees in your parish are incorporating synodality into their staff, leadership, apostolic groups, pastoral and finance council?
• What is the reality of the priest(s) in your parish regarding synodality?
• How has the spiritual practice of synodality influenced your ministry’s work?

 
When evaluating whether or not synodality is being exercised in diocesan parishes, the answer is complex, Deacon Prosser said.
 
“I do know that some have certainly implemented the synodal process, the conversation process, the trying to expand communications with their faithful in a variety of different ways,” he said.
 Lumen file photo from regional listening session in Carroll.Some parishes, he added, may be acting in a synodal fashion but aren’t specifically labeling those activities as synodal. 
“I think we have some pastors and parishes that maybe are doing more because of the synodal meetings and synodal process and others that just continue to operate as they always have,” Deacon Prosser pointed out. “So that’s what we want to gauge – how much of the process is going on.”
 
The pastors are asked to present the questions to their parishioners to consider and provide feedback in any method they choose, such as creating small groups, using existing committees or boards or even distributing the questions to their entire parish. A summary report of the responses from each parish are due to the diocesan synod team on Feb 27.
 
The deacon said the regional bishop groups will also be compiling responses from their meetings in a similar timeframe as the parishes. The exact details for the next steps have not yet been provided, but he anticipates additional listening sessions. Upcoming details will be published in The Lumen/LumeNotes and at www.scdiocese.org/synod.
 
“I think the intent is that being a synodal church - the processes that they’re trying to formulate here of interactive conversation and the laity being able to share and speak their mind, give their advice and their opinion will become more of a norm than a unique event. I suspect that’s the direction the church is moving although there’s still a lot to learn on what the intent is,” Deacon Prosser said.
 
Report links:
Diocesan synod report in English
Diocesan synod report in Spanish
Diocesan synod report in Vietnamese
For all other reports, go to www.scdiocese.org/synod

​Cover photo - Lumen Media file photo from regional listening session in Algona.
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