Beyond Synodal Listening: Theological Action Research and Cultures of Conversation

In the contemporary Catholic Church’s engagement with synodality listening has become the dominant emphasis; methods for “spiritual conversation” are designed to give priority to listening—to one another and, fundamentally, the Holy Spirit. This paper offers some critiques of this emphasis and seeks to explore conversation as the synodal fundamental. Conversation overly controlled by listening is, I argue, susceptible to subtle and unhelpful power dynamics. “Ordinary conversation”—interruptive, informal, spontaneous, and not always polite—has its own theological significance and must also find its place in a truly synodal church. Drawing on extensive experience of theological action research and insights from systems theory, the paper sets out why such “ordinary conversation,” distinct from what might be seen as “formal listening,” is ecclesiologically essential for a full realisation of church. By way of conclusion, key themes are identified whose development is needed for the further enrichment of synodal processes through attention to ordinary conversation.