Going Down the Synodal path is crucial for the survival of the church

Thomas O'Loughlin (born 1958, Dublin) is Professor of Historical Theology at the University of Nottingham. He earned a BA, MPhil, PhD (NUI), STB (Maynooth) and DD hon.c (Bangor).

Tom studied for his BA in Philosophy and Medieval History in UCD, before going to Maynooth College for his BD(STB), before moving on to do a M.Phi in UCD. He holds a Diploma in Theology from Mater Dei in Dublin, and Diploma in Pastoral Theology from All Hallows College, Dublin.

This fascinating talk provides a historical context to why the church developed a top down rather that ground up model. He explains where the term ordination comes from and provides as new model . He explained that people are asking how we will get people back to Mass - when the real question is how can we gather people together and help them be eucharistic.