Cardinal Koch opens conference “From Listening to Practice”

From 30 September to 3 October 2026, an international ecumenical conference on canonical practices of synodality was held at the Angelicum, with the participation of Cardinal Kurt Koch, Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity; Cardinal Mario Grech, Secretary General of the General Secretariat of the Synod; and Archbishop Anthony Randazzo, Prefect of the Dicastery for Legislative Texts.

On 30 September, Cardinal Koch opened the conference with a welcoming address in which he emphasised the need to move “from Catholic canon law on ecumenism to ecumenical canon law”.

The programme examined the various synodal institutions at every level of the Church, as well as synodal decision-making processes in both the Eastern and Western canonical traditions. More than thirty expert canon lawyers from different Christian traditions reflected on synodal practices.

Building on the two Angelicum symposia, Listening to the East and Listening to the West (2022-2023), and in the light of the Catholic Synod on Synodality (2021-2024), the conference sought to reflect ecumenically on the canonical implications of synodal ecclesiology with a view to advancing Christian unity.

The conference was co-organised by the Œcumenicum, the Institute for Ecumenical Studies, and the Faculty of Canon Law of the Angelicum.