People want to know that the issues they raised over the past few years in listening sessions in their parishes and dioceses are being taken seriously.

If you regret not taking part in your local synod, do not despair.

As an American, as a young person and as someone who never showed their work during math class, I am naturally inclined to care more about results than the process that produces them.

After a heartrending testimony in the synod hall, Father Timothy Radcliffe said: “I hope it changed us.”

When asked whether the women in the synod hall felt they were being heard, Sister Pat Murray replied as any tough nun might: “We have been well able to make our point and use our time and space well.”

This synod, more than any other, is built on the premise that realities are greater than ideas.