Mr. John P. Delaney, Jr. of the Roxborough section of Philadelphia has been appointed to a General Preparatory Commission for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia Synod which will be held in the Fall of 2002. A Synod gathers the members of the local Church to consider prayerfully and seriously the current state of the Church's life in order to create a vision and a plan for the future. Mr. Delaney is a member of Holy Family Parish and is Deputy District Attorney supervising the Juvenile Division of the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office. He and his wife Beth have three children: Katie; Colleen and John Patrick. Mr. Delaney is a graduate of Saint Clement Parish Elementary School in Southwest Philadelphia and West Catholic High School in West Philadelphia. He is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and Villanova University School of Law.

The Synod to be held in the Fall of 2002 is an historic event in the lives of the people of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. It has been sixty-eight years since the Archdiocese held a Synod. The calling of this Tenth Synod for the Archdiocese by Anthony Cardinal Bevilacqua, Archbishop of Philadelphia, is the culmination of a series of planning programs. It affords the Archbishop a special opportunity for him to hear the voice of his people on their hopes, concerns and desires for the faith they hold in communion with him and one another.

Mr. Delaney is one of twenty-seven people appointed to the General Preparatory Commission for the Synod. He said, "It is a great privilege and challenge to participate, as a layperson, in the development of the structures and procedures for this historic gathering. The Synod will help chart the course that we as a Church travel in the years to come."

The members of the General Preparatory Commission are charged with writing a Directory which guides the preparations for the Synod and the norms for conducting its meetings. One of the important tasks of the Commission is to devise a method for all of the people of the Archdiocese to express their needs and concerns to Cardinal Bevilacqua as input for the Archbishop's eventual selection of the topics for the Synod. The consultation of the people to hear their "voices" will be in two parts. The first part, this fall, will ask them to write down their own needs and hopes. The second part, in the spring of 2002, will ask them to respond to possible topics during assemblies or regional meetings.

The sessions of the Synod will be held on several days during Fall 2002. The matters that are placed before the Synod at its sessions will result in recommendations to be considered by the Archbishop. Additional information about the Tenth Synod of Philadelphia at www.synod-phl.org.

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