I find the Synod is very well organised and it is going very well. Some of the sessions are as though we are going back to what we said last time.

Some of the issues were discussed last time so it gives the impression that in some areas we have not moved. But in general I find it's very good, very helpful, people are listening and I think we are ready to move forward.

Sr Rose Mary Carvalho, Emmaus Centre Arima

I am really impressed with what has happened so far, with the progress made in the implementation committees. We need to celebrate that. The way forward is more meaningful and more structured. People are getting used to how a Synod operates and so it was an easier process for us this time and it is really challenging but exciting, which clearly tells us that the Church is alive.

Mennen Walker-Briggs, St Charles Parish, Tunapuna

I think the Synod this year is very successful. People are talking out and ideas and issues are coming up which are affecting the Church. This is good for our Catholic movements, that people can come, say what they have to say in an open forum, make decisions, and everybody will be comfortable with one another. It builds interpersonal relationships and it gives people the chance to say exactly how they feel so that we can make changes to the Church in the new millennium.

Lennox Jordan, Blanchisseuse Parish

I think it was well organised, they passed good resolutions. All the committees and commissions seem to be working very hard and there was a lot of work done. So hopefully with all that work we can get somewhere by 2007.

Desmond Durham, St Joseph Parish

I think it's gone very well…running smoothly. We just have to implement the process. That's it.

Fr Michael Moses, San Raphael Parish

It's okay. I think what has happened is we need more time to think about the different resolutions and the amendments, to make proposals and to pass them. But other than that, we are alive and taking part.

Sr Allison Mitchell, St Jude's Home, Belmont

When I was told I had to come to this Synod I did not want to come, simply because I was not involved in it from the very beginning, so my being here did not serve a purpose. But now that I am here I feel happy, really blessed and privileged that my parish priest saw it fit that, those of us who did the administrative course in Sangre Grande, should be present here.

I am really happy because I think, with all that I have been exposed to, I can see now where I fit in as a parish administrator. I have to go back now and redefine my role if I am really to serve to my fullest potential and help bring about all these resolutions that come through all these different commissions and councils.

If this is to come alive in our parish and the people are to go the way of the Synod then I think I play an instrumental role and I am looking forward to it in a very dynamic way. I am very excited about all that I have to do and I hope that I can get the support of all the other persons who have been here from my parish in that drive to get our parish to go the way it is supposed to go as Church, the Synod way.

Carol Cachie, Santa Rosa , Arima, Parish

Well, in my view the Synod is a very useful process and experience for the Church. It gives us the opportunity to make a contribution to Church and Church goals. However I feel that there are some issues that really need more time for discussion before we can commit ourselves to a process because they have a lot of implications.

So I feel in the future we need to make provision for these things. We made some financial decisions, some administrative decisions that can have some serious impacts on how we operate in the Church. I think they needed a little more (time for) consideration.

Peter Ford, Chaguanas Parish

Well from what I have listened to today it seems that all the commissions have done some work, a lot of work actually, and the work they have done is commendable. There is a lot to be done. I just hope we all realise that the Synod is not just about commissions, it is about us in the Church working together to implement the things that have been voted on. Other than that I cannot really comment because I only came for one day.

Sr Julie Peters, Chaguanas Parish

The Synod was very good, excellent actually. It is great to see how members of the archdiocese have taken the building up of the Church as something very important, in terms of implementing what we had decided two years ago in our first Synod. Also the food was well catered. They catered for all areas of diet, vegetarians and non-vegetarians. I found, though, that we should have had a little more time to deal with the various topics.

Nigel Noel, Santa Rosa , Arima, Parish

I think that we have good participation. The people are excited about what they do and I hope that the excitement will flow into the doing of it afterwards.

Fr Arnold Francis, resident at the Cathedral Parish

It is very good. It is very interesting and great to see the Church come together for this. I find the timing is not good. The next Synod is in 2007, which is a long time. But it was well organised and people are getting a chance to air their views. So it is a successful exercise.

Kate Soo Lum, Arouca Parish

I think it is going well essentially. There are not too many interruptions like last time when people did not know certain things and they were out of the loop. A lot of people came now with more beforehand information. People are now more interested in all the wider areas than what they are involved in so they more readily voted and understood what is going on.

Taresa Best, St Dominic's Parish

The process that was adopted is working, except that people are beginning to descend into taking things personally, which is not healthy because there are other people who want to make contributions but they fear they will be interpreted in a negative light.

I must say that it has been helpful to the consciences of the people, who were not aware of the activities that have been going on, and to the commissions realising that they cannot operate any more from their standpoint but that they function from what the parish needs. So they may now be seeing their roles as really serving the needs of the parish rather than facilitating their own needs, which is a first stage in the development of the commissions and their relationship with the parishes.

Fr Kenneth Assing, Chaguanas Parish

I was a delegate at the original meeting of the Synod in 2003 so I have a benchmark by which to gauge this year's. So far I am impressed with what has been happening. At the first Synod the priests were more or less silent with the exception of one or two.

This year the parish priests are actively involved, making comments and contributions. I think this is an excellent sign because what it is demonstrating is that they are willing to get involved in the active process of keeping the Church alive.

Secondly, I recognise that the people are keeping the commissions, committees and councils on their toes. Personally I have been less vocal but the process of having the mini synods, and having us discuss the resolutions at the parish level, has filtered into the synod structural organisation so that a lot of our concerns are being addressed.

I find that there was less need for those of us who have already discussed them to get up and talk here because you were hearing them already being sorted and ratified.

In terms of the organisation for the meals and so, the Catholic Church is very good at that. Whenever we meet amass we are good at having all these details in place and I must compliment the organising committee for how this type of structure is done.

I look forward to 2007. I get a sense that there is recognition that the Catholic Church cannot remain static and, most importantly, that it has to ensure a dynamic foundation is there so that our young people could continue to move on.

Rose-Ann Walker, Santa Rosa Parish, Arima

I think the Synod is a process and I am not sure that most delegates are aware of it. A lot of persons were expecting quick fixes, quick answers, and that is not going to happen. With every process you will have difficulties, you will have stumbling blocks, and you have to work though them until you come to the right conclusions.

I think one of the problems we have here is that time constraints forced us into making resolutions without careful consideration that a resolution made at the Synod will always be referred to as the will of the people, and if it is not allowed to be discussed in its entirety, we can have the Synod arriving at conclusions that are not really completely the will of the people. That is a little danger I see in operating within time constraints and trying to cover so many topics.

I think what could have been done was we could have probably selected particular areas to cover and allow for changes, new opinions, incorporating these new opinions into resolutions until everybody felt they had given everything and were happy with it. Then you can say a resolution is the will of the people. What is happening to some extent is this rush for time and topics are not being given adequate recognition.

Mariella Ryan, Scarborough Parish, Tobago