Thomas John Paprocki is the Bishop of Springfield in Illinois. The occasion of this interview was the recently-completed Springfield Diocesan Synod, the first since 1963.
Kevin: The previous diocesan synod was in 1963 under Bishop O’Connor. Its statutes are impressive but I suspect many things fell by the wayside due to the radical changes that followed the Second Vatican Council. You organized a new diocesan synod in 2017, which has now finished its work. Why did you call for this synod, what has it accomplished, and what do you hope its fruits will be?
Bishop Paprocki: In my homily for Evening Prayer at the
