India’s Latin-rite Catholics conclude national synod

Aug 05, 2022

By Bijay Kumar
India’s Latin-rite Catholics have concluded the national phase of the Synod on Synodality, finalising their proposals for the 2023 synod in the Vatican, officials said.

At a three-day national synod in Bengaluru, capital of Karnataka state, some 60 delegates from across the country discussed and finalised the proposals, said Fr Stephen Alathara, deputy secretary-general of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI). It concluded on July 28.

The national synod participants included 15 bishops, 12 priests, 10 religious and 27 lay leaders from the Latin-rite dioceses.

The delegates validated and finalised a synthesis of all the diocesan synods, which was prepared by the National Synod Desk in collaboration with the bishops’ Commission for Theology and Doctrine.

Every presentation in the synthesis was discussed at length and the suggestions offered by the house were taken into consideration, Fr Alathara said in a press release.

However, the details of the draft, that will be sent to the Vatican, have not yet been published.

Cardinal-elect Filipe Neri Ferrao of Goa and Daman in his opening remarks recalled how Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King had dreams of a better tomorrow just as Jesus Christ carried on his mission.

“Today’s Gospel speaks to us of the dream of Jesus for his disciples, for us. This dream of Jesus for his disciples has two facets: communion and mission. In order to journey with the Church in her mission, we need to foster communion within and without,” said the prelate.

The press statement said that the national synthesis will effectively serve as a roadmap for the Church in India in the next decade.

As the first national phase of the Synod for a Synodal Church concludes, “it is hoped that this national synod will be an occasion for the Latin Church in India to discern new ecclesial pathways and adopt creative pastoral approaches that will help her to be a genuinely authentic synodal church,” the statement said.

This will result in promoting greater ecclesial communion, participation and mission: the three aspects of the 2021-23 synod.

The Catholic Church in India comprises the Latin rite and two Oriental rites — Syro-Malabar and Syro-Malankara.

The Latin rite follows the Latin liturgy introduced by European missioners in the 15th century, while the two Oriental rites, both based in Kerala, follow Syrian rite liturgies and trace their origins to St. Thomas the Apostle. --ucanews.com