Japanese archbishop calls for more ‘synodal’ Asian churches

Nov 03, 2023

VATICAN: Archbishop Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi of Tokyo has called on church leaders in Asia to ensure greater lay participation to ensure synodality by respecting cultural differences in the largely “clerical” Asian Churches.

“Asian countries are still very clerical: it is the clergy who decide,” said Kikuchi, who is secretary general of the Federation of Asian Bishops Conferences (FABC).

“We must instead allow lay people to become more involved in the decisions," Kikuchi said during a press conference on the sidelines of the Synod on Synodality in Rome on October 19.

Kikuchi also pointed out the need to devise methods to increase the involvement of the laity in the decision-making process of the church “The difficulty is that we have to think hard about how we can involve lay men and women, who have little time because of their already busy lives, and who have to look after their families,” Kikuchi said. The prelate pointed out that the Church needs to develop the “right methods” to involve the laity in the decision-making process of the Church.

“How do you ask lay people who work to put down their tools and come to Rome for a month of exchanges? It’s just not possible,” Kikuchi said.

“If we really want to involve lay people in the Church’s decisions, we also have to take into account their daily lives, their families. That’s something we’re still working on,” Kikuchi added. Kikuchi also pointed out that synodality when discussed in the Asian context must consider the multicultural context of the region.

“As Asians, when we talk about synodality in the Catholic Church, we expect every local culture to be respected,” the prelate said.

“Synodality does not mean uniformity: we have to work together as we are, according to our own cultures,” the prelate added.

As an example of synodality, the prelate pointed out the functioning of Caritas Internationalis, the global confederation of Catholic charities which he leads as the president.

Caritas “brings together 160 organisations around the world, each organisation being independent,” the prelate said.

“Each of them has its own Catholic identity and works with its partners, also demonstrating its ecumenical and interreligious nature,” the prelate explained.

The prelate said that Caritas has been a “synodal organisation” from the outset, from the top to the grassroots level and provided beyond aid to those in need.

Kikuchi said that he hopes to implement the lessons learned during the synod meetings back home in Tokyo.

“Returning to Tokyo, I want to introduce this synodal spirit into our Church too, making it a state of mind common to all parishes,” Kikuchi said.

Kikuchi added that he would like to introduce the Asian spirit of hospitality into the life of the Church, as expressed in the Synod’s Asian continental report. “

It’s true that in Asia, in the Catholic Church, our structures, are very Western, but it’s possible to introduce our spirit of hospitality into parish activities,” he added. --ucanews.com