Synod for a Synodal Church 2021-2024

Synod for a Synodal Church 2021-2024. NATIONAL SYNTHESIS OF THE SYNODAL CONSULTATION.

If we want to realize our dreams, we have to have them in the context in which we live. There are also narrow understandings of religion as well as social and economic disparities, fragmenting the fabric of a nation. The Church of India too shares such diversities and divides. Religious fundamentalism and extreme right wing political dispensation has created challenges for our services, putting blocks in our way to realize the Church of our dream. Living in a multi-religious society as a minority is a challenge in itself. To construct our dream Church, we need to look at the foundation, laid by apostles who came to our country, adapted and adopted our mores, and laid the foundation for the edifice of our faith. We have moved from the foreign apostles to indigenous apostles..

Synodality is the crying need of the people of God. No wonder, 129 out of 132 dioceses of our nation, a whopping 97.7%, participated in this exercise, compiling their reports in 1,500 pages in all. The whole process was an eye-opener for many who were not accustomed to being invited to speak out openly and freely. Special efforts to encourage candid feedback were made in certain cultural contexts like organising women-only consultation groups. The entire exercise has deepened the awareness of the need to become more Synodal..

Companions on the Journey. Listening. Speaking Out.

undefined. II. OUR JOURNEYING TOGETHER:.

II. OUR JOURNEYING TOGETHER.

1) Communion and Community Building, Lights and Challenges.

Communion and Community Building: Lights and Challenges.

Communion and Community Building: Lights and Challenges.

The Dream Church:. i) Unity of God indwelling in every human being & the human being:.

i) Unity of God indwelling in every human being & the human being: Personal prayer, participation in the Eucharist and other Sacraments are ways and means to feel and express this communion. Sacrament of Reconciliation, means to re-establish our communion with God and fellow humans needs to be stressed and made more use of. Mutual respect, listening to all needs to become our way of recognizing the indwelling God in every human being..

ii) Unity with the Lord Jesus, expressed through the Sacramental Communion: Intimate union with Christ and fellow human beings, expressed through the Sacramental communion has to be lived in our day-to-day life as directed by St. Paul in I Cor. 11:17-34. The body of Christ that I consume makes me part of Christ. (Gal. 2:20). My brothers and sisters too consume the same body of Christ and so we can say, ‘it’s no longer they who live, but it is Christ who lives in them.’ That is why St. Paul could say that we all become parts of the Body of Christ, performing various ministries and building up that Body of Christ (see I Cor. 12:14-31). ‘Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me’ (Mt. 25:40)..

iii) Communion of Saints: We are called to experience and live this communion with those who have gone before us and those with us on this earth. We all make one body of Christ. In our Dream Church we ask for intercession of Our Lady and all the Saints, read their lives and learn to imitate them; pray for the souls in purgatory and live in communion with fellow humans without any humanly created distinctions of caste, class, religion, politics, wealth etc..

This three-fold communion is achieved through our Faith..

The faithful have expressed a strong desire to belong to the Church and to bear witness to Christ by reaching out to the voiceless, powerless and marginalized. There is a need for greater involvement and collaboration among priests, religious and lay faithful. Pastoral visits to families are essential for building parish communities. The concerns of interfaith marriages and live-in relationships require to be addressed. Support groups need to evolve within parishes/dioceses to assist and pastorally accompany the families struggling with disability care, children with special needs and home-bound elderly..

Attending to the material and spiritual needs of different linguistic and migrant groups is necessary. Two broad areas call for renewal: Faith Formation and building a strong, welcoming and non-judgmental Christian Community. It is important to give special focus to ministry among young people and children. Young people are asking the Church to involve them further in mission and humanitarian work. Psycho-spiritual counselling, career guidance and entrepreneurship opportunities are required. Counselling cells could be started. There is a need for catechesis and accompaniment for young people and young married couples..

By using means of social communication and advanced technology, parishes can strengthen ties and serve their communities. Greater listening and service from the priests and religious could enhance communion within the Christian community. Reconciliation at all levels is needed for the Church to become a community of love, peace and service. A special attention to overcome the attitude of indifference in the community is the need of the hour. The diversity within the Church – on account of caste, culture, rite, language, region and ethnicity – must become a space for celebration instead of division..

2) Participation of the Lay Faithful, Roles and Responsibilities.

Lights. Challenges. Participation of the Lay Faithful, Roles and Responsibilities.

The lay faithful, recognising their authentic call in the Church by virtue of baptism, actively collaborate in the administration and share responsibilities in the life and mission of the Church when given the opportunity..

They are involved in faith formation of children and adults, assisting in the liturgy, evangelizing in villages, taking leadership roles in BECs, animating the pastoral activities through various commissions and assisting in the day-to-day running of the parishes and institutions..

Co-responsibility emerges at the time of celebrating feasts, helping the needy and offering relief services during emergencies..

Lights. Challenges. Participation of the Lay Faithful, Roles and Responsibilities.

The hurdles for the participation of the lay faithful are both within and without. From within, they have a sense of fear, reluctance and diffidence to take up participatory roles; from without, there is resistance and indifference towards their participation..

Often it is the same dominant few who take up multiple leadership roles without leaving space for others to get involved. While saying this, we tend to forget that it is the same PP/Asst. PP/School Principal that takes up multiple leadership roles without leaving space for others to get involved!.

We need to challenge ourselves and acknowledge this double standard and take concrete action to remedy this situation. A large number of the lay faithful limit their participation to Sunday liturgy. Sufficient opportunities are not given to the lay faithful to hone their skills for active participation..

Our Dream Church. Lights. Challenges. Participation of the Lay Faithful, Roles and Responsibilities.

In our dream Church, we acknowledge the fact that ALL are called to be different members of the one Body of Christ (cf. 1 Cor 12:12) To achieve this aim, we have to enhance our structures for training and empowerment of the lay faithful. Our Dream Church has to have a clear Pastoral Plan. In this dream Church, the lay faithful would be made aware of their rights and duties, mission and apostolate, as stipulated in the Code of Canon Law..

Parish Pastoral Council (PPC) would be elected by the parishioners Care would be taken to promote and accept leadership of women, women religious, young people and those at the peripheries. Here there would be commissions to ensure that women, children, young people, migrants, differently-abled persons, ecology and other concerns are paid special attention to..

3) Leadership, Governance, Decision-Making.

3) Leadership, Governance, Decision-making. Lights: The Church in India has had, and continues to have, many leaders – both men and women – who are outstanding examples of service and sacrifice. There have been moments of collective discerning and deciding in the appointments of the Priests and the Religious, in the erection of Parishes, in taking up new projects and in financial matters. Structures, such as Parish/Diocesan Pastoral Councils, Parish/Diocesan Finance Committees, College of Consultors, Council of Priests, Reunions of Priests-Religious, movements and Pious Associations, facilitate listening and speaking out..

3) Leadership, Governance, Decision-making. Challenges: Women, young people and women Religious feel left out in the decision-making process. The synthesis presented by International Union of Superiors General (UISG) of women Religious and Union of Superiors General (USG) of male Religious brings up this point quite clearly and loudly. In addition, the competence of lay faithful in law, finance, accounting and management is rarely recognised or utilized by the hierarchy. There is Clericalism in the Church. It appears in verbal, sexual and monetary abuses. The situation has worsened due to the long tenures in positions of power and, in certain instances, due to absence of ecclesial leadership..

Dream Church In our Dream Church, we would all imitate Jesus who said, “I am among you as one who serves” (Lk 22: 27)..

Dream Church In our Dream Church, we would all imitate Jesus who said, “I am among you as one who serves” (Lk 22: 27)..

Dream Church In our Dream Church, we would all imitate Jesus who said, “I am among you as one who serves” (Lk 22: 27)..

4) Faith Formation, Spiritual Growth, Evangelization.

Faith Formation, Spiritual Growth and Evangelization.

Faith Formation, Spiritual Growth and Evangelization.

Faith Formation, Spiritual Growth and Evangelization.

Faith Formation, Spiritual Growth and Evangelization.

In the Dream Church, all will use all their faculties, Memory, Understanding and Will to practice their Faith. The Church and its adherents would be sensitive to the needs of young people, single-parent families, widows/widowers, the divorced, divorced and remarried, Catholics distanced from the Church, LGBTQIA+ Catholics, migrants and others in need of special care. In that Dream Church, the Liturgy would have specific roles for all participants. In that Dream Church, appropriate local symbols that touch the hearts of people, their forms of art, music and dance would be used to engender greater devotion..

In that Dream Church, everyone would become an apostle of God’s Kingdom through living a life consonant with their faith. In that Dream Church, we wouldn’t be talking about and asking for the intercessions of Saints of bygone days and eras only. We would rejoice in the witness / martyrdom of St. Devasahayam, Blessed Sr. Rani Maria, St. Theresa of Kolkata, Jesuit Stan Swamy and many others who gave their all to God and God’s people, especially to the ‘least’ among them. The pandemic situation showed us the way to use the social media to assist the faithful through online, virtual Eucharistic celebrations, homilies and prayer services..

5) Mission, Collaboration, Visibility.

Mission, Collaboration, Visibility. Lights: The Church is missionary by nature. Mission in India takes many forms - taking care of the orphans, elderly, differently-abled and destitute, the Church also responds through services like prison ministry, legal aid, care for victims of human trafficking, migrants and street children. The apostolates that the Church engages in – particularly education, health care and social development – are appreciated by members of other faiths. The ‘dialogue of life’ goes on continuously in neighbourhoods and Parishes. At the national level, there have been attempts by the Episcopal Conferences and, at the regional levels, by the Bishops’ Councils, which have sought to dialogue with other churches, ecclesial communities and religions. Ecological initiatives are being promoted at various levels..

Challenges: Although the Catholic Church in India has attempted to foster ecumenical and inter-religious dialogue, there is a feeling that the mission in this realm is minimal. Religious fundamentalism, fanaticism, anti-conversion laws, fear and suspicion of others, sully the attempts to dialogue. Though the Church has contributed a lot to the education and healthcare of the nation, her voice is not audible when it comes to evolving national policies for education, health, etc. Ecumenism is often limited to coming together annually for the ‘Christian Unity Octave’ or some functions during Christmas, Easter and the like. The Church’s initiatives have not had the desired impact in the ecological sphere. At times, people feel left out and find themselves in a lonely battle when they have to face consequences of ecological crises..

Dream Church: In that Dream Church, we would respond to the call to establish God’s Kingdom, keeping in mind the socio-political, cultural and other contexts. Christa-bhakta type of movements, Kingdom values in our institutions through our practices, willing to be led by like-minded individuals and NGOs in social movements etc. would be used to do so. When fighting for justice, we wouldn’t hesitate or keep silent due to fear of negative impact on our material resources. When the faithful are attracted towards the fringe groups that promise quick cures, we wouldn’t ape them. We would collaborate with all men and women of good will and their NGOs to ensure that the country is ruled, honouring our Constitution..

In that Dream Church there would be some special concerns like the following: Migrants: In that dream Church, there would be special sensitivity to the migrants, both seasonal and permanent. Ecumenism: We would undertake common projects of service, keeping in mind the dictum, ‘Doctrine divides, service unites.’ Ecology: In this dream Church, we would initiate environmental awareness programmes and eco-clubs Health and Education: We have been pioneers in education and health-care for the dispossessed. In our Dream Church we would take this further, by finding out the dispossessed of our times..

Socio-Political Participation: In that Dream Church, we would address socio-political issues in a timely manner. Church as the Conscience of Society: The Church is invited to be the conscience of the society and collaborate with persons of goodwill. Technology and Media: The Church needs to capitalise on her media and technology potential. Structures for Collaboration at the Base to build Basic Human Communities everywhere..

III. STEPS FOR GREATER COMMUNION, PARTICIPATION AND MISSION.