Archbishop Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi of Tokyo, Japan, the secretary general of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences (FABC), presides over the inaugural mass of the Asian Continental Assembly on Synodality on Feb. 24. (Photo: bangkok.synod2023.org)
Catholic bishops in Asia have been urged to become the “source of hope” as the Asian Continental Assembly on Synodality began in Thailand to discern, discuss, and deliberate on the ways to make the church more participatory.
“We have to be the source of hope because we have the Gospel of life, the Gospel of hope, and we are the ones working together in solidarity on the path of this synodality,” said Archbishop Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi of Tokyo, Japan, secretary general of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences (FABC), during the inaugural Mass of the Holy Spirit.
The continental-level synod comes as a preparation for the Bishops' Synod in the Vatican, which will finalize ways on making the Church more participatory. The Vatican event will conclude next year.
“The Church has to be at the center of producing hope. [The] Church should not be the source of despair and sadness,” Archbishop Kikuchi said in his homily.
The Mass was held at the Baan Phu Waan (The Sower’s House) Pastoral Training Centre of the Bangkok Archdiocese, on Feb. 24.
Archbishop Kikuchi cited the Ukraine war that began in 2022, and the Myanmar military coup of 2021 as incidents that “added more uncertainty” and dragged Asians “into deeper darkness.”
He said in the midst of the crisis one could become selfish and indifferent to the sufferings of others, but while “indifference could produce despair, solidarity could produce hope to live.”
“We need solidarity to produce hope,” the prelate stressed in his homily.
The Asian Synod is scheduled from Feb. 24 to 26 and has representatives of 17 Conferences of Bishops and two Synods of Bishops, representing the 29 countries of the FABC, according to a Feb. 23 press statement.
The delegates constitute six cardinals, five archbishops, 18 bishops, 28 priests, four sisters, and 19 lay persons.
The gathering of delegates from Catholic dioceses all over Asia will discuss the tensions that plague Asia — Living Synodality, Decision-Making, Priestly Vocations, Youth, Poor, Religious Conflicts, and Clericalism.
“A draft framework, an open-ended working paper, has been drawn up to help the delegates’ journey together through prayer to discern, discuss and deliberate,” the press statement said.
The delegates will also share their experiences “of joy, of walking together, the experience of wounds, and the call to embrace new pathways,” it added.
“The vibrancy and richness of the individual cultures bring joy to the life of the Church” in Asia, the largest and most populated continent with its diverse socio-cultural background where Christianity remains a small minority in most parts.
The press statement also pointed out that the image of the “church as [a] tent” projects it to be a place of refuge that can be “expanded to all in a spirit of inclusivity.”
Among the international delegates scheduled to attend the synod assembly are Cardinal Mario Grech, secretary general of the Secretariat of the Synod, and Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich of Luxembourg, the relator general of the Synod on Synodality.
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