Synod

Card Sako speaks out from his temporary headquarters in Erbil after the falling out with Iraq’s president. The Christian community feels threatened in its “very existence”. A “new horizon” is needed through the synodal path. The cardinal will be in Marseille for Mass with Pope Francis.

Back from the WYD in Lisbon, the Asian nun chosen by Pope Francis among the president delegates of the October Assembly tells AsiaNews about her expectations for the Synod: "Living in a country where we Christians are a minority has taught me to listen, to try to understand, to pray to understand where the Spirit is guiding our conscience. And to understand that before anything else we must love everyone like Jesus." Archbishop of Tokyo Msgr. Kikuchi: "Proud and grateful for the role assigned to you."

Manila-based theologian and executive secretary of the Fabc's Office for Doctrinal Issues was chosen by Pope Francis among the ten Asian non-bishops who will take part in the October assembly. She tells AsiaNews of her impressions of the synodal journey, "It has energized me, because I see the conversion and reshaping of the Church toward a more missionary orientation."

Drafted following the worldwide consultation launched in 2021, the document presented today at the Vatican will guide the work of the assembly next October. Some of the many questions to be discussed are inculturation, the role of women (including in the diaconate), the relationship between interfaith dialogue and persecution, and the concrete synodal ways to exercise authority in the Church. What matters though is to develop a method to walk together.