Father Devadass speaks about synodality in the Churches of Asia today
The director of the Catholic Research Centre in Kuala Lumpur offers an initial assessment for Asia of the path Pope Francis set for dioceses worldwide, which continues with Leo XIV. Awareness is growing, albeit at different speeds depending on the context. Now the challenge is to translate the vitality of our Churches in Asia into a way of truly “walking together”.
Milan (AsiaNews) – How can we advance synodality following the worldwide path set by Pope Francis? Earlier this month, the cardinals discussed the issue when they gathered in Rome convened by Pope Leo XIV for his first consistory. This topic specifically touches the path of Catholic communities in Asia.
We spoke about the matter with Fr Clarence Devadass, a priest and director of the Catholic Research Centre of the Diocese of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He has been pursuing this path for years on behalf of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences (FABC), and participated in the synodal assemblies held in 2023 and 2024 in Rome.
Fr Devadass, what is your vision about the synodality process in Asia, in the different churches of the continent?
Looking at it overall, I think there's some shift. There is a small shift in the way we look at how we can engage, how we can work together, how we can bring the spirit of synodality into the ordinary life of a diocese or a parish. I think this is important. There is an awareness. Now we are looking at how we can slowly move.
However, for various reasons, people are at different stages. Some places have better resources, better people who can move this faster. In some places, they have limited resources. I think that those leading in this direction are well ahead in the Philippines and India. The others are slowly taking little steps, in different ways, to bring about understanding.
We also must understand that because of Asia’s diversity, especially its linguistic diversity, it is very hard to translate the word synodality into so many different languages. In many languages, they use expressions like walking together.
I think one of the things we are beginning to see at least is the spread of the “conversation in the Spirit”. I think that it has taken root in many parts of the continent. We saw it at the roundtables of the recent “Pilgrimage of Hope” that the Churches of Asia held in Penang last November.
Do you think that this way of walking is close to Asian cultures?
I think there is a bit more openness than in the past. If you went to a conference like that in Penang, everyone would be seated like in a theatre with someone speaking. Now there is the roundtable concept and people are getting used to this idea. The 800 people who participate will take this back to their own parish and diocese.
Sitting around together – discussing and talking – is beginning to take root. But we cannot be satisfied with just this. We need to move to the next level. While we converse, we also need to say what we do with all this conversation. Otherwise, we keep talking in circles and nothing happens. You can talk so much, but the thing that matters is how we can get more people involved in the processes of decision making in the Church.
Is the involvement of lay people growing in Asia?
I think it is both ways, not just lay people. I think that ordained ministers, bishops, priests, deacons, consecrated men and women, lay people are slowly beginning to see that we are the people of God.
How can we work together? How can we make decisions together? We are not questioning apostolic tradition. We are not questioning the ordained ministry. But we think, each one, with a different charism, apostolic tradition, succession, priestly ministry, and lay people; each one bringing their gifts and charisms for the growth of the Church.
It is like a jigsaw puzzle. Each one has a different form, a different size, a different face. But we all seem to fit in together to be able to have the bigger picture. And the bigger picture is the Church. It is for the good of the Church, not for the individual or a community or a particular diocese.
I think today more than ever the Church is challenged in so many different ways. We have different ideologies out there. People are beginning to ask more important questions. We are not in a generation where we can say the Church says this so you must obey.
And what are these questions?
They touch many areas. We are looking at Church administration. Even during the synod, we talked about accountability and transparency. We are not just talking about financial matters; we are talking about pastoral matters. We are all stakeholders and accountable to each other.
It is not just going up the ladder, but about the way we are as a Church, the Church of Vatican II, the Church as the people of God. We can have beautiful structures but if there is no one inside the Church is quite empty. The beauty of Asia is that our Churches are vibrating.
With synodality we have a great opportunity to make that even more real and relevant to the lives of more people, closing the gap that existed perhaps in the Church between lay people and priests, lay people and bishops, and among bishops.
We recognised that we are all together, just with different roles in the life of the Church. Because we are all different, we can communicate and grow together. The Holy Spirit speaks to all of us, to everyone.
When someone receives the sacrament of confirmation and is given the gift of the Holy Spirit, it sometimes seems that that they are told not to speak. It cannot be that way. I cannot give you a gift and then silence you.
The Holy Spirit speaks differently to different people, but at the end of the day, we come to an agreement together through synodality. What is the Spirit saying to all of us together? In a simple way, I have my idea, you have your idea, not what is good for me or for you, but what is good for the Church as the Spirit spoke to us.
This means that sometimes I have to take a step back from my concerns to say that this is more important for the Church. This is what the conversation with the Spirit is all about: to see what the Spirit is saying to the Church and walk together.
How do you see the next steps of the synodal journey in Asia?
We have continental bodies like the FABC that help us on this journey. It is not the police who monitor who does what. In the structure of the Church, each diocese is quite independent. But the FABC's job is to bring partners together and start conversations.
Hopefully, a diocese that is ahead of the curve can inspire another or offer resources to a diocese that is facing difficulties. I am not just talking about financial resources, but also skills, materials, and experience. Can we help each other? So, when bishops meet, they inspire each other.
The role of the continental level is to inspire each other to walk together. Every country is different, every parish is different, with different challenges and resources. But we can inspire each other to move forward together. We hope that the Spirit will speak across the different nations, inspiring other bishops and participants to move forward.
This is important because the synodal journey is aiming for an ecclesial assembly in 2028, an assembly representing the people of God. It will not just be bishops, but bishops, priests, consecrated men and women, and lay people, all together to discern what is good for the Church.
We will identify some broad directions for Asia, but implementation will remain at the level of local conferences, countries, regions, and smaller entities. The FABC is not a superstructure, but a context in which we can inspire one another.
The text was edited for clarity.
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