Asian Catholic Church leaders were reminded “to be more attentive to the voices within the Church” at the “continental assembly on synodality” in Thailand last week.
Cardinal Mario Grech, secretary general of the Vatican’s Secretariat of the Synod, reminded Asian Church leaders that they are “all learners in synodality.”
The prelate told the gathering on February 24 to listen to people in the Church, “especially to those voices which agitate and also to the ones that ‘do not speak.’”
About a hundred Church leaders from across Asia gathered for the continental phase of the synodal process in Thailand from February 24 to 26.
The continental assembly is tasked to “reread the journey made” in the synodal process that started in 2021 and “to continue the listening and discernment” according to the “socio-cultural specificities” of the respective regions.
In 2021, Pope Francis launched the “Synod on Synodality” as a worldwide undertaking during which Catholics were encouraged to submit feedback to their local dioceses.
In his address to the Asian assembly, Cardinal Grech stressed that “a synodal Church is a Church of listening,” adding that the success of the process depends on the active participation of the people.
