By Christopher Khoo

Singapore, Oct 22, 2021: For too long, the Church hierarchy has held consultations between bishops and priests, and between bishops and the pope, without involving the laity seriously. However, unless the hierarchy identifies with the pains of the people, it would not be able to come up with solutions that are effective, practical and uplifting.

Archbishop William Goh of Singapore made this point during his homily at an online Mass on October 17 to launch the synodal process in the Southeast Asian archdiocese. This process of Church consultation, launched simultaneously by dioceses around the world, is part of a two-year process leading to the Synod of Bishops in Rome in 2023. The event has the theme: “For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, and Mission.”

“The Church is not just simply constituted of the hierarchy,” stressed Archbishop Goh in his homily. “The Church is the People of God including the bishops and the priests. And so it is very important that this synodal process must begin by including everyone.”

He noted that many Catholics had left the Church “because they feel that the Church lacks compassion, the Church did not listen to them,” he said. “They have been hurt, they are angry.”

The synodal process “is a journey with every baptized Catholic,” he said, “whether they are active, whether they still go to church, whether they agree with Church doctrines … whether they are holding positions in the Church.

“Everybody is asked to be in this journey so that together we can be in communion by listening to one another. And so it is in listening that we learn to participate more closely in the mission of the Church,” he said.

Archbishop Goh recalled that Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI had said that the laity are “co-responsible” for the Church. “If they are co-responsible, they need to have some authority, they need to have a place in the governance of the Church,” said Archbishop Goh.

He urged Catholics to “bring people along with you in this journey, especially those who have left the Church”.

“We need them back so that they can tell us what went wrong or how the Church has abandoned them or how the Church has not understood them,” he said.

He recalled Pope Francis reminding bishops, and by extension priests also, that “we are not there to talk, we are just there to listen” during the synodal journey. “We need to really listen – listen with our heart and not just listen with our ears. Only then can we truly be one with each other.”

However, Archbishop Goh cautioned that the synodal process is not the same as a parliamentary process. “It is a process for everybody to articulate their aspirations, their pain so that those who are in authority, the bishops at the end of the day … [can] make real decisions that are effective for the Church.”

He added that parishes will inform Catholics of the strategy and methodology of the consultation process.

Singapore has 360,000 Catholics out of a population of 5.45 million. Catholics here are served by 32 churches.

The online Mass and homily can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQGwgtYFXLk