By Matters India Reporter

Bengaluru, July 28, 2022: The Latin Church in India on July 28 concluded a three-day national synod convened to finalize its synthesis for the 2021-2023 Synod.

The July 26-28 synodal consultation in Bengaluru ended with a solemn Mass presided over by Cardinal Oswald Gracias, the archbishop of Bombay and a member of Pope Francis’ advisory group. Other archbishops concelebrated.

The same day, the house approved the final draft reflecting the voice of the Church in India, says a press release issued July 28 by Father Stephen Alathara, deputy secretary general of the Conference of Catholic Bishops in India.

Details of the draft are not known yet.

“It’s the dream of the Holy Father Pope Francis to promote a Synodal Church in every aspect in order to make her more relevant to our times,” Father Alathara says.

The national synod began July 26 with a solemn Mass at Paalanaa Bhavana, the pastoral center of the Archdiocese of Bangalore, presided over by Cardinal-Designate Filipe Neri Ferrão, Archbishop of Goa and Daman and Patriarch of East Indies.

In his homily, Archbishop Ferrão emphasized how great leaders of the present times — Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King Junior — had dreams of a better tomorrow. He then urged the gathering to foster communion within the Church and outside and help it continue its mission in the modern world.

The national synthesis will serve as a road map for the Church in India in the next decade, the press release claimed. It says the national synod offers the Latin Church in India an occasion to discern new ecclesial ways and adopt creative pastoral approaches to help it become a genuinely authentic Synodal Church.

The national synthesis will help promote greater ecclesial Communion, participation and mission, the three aspects of the 2021-2023 Synod.

On the second day, more than 60 delegates representing dioceses across the country presented a one-page report with their opinions, suggestions in drafting the final report. Every presentation was discussed and the suggestions offered by the house were taken into consideration, the press release said.

A team of 15 bishops, 12 priests, 10 religious and 27 lay leaders then validated and finalized the synthesis prepared by the National Synod Desk in collaboration with the conference’s Commission for Theology and Doctrine. The final synthesis would be sent to the General Secretariat of the Synod in Rome, the press release said.