By CISA
NAIROBI, OCTOBER 19, 2021 (CISA) – Catholic Dioceses across Kenya have inaugurated the Universal Church consultative process for the Synod on Synodality by appointing diocesan contact persons and synodal teams on Sunday, October 17.
“The upcoming synod is unlike any previous one. It starts with and involves all the faithful at local Churches across the world. The Holy Father invites the Churches to dedicate substantial resources to listen to the joys and sorrows of all especially people who frequently remain in the church periphery.., “said Bishop WillyBard Lagho of the Catholic Diocese of Malindi, in a statement, decreeing the start of diocese’s Synod process.
Pope Francis denotes that the two-year spiritual process is “to listen to God, so that with him we may hear the cry of his people; to listen to his people until we are in harmony with the will to which God calls us.”
“I am therefore calling upon all pastoral leaders especially the parish priests to renew and redesign holistic parish pastoral programs only after the discerning divergent, legitimate and authentic voice of the people they serve including those considered outsiders, “said Bishop Lagho.
In a similar event for the convocation of the Diocesan Synod, the Archbishop of the Catholic Diocese of Kisumu, Most Rev Philip Anyolo, exhorted all members of the clergy, religious men and women, and lay faithful, to give their full support to this significant event of the Archdiocese and Universal Church.
“Your prayers, collective insights and active participation will contribute towards making it a success,” said the Archbishop, in a decree read by Fr Vincent Odundo, the Chancellor of the Archdiocese, on October 17.
The First Phase of the Synodal process which will run from October 2021 to April 2022,
in Dioceses and Bishops’ Conferences leading up to the Assembly of Bishops in Synod in October 2023, invites religious communities, lay movements, associations of the faithful, and other ecclesial groups to participate in the context of the Local Churches.
The theme of the Synod is “For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, and Mission.”
