Synodality a ‘paradigm shift’ — CBCP official

Synodality a ‘paradigm shift’ — CBCP official

CBCP vice president Bishop Mylo Hubert Vergara (left) during the Prayer for Peace called by Pope Francis inside St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican on October 27, 2023. ROY LAGARDE

By Felipe F. Salvosa II

October 28, 2023

ROME— The “Synod on Synodality” challenges the Church leadership and the laity to get out of their comfort zones and shun elitist tendencies, an official of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said.

Bishop Mylo Hubert Vergara of Pasig, CBCP vice president, echoed the call reach out to the poor and excluded sectors made by the “Letter to the People of God,” released by synod delegates near the conclusion of the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops.

“It has to start with us, for example, we just want to maintain the status quo, which has been our comfort zone. That’s the easy thing to do. So it requires really a conversion. This synod is really a paradigm shift,” Vergara told CBCP News.

Vergara is one of the three representatives of the CBCP to the month-long assembly, joining the president, Bishop Pablo Virgilio David of Kalookan, and Cardinal Jose Advincula, archbishop of Manila.

The synod, convoked by Pope Francis in 2021 to chart a pathway to make the Church more discerning and participative, conducted consultations at various levels and will culminate in another general assembly next year.

The “movement” since the beginning of the synod has been from “I” to “we,” Vergara said, citing Pope Francis.

One way to keep the “momentum of synodality” is to tap digital platforms for evangelization and “accompaniment,” he said, pointing to requests for prayers and questions about the faith sent by people through social media.

“It is really a challenge for everyone whether in the family or in the community, for a bishop, for a pastor, or parish priest, every religious or even those in lay ministry,” he said.

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