Top: Mass of the Holy Spirit to launch the Synodal Process in KK Archdiocese Oct 17. Below: One of the participants asking question during the Question and Answers session before the Mass
By Linda Edward
Oct 20 2021
KOTA KINABALU – The Synodal Process has begun in the local Church where it will “put out into the deep”, involving her people in the decision-making process in the Church.
Archbishop John Wong launched the Synodal Process for the Archdiocese of Kota Kinabalu during a special evening Mass of the Holy Spirit at the Sacred Heart Cathedral Oct 17.
The Process is answering the call by Pope Francis for the local Church to engage and to listen to her people at the grassroots level, and to take it as a source of key decision-making by the Bishops in the Church.
Archbishop Wong said in this Process, the local Church will involve “wider participation of the people of God at all levels especially the laypeople, so that they may listen, share and reflect on ways to renew faith and make it more accessible.”
The prelate also said that the Process will involve consultation by the parishes with her people through answering a series of questions that focus on i) companions on the journey, ii) sharing responsibility for our common mission, iii) dialogue in Church and society and iv) forming ourselves in synodality.
The Synodal Process will also involve consultations with the nine Commissions and Religious Congregations, as well as the Lay Movements in the Archdiocese.
The summary of the consultations will be submitted and utilized in the Synod of Bishops which will be held in Rome in Oct 2023 with the theme “For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation and Mission”.
To the leaders who will spearhead this process, the Archbishop emphasized that they are to really listen to the people and hope that this same process will continue even after the consultations.
He encouraged them to go out and engage the people in groups, person-to-person and as wide as possible.
During the Sunday launch, the Archbishop gave a short speech on the Synodal Process and its timeline towards the Synod of Bishops in Rome, followed by questions and answers by the parishes’ representatives, which ended with the Mass of the Holy Spirit.
Present at the launch were all priests, Council of Religious, Commissions and representatives of all parishes under the Kota Kinabalu Archdiocese.
Information on the Synodal Process will be shared amongst them through the WhatsApp Application.
The organizing committee for the Process in the Archdiocese, which includes Archbishop John Wong, comprises 11 people representing different target groups: (Priests) Fr Paul Lo and Fr Wilfred Atin, (Women) Serena Wong and Vera Chin, (Men) Anthony Lim and Dominic Lim, (Seminarians) Sem Terans Thadeus and Sem Sylvester Wong, and (Religious) Bro Thomas Paul, SG and Sr Calista Saliun, FSIC.
