Archdiocese of Davao to Hold Pre-synodal Face-to-Face Meeting

March 14 marks the first day of the Archdiocesan Pre-synodal Meeting which will be done simultaneously in the vicariate level where diverse individuals from the clergy to the lay will convene separately per vicariate to finalize the pre-synod synthesis they have been preparing since October 2021. The goal that day is to be able to finalize the draft synthesis they came up with during their parish consultations. These groups are free to decide whether to meet physically and/or virtually.

On day 2 of this meeting which will be held at Our Mother of Perpetual Help Gym, all 7 vicariates with “other voices” or from (or none parochial groups) shall be represented by people who have undergone the consultation prior to this event. It is timely that the city mayor has already released her Executive Order No. 11, Lifting All Restrictions in Davao City, therefore allowing this meeting to be face to face. All finalized syntheses from the previous day shall be presented and discussed per vicariate among attendees. It is expected to create a 10-page synthesis to be submitted to the CBCP office in Manila on June 3.

During the Presbyterium Meeting last March 7, Most Rev. Romulo G. Valles, D.D., emphasized the culture and this process that the Catholic church has been doing and that he is personally very happy that in the archdiocese of Davao, we have been conducting synods for the past decades in our own way.

As a refresher, the word synod is from the Greek root “syn”, meaning together and “hodos” which means traveling or journeying. Archbishop Valles strongly voiced out that though the word might not be so familiar, this process is never alien to us. The ancient name carries with it a nuance that is very important which we cannot get in the different words such as gathering, assembly or even meeting.

In the presbyterium meeting on March 7, Tuesday, the vicars forane and some priests have shared their memorable experiences during their parochial consultations and partially the output or reports they have prepared for this upcoming finalization. Rev. Fr. Rusell Bantiles, Parish Priest of St. John Paul II in Los Amigos shared their vicariates introspection that having synodality as the theme for this synod is never a coincidence and that he compared this to the story of the road to Emaus which has a sad and negative tone in it but resulted to the spirit guiding the two men to the right path which means that today, the same spirit is also directing this post pandemic church to where it must go.

Both clergy and lay people have been working hand in hand in their communal discernment of the most crucial concerns which the church needs to address. This gathering of minds and hearts has stirred excitement especially to those members who do not feel that they are well represented in this kind of assembly. They are happy to be able to speak up and realize that they are actually listened to.

However the real challenge is the work afterwards, how would this post pandemic church be able to help and address the issues and concerns which are brought up during this synod while continuing the culture itself. (Christine Camus)