“Were not our hearts burning within us while He talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” (Luke 24: 32)

In response to the invitation of Pope Francis, the Archdiocese of Davao, under the guidance of its shepherd, Archbishop Romulo G. Valles, DD together with his Auxiliary, Bishop George B. Rimando, DD, and in consultation with the clergy, embarked on the path of synodality. The synodal process commenced and successfully took place in 42 parishes comprising the seven vicariates of the local Church, among the clergy and lay faithful, the consecrated men and women, the seminarians, the parish workers and other Church organizations.

The consultation process was undertaken through the guidance of the Archdiocesan Pre-Synodal Team led by two Contact Persons, Msgr. Julius C. Rodulfa and Bro. Eduardo B. Pacana. Based on the Guide Questions stipulated in the Vademecum and the Preparatory Document provided by the Vatican Office, the team formulated these questions for the consultation proper, namely: (1) What or who is the Church? Do you feel that you are part of it? (2) What are your experiences and participation in the life of the Church? and (3) What do you want to express to the whole Church concerning its Mission?

From October 2021 to March 2022, a total of 455 organized consultation sessions were conducted, 433 of which were done in a face-to-face mode and 22 online. A total of 14,688 participants attended the consultations, with a noteworthy participation of indigenous peoples, non-Catholics and non-Christians. Participants also included those who considered themselves distant from the Church, the marginalized, those suffering from economic poverty and could not participate in the life of the Church, persons with different sexual orientation, often labelled as members of the LGBTQA+, drug recovering persons, prohibited drug reformists, persons formerly deprived of liberty, and other people of goodwill, who, without any fault of their own, found themselves at the fringes in the Church and society.

Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the local Church extended its arms to as many people as possible. “We reached out to the peripheries. We visited homes, offices and other workplaces. Individually, in small or big groups, we listened to street sweepers, by-standers, drivers, market vendors, farmers, fisherfolk, students, educators, persons with disabilities, politicians, government workers, and other professionals. We even established rapport with non-Christian groups and non-Catholic denominations,” according to the Archdiocesan Team.

Reflecting on the timing of the consultations being held during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Archdiocesan Team notes that “in retrospect, we discover that the pandemic has also allowed the faithful to experience the presence of God and of each other in the family, in the Basic Ecclesial Communities (BECs/GKKs), and in the parishes. Thus, the consultation process took place at an opportune time and place, and in the manner allowed within government restrictions and health protocols.”

Towards February and March 2022, the seven vicariates, headed by their respective Vicar Foranes, separately met for a prayerful discernment on the results of the parish-level consultations. With the discernment done in various sessions, Vicariate representatives comprising of priests and laity meditated on and engaged in a sharing of experiences and dialogue on the following Guide Questions: In Announcing the Gospel, a Synodal Church “Journeys Together”: Based on your experience of the parish listening sessions, where do you think is the Holy Spirit leading us in making the parish/vicariate/Archdiocese a truly synodal local church? What fruits have we gathered that we would like to convey to the synod?

The discernment went on to the archdiocesan level. On March 15, 2021, at the Our Mother of Perpetual Parish Gym, the seven vicariates, through their representatives, presented the collective results of their respective vicariate discernment. These results, along with the discernment of other voices, are the bases of the Archdiocesan Pre-Synodal Consultation Synthesis that is going to be presented in a culminating activity on 21 May 2022.

The synodal experience in the Archdiocese of Davao truly resembles that of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. Confusion and fears gave way to “hearts burning” as the process unfolded in different levels: from the Archdiocesan Pre-Synodal Team to the Parishes (with their own Consultation Teams), the respective Vicariates, the entire archdiocese and back to the Final Drafting by the Archdiocesan Team.

Indeed, the Risen Lord journeyed with us, spoke to us in various ways and “opened the Scriptures to us”.