Synod-SECAM: Delegates from Africa Gather in Addis Ababa for Synod on Synodality
Delegates attending the Continental Synod meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Credit: AMECEA Online
Mwenya Mukuka
Bishops and other delegates have gathered in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa for the continental celebration of the Synod on Synodality.
Secretary General of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) Rafael Simbine Junior has described the plenary assembly as a moment of feast of the Church in Africa and its Islands.
“We have reached the final moment of this continental stage and have gathered here to share and bring together the experience of the African process of this ongoing synod,” Fr. Simbine said.
Fr. Simbine appealed to the delegates to, without preconceptions and predefined agendas, allow the Holy Spirit to enlighten and guide them on what it [the Holy Spirit] is saying to the Church in Africa and the whole world. He further announced that the first moment of the assembly will be to learn the method that will guide the work, the method of spiritual conversation, the system that will help them to listen to each other and to what the Holy Spirit is saying.
He also said that the second moment of the assembly will be to help in entering and understanding the document of the Continental Phase, which is one of the main elements of study and reflection in this plenary.
Fr. Simbine further in his remarks added that the third moment of the assembly which runs from 1st to 6th March, 2023 will be to gather the fruits of the action of the Holy Spirit during prayer and reflection on the Document of the Continental Phase and to draft what he suggested to be called the African Synod Document.
He invited the delegates to share with others what they have learned during the two years of the synodal process, identify the strong insights, questions and tensions from their understanding of DCS that could be addressed in order to grow as a synodal missionary Church.
in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
for Continental Synod meeting.
Credit: AMECEA Online
Fr. Simbine also said that the delegates are invited to point out the priorities of the Church in Africa and in the world and help to prepare the agenda of the Synodal Assembly in October 2023.
“Listening to the Holy Spirit, in our prayer and reflection, individually or as a group, will help us to build consensus, avoiding impositions and political tendencies,” he said.
The assembly is expected to conclude with the celebration of the Holy Mass, in thanksgiving.
“We will want to thank God for the grace of this Continental Plenary Assembly, to thank God for our benefactors, all those who through the General Secretariat of Synod of Bishops, are helping us to hold this Event. To thank God for the grace of this pastoral initiative of Pope Francis to invite all our Church to rebuild herself as a synodal Church: Church of communion, Participation and Mission,” Fr. Simbine said.
The Synodal Assembly is the culmination of a journey which started in October 2022 when our synodal process reached the continental stage.
The journey has seen the establishment of the continental synod team, which after reflecting on the work done in the regions, prayed, reflected and discerned on the Document for the continental Stage.
Ends
