VATICAN SYNOD: 16th Synodal Assembly, Reminder to Christians to Rethink “Theory of Change”
Synod delegates with Pope Francis
Sr. Jecinter Antoinette Okoth, FSSA
A delegate for the ongoing synodal assembly has shared that the monthlong gathering in Rome on Synod on Synodality is a call and reminder for all the baptized to rethink implementing the theory of change and “participate more in the life of the Church.”
Sharing in a video clip about the 16th General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, Archbishop Anthony Muheria, a delegate from Kenya and the Local Ordinary of Kenya’s Catholic Archdiocese of Nyeri, pointed out that “This synod time calls for a Change, conversion and a renewed zeal to do what Christ has sent us to do that is Communion, Participation and Mission.”
“We are called to feel more like a community, we are called to feel more like brother and sister, especially with the marginalized and those who might have been forgotten. We are called to participate more in the life of the Church, in receiving the sacraments especially, by those who have been far from the sacraments and in helping our brothers and sisters to fill part of the Church,” The Prelate said in the clip shared Tuesday, October 24.
He continued, “We are called to participate in decision-making so that we can bring the skills and the gifts God has given us for the growth of the Church. This mission of the entire Church sends us first of all to our brothers and sisters so that we can give good witness to Christ who indeed rejects all forms of evil.”
Addressing Christians in the video clip, Archbishop Muheria who is the Chairman of the Commission for Social Communications at the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB), continued with his sharing saying, “Dear Christians… we all need conversion, we all need to retake a pulse of our Christian faith and we all need to find out if we are all responding to our baptismal calling.”
In his reflection, the Archbishop warned Kenyans that one of the evils the country must leave behind is “Corruption.”
“We say that we are Christians but we don’t act as Christians. We are not supporting Christ’s life in the Church, or in society because sometimes we are fearful,” Archbishop Muheria pointed out and expounded further, “We seem to fear the attacks and threats of the society around us, some of the new ideologies, instead of confronting them by a change in society, sometimes we are just fearing and we run away from the challenges.”
He therefore called on Kenyans to profess a firm faith “not only with word of mouth but with our life and not only with our life but also with our witness.”
“May this be a true renewal as we walk together towards Christ towards that communion with God the Father Son and the Holy Spirit,” the Archbishop said and concluded, “Let us take this moment of synod as a moment of renewal, a moment of communion with the Holy Father, with the bishops, and with all together giving a true witness of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
