Three Filipino clergymen were chosen to participate in a worldwide meeting of parish priests later this month in the Vatican.
The global assembly, described as a time of “listening, prayer, and discernment,” will focus on valuing the experience of parish priests in their respective local Churches and communities.
This meeting is a response to the Synthesis Report of the First Session of the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops last October, which identified the need to “develop ways for a more active involvement of deacons, priests, and bishops in the Synodal process.”
“The meeting will require the active involvement of participants and include round-tables for the sharing of best practices, workshops around pastoral proposals, dialogue with experts, and liturgical celebrations,” described the General Secretariat of the Synod.
According to Msgr. Bernardo Pantin, Secretary-General of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), the three delegates for their country are:
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Msgr. Joel Bruno Barut, Vicar General
Diocese of Laoag
Team Ministry Moderator, St. William the Hermit Cathedral in Laoag City
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Msgr. Marnito Bansig
Episcopal Vicar for Clergy, Diocese of Maasin
Vicar Forane, Vicariate of the Immaculate Conception
Parish Priest, Holy Child Parish in Bato, Leyte
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Msgr. Julius Rodulfa
Vicar General, Episcopal Vicar for Clergy, and Pastoral Director of the Archdiocese of Davao
Parochial Vicar, San Pedro Cathedral Parish in Davao City
As per the instructions of the General Secretariat of the Synod and its collaborating dicasteries, the parish priests to be selected in this meeting must have “significant experience in the perspective of a Synodal Church” and “favor a certain variety of pastoral contexts of origin.”
For the Philippine delegation, Msgr. Pantin said they have also decided to pick one priest from each of the country’s major islands: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.
The Parish Priest for the Synod will take place from April 28 to May 2 at the Fraterna Domus in Sacrofano near Rome, with around 300 attendees expected.
On the last day of the meeting, Pope Francis will personally meet with the participants.
The results of this worldwide meeting will be utilized to draft the Instrumentum Laboris, the working document for the Second Session of the Synodal Assembly this October. - Luke Godoy
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