Indian Church’s drafting committee convenes to finalize synod's continental synthesis

Six-member drafting committee for the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI) convened at Paalanaa Bhavana in Bangalore, Karnataka on December 28 to 30 2022.

It aimed to determine the Document for the Continental Stage and create a 10-page synthesis based on the 101 papers collected across the country.

Cardinal Filipe Neri Ferro, President of the CCBI, said that “the synthesis is the work of the Holy Spirit, not the individual, and we should be cautious not to add our own opinions to the text.”

Synod for a Synodal Church 2021-2024's Continental Stage began in late October 2022.

This Synod's theme is "learning to walk together and to sit together to break one bread so that everyone can find his or her place. There is no one excluded from taking part in this journey. It is the path we seek to keep following on the Continental Stage as well so that the Gospel of Jesus can be credibly preached to all people.”

Document for the Continental Stage (DCS) returns to all local churches emerged from regional/national synthesis as a result of listening and discernment

The purpose of this is to facilitate communication between local churches and the universal Church.

In February 2023, the Federation of Asian Bishops Conference (FABC) will convene the Continental Stage of the Synod with the help of the 10-page synthesis.

This document will assist the General Secretariat of Synod in creating a Working Document (Instrumentum Laboris) for the October 2023 session. - By Anbu Selvam