Asian Synodal Teams Urged to Offer Practical Help, Not New Burdens, To Dioceses

National synodal teams across Asia should help dioceses address their existing pastoral challenges through synodal methods rather than become another source of programs, targets and workload, participants heard on September 2 during a discussion on strengthening synodal engagement.

The discussion was held at the Joseph Nattaya Conference Hall at Baan Phu Waan, Bangkok, on the second day of a three-day meeting of national synodal teams. It was led by Fr. Vimal Tirimanna of Sri Lanka, a member of the Commission for Synodality.

Participants reflected on the question: “What is one concrete thing our national synodal team can do within the next six months to strengthen synodal engagement with our bishops, our clergy and our pastoral councils?”

The discussion emphasized that synodality needs to move from meetings and proposals into the ordinary life of dioceses and parishes, with national teams helping local Churches find practical ways to work more collaboratively.

One major concern raised was the need to introduce synodal formation earlier in priestly training.

A participant noted that many priests are increasingly trained to be task-oriented, focused on completing responsibilities rather than paying attention to the processes through which decisions are made and communities participate.

He suggested that seminaries should incorporate synodal formation into priestly preparation so that future priests learn from the beginning to understand the Church as a community in which all the baptized have a role.

Fr. Tirimanna recalled that the Second Vatican Council had already presented the Church as the People of God, but said this vision has not always been sufficiently integrated into seminary formation.

Some seminaries have begun incorporating the spirit of synodality into formation, he noted, but said the approach needs to become more widespread.

At the same time, participants stressed that formation cannot end at ordination.

The large number of priests already serving in dioceses and religious congregations also need ongoing formation in synodality, since clerical culture within dioceses can shape how parishes listen, discern and make decisions.

Another participant highlighted the role of national synodal teams in accompanying major ecclesial decisions.

He cited an upcoming process for selecting a new archbishop in his country, suggesting that a national synodal team could help facilitate assemblies involving clergy, religious and lay representatives and encourage prayerful discernment before the process.

The discussion also explored ways of bringing synodality into existing parish programs rather than creating entirely new structures.

One suggestion was to use simple tools for spiritual conversation in parish gatherings, including during Advent and Lent, instead of relying exclusively on rigid program formats.

Synodality, one participant observed, can become an “upgraded way of working together” rather than another activity added to an already crowded pastoral calendar.

A key proposal emerging from the discussion was that national synodal teams should reconsider how they present their role to dioceses.

Rather than appearing as teams that bring “extra burdens and extra goals,” they should help dioceses achieve the pastoral goals they already have.

National teams were encouraged to approach individual dioceses by asking what each Church is trying to accomplish, where it is encountering difficulties and what pastoral goals it most wants to achieve.

The synodal team can then offer practical assistance in finding ways to address those challenges through listening, participation, discernment and shared responsibility.

In this approach, national synodal teams function less as program managers and more as synodality facilitators or consultants, helping dioceses discover how synodal practices can make their existing pastoral work more effective.

“How can synodality help you achieve what you have not been able to achieve in your diocese or in your parish?” became a key question emerging from the discussion.

Participants were encouraged not to assume that every diocese needs the same intervention. Synodal engagement, they said, should begin with the concrete needs and priorities of each local Church.

The discussion returned repeatedly to the need for practical, achievable action within the next six months rather than ambitious plans that may remain on paper.

For national synodal teams, this means identifying one realistic intervention that can be sustained and that responds to an actual pastoral need.

The exchange reflected a broader concern running through the Asian synodal meeting: synodality will take root not simply by creating more structures, but by changing the way the Church listens, discerns and works together.

The challenge for national teams, therefore, is to help bishops, clergy and pastoral councils discover that synodality is not an additional program competing for their time, but a way of strengthening the pastoral mission they are already undertaking.