Cardinal Tagle: Synodal Conversion Begins by Seeing Others Through the Eyes of Christ

Synodal renewal begins not with changing Church structures or pastoral programs but with a change in the way Church leaders see other people, Cardinal Luis Antonio G. Tagle told participants during a day-long retreat on July 22, held as part of the 12th Plenary Assembly of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences (FABC).

In his second conference, titled "You Will See Greater Things… A Call to Synodal Conversion of Pastoral Leaders," Cardinal Tagle said the Church's synodal journey cannot bear fruit if pastoral leaders continue to view others through prejudice, stereotypes, or merely human judgments.

"True synodal conversion begins with learning to see others as Jesus sees them," he said.

Drawing on the Gospel account of Nathanael's encounter with Jesus, Cardinal Tagle reflected on Nathanael's skeptical question after hearing that the Messiah came from Nazareth: "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" He said the passage illustrates how cultural assumptions and personal experience often shape people's perceptions of others.

"Nathanael had his own standards about who was superior and who was inferior. He believed his hometown was better than Nazareth. But that way of seeing was overturned when Jesus saw something far greater in him," the cardinal said.

Rather than rebuking Nathanael's prejudice, Jesus first recognized the goodness within him, saying, "Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit." For Cardinal Tagle, this demonstrates that Christ sees a person's deepest identity even when others see only limitations.

"Jesus sees greatness where we often see only ordinary things—or even problems," he said. "He helps us discover greatness that we ourselves had not recognized."

Cardinal Tagle said pastoral leaders are called to develop the "eyes of Jesus" by recognizing the seeds of goodness and God's calling in every person. Without such a transformation, he warned, Church leadership can become superficial and exclusive.

The cardinal also shared a personal reflection, recalling that he sometimes looks in the mirror and thinks, "If I were Jesus, I would not have chosen this person to become a cardinal."

He said he experienced similar doubts before priestly ordination but learned to trust God's judgment rather than his own.

"You are the one who calls. You see something that perhaps I do not see. Therefore, I trust the way You see," he recalled praying.

Cardinal Tagle noted that many people never reach their full potential because they are judged by their background, culture, or social status rather than being given opportunities to grow.

"Perhaps there are people who have never fully flourished, even in the Church, because we have never seen anything good or anything great in them," he said.

He concluded by inviting participants to examine whether cultural assumptions, habits, or prejudices influence their pastoral leadership. Synodal conversion, he said, begins with allowing the Gospel to purify the heart so that Church leaders learn to see others through the eyes of Christ.