FABC Office for Clergy Promotes Synodal and Mission-Oriented Priestly Formation in Asia

As bishops from across Asia prepare to gather in Jakarta, Indonesia, for the 12th Plenary Assembly of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC), the FABC Office for Clergy (FABC-OC) is emphasizing the importance of forming priests who are spiritually renewed, mission-oriented, and able to serve as servant-leaders in a synodal Church.

Established in 2004, the FABC Office for Clergy was created to support bishops, formators, and priests in strengthening the ministerial and spiritual life of the presbyterium across Asia’s diverse social, cultural, religious, and pastoral contexts.The office’s central vision is “to promote a deeply renewed, spiritually vibrant, and mission-driven clergy in Asia.” It seeks to form priests who can walk alongside their bishops and collaboratively build a participatory Church rooted in the realities of Asian communities.

Through seminars, consultations, and conferences, the office focuses on initial and ongoing priestly formation, seminary renewal, and pastoral guidance for bishops in their ministry of accompanying priests as fathers, brothers, and friends.

Since its establishment, the FABC Office for Clergy has organized programs addressing major challenges facing priestly ministry and formation across Asia.

The first major program of the office was held from May 14 to 19, 2006, at the Salesian Retreat House in Hua Hin, Thailand. The consultation brought together 73 major seminary rectors and formators from 14 Asian countries and to reflect on “Human Formation of Priests — Challenges in the Asian Context.”

In August 2007, the office organized a seminar for bishops on “Caring for Priests — Especially for Those with Difficulties,” encouraging bishops to develop structures to support priests experiencing personal or pastoral challenges.

In 2008, two major seminars were organized at Assumption University in Bangkok, Thailand. The first, “Caring for Priests — A Need of the Hour,” held from September 8 to 14, focused on priestly identity in the Asian context, obstacles faced by priests, and ways bishops can provide support. The second, “The Catholic Priesthood — A Challenge of the Modern World,” held from November 17 to 23, invited priests to rediscover their identity, deepen their awareness of God’s presence in ministry, and renew the joy of priesthood.

The office continued addressing emerging challenges in the Church through a 2011 seminar on “The Impact of Pedophilia Crisis on the Church in Asia” for bishops and formators, followed in 2012 by a seminar on “The Contemporary Challenges of Living Priestly Celibacy in the Context of Present Day Crisis in the Church in Asia.”

In 2013, the office organized a seminar on “Formation of Positive, Integral, Effective and Humanly Well-Developed Priests for the Continent of Asia,” focusing on the holistic formation of priests. The following year, in 2014, bishops, priests, and formators gathered in Pattaya, Thailand, for a seminar on “Proclaiming the Joy of the Gospel as Renewed Evangelizers in Asia,” reflecting on the missionary dimension of priestly ministry.

The office increasingly focused on synodal formation in recent years. In 2023 and 2024, virtual meetings of FABC-OC members explored “Synodal Formation” from the perspective of clergy formation and discussed approaches being developed in different Asian countries. In April–May 2025, FABC organized a workshop for major seminary rectors of Asia to follow up on the FABC 50 Document and the Synod on Synodality, with the aim of preparing resources and formation materials for seminaries.

According to the FABC Office for Clergy, synodal formation has become an essential priority for the Church today. It calls priests to move beyond a purely top-down model of leadership toward co-responsibility, collaboration, listening, and accompaniment.

The office emphasizes that synodality is not simply a structure or program but a way of being Church. It requires priests and bishops to embrace a spirituality centered on Christ’s servant leadership, especially amid the challenges of the digital age and artificial intelligence.

The FABC Office for Clergy continues to collaborate with other FABC offices, particularly the Offices of Consecrated Life, Laity and Family, and Education and Faith Formation, recognizing that the synodal journey requires formation throughout the entire Church.

Ahead of the 12th FABC Plenary Assembly, the office hopes that the gathering in Jakarta will further strengthen reflection on the synodal way of being Church in Asia, especially regarding the role, identity, and formation of clergy.

The FABC Office for Clergy is currently chaired by Archbishop Udumala Bala, who expressed gratitude to the FABC Central Office, Cardinal Filipe Neri Ferrao, former chairmen, executive secretaries, bishop members, and collaborators who have supported the office’s mission since its establishment.