Local Churches, Not Rome, Are the Center of Synodal Implementation, Cardinal Grech Tells FABC

The implementation of synodality will succeed not through directives from Rome but through the life and mission of local Churches. That was the central message of Cardinal Mario Grech, Secretary General of the Synod of Bishops, as he urged Asian bishops to take ownership of the Church's synodal journey.

Addressing delegates at the 12th Plenary Assembly of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences (FABC) in the Vanda Room of Hotel Mulia on July 24, Cardinal Grech delivered a presentation titled "Pathways for the Implementation of the Synod." He stressed that the next phase of the global synodal process places local Churches—not the Vatican—at the center of renewal.

"The subject of this implementation phase is the local Church—your Churches," Cardinal Grech said.

He emphasized that synodality should not be viewed as a program directed from Rome but as a way of life that takes root in every diocese, where the Gospel is proclaimed, the Eucharist is celebrated, and the People of God journey together.

"The local Church is not merely an administrative subdivision of the universal Church," he said, recalling the vision of the Second Vatican Council.

To illustrate the point, Cardinal Grech shared one of the first letters he received after Pope Francis appointed him Secretary General of the Synod of Bishops. A bishop wrote to him: "We are not a fiefdom of the Vatican. We are a local Church. We are the Church."

Grech said the letter captured a fundamental truth about Catholic ecclesiology. Every local Church is the Church fully present in a particular place, carrying out Christ's mission within its own cultural and pastoral context.

Throughout his presentation, Cardinal Grech repeatedly reminded participants that the implementation phase leading to the 2028 Ecclesial Assembly depends on the commitment of dioceses across the world.

Addressing the bishops gathered in Jakarta, he noted that they were participating in the FABC Assembly not as individuals but as pastors representing the lived faith and experience of their local Churches.

"If a local Church fails to contribute, it deprives the universal Church of something vital," he said.

Every diocese, he explained, brings unique gifts, pastoral experiences, and cultural insights that strengthen the communion of the entire Church.

"The vitality of the universal Church subsists in and through the vitality of your Churches," he said.

Drawing on the teaching of the Second Vatican Council, Cardinal Grech described the Catholic Church as a communion of Churches, where every local Church is fully Church while remaining in communion with all others.

He explained that the implementation phase is intended to encourage an exchange of gifts among dioceses, bishops' conferences, and continental assemblies rather than simply producing new documents.

"The primary aim is not to produce new documents," he said. "It is to encourage a circulation of gifts that strengthens communion and supports our mission."

Concluding his address, Cardinal Grech encouraged the bishops to return home convinced that the future of synodality will be shaped in their own dioceses. The renewal envisioned by the Synod, he said, will grow in parishes and local communities where bishops, priests, religious, and lay faithful pray, listen, discern, and walk together in mission.