Synodality Is a Way of Life, Not Another Church Program, says FABC Official

Synodality will take root in Asia only when it is embraced not as another pastoral initiative but as a way of life that transforms how the Church lives, listens, and carries out its mission.

That was the central message of Fr. Clarence Devadass, Associate Secretary of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences (FABC) and Executive Secretary of the FABC Office of Synodality, during the second press conference of the XII FABC Plenary Assembly on July 24 at the Leatris Media Room of Hotel Mulia, Jakarta.

Fr. Devadass set the tone for the proceedings with his introductory remarks before Cardinal Mario Grech, Cardinal Pablo Virgilio S. David, and Cardinal Ignatius Suharyo addressed journalists. He reminded participants that the Synod on Synodality is entering its implementation phase, a stage that calls every local Church to make synodality part of its ordinary life rather than treating it as a temporary project.

Reflecting on the challenges facing the Church in Asia, Fr. Devadass said one of the greatest obstacles is the widespread assumption that synodality is simply another program to be added to an already busy pastoral calendar.

"Many people think synodality is one more activity or one more program," he said. "But synodality is not about adding more things. It is about doing what we already do differently."

He acknowledged that many priests and pastoral workers already feel overwhelmed by existing responsibilities.

"I've heard priests say, 'You're giving us one more thing to do,'" he said.

His response, however, has remained consistent: synodality is not an additional burden but a different way of carrying out the Church's mission through listening, discernment, participation, and shared responsibility.

Fr. Devadass also highlighted the particular challenges of implementing synodality across Asia, the world's largest and most culturally diverse continent.

Even translating the word "synodality" into local languages can be difficult, he noted.

"There is a presumption that everyone understands what synodality means," he said. "But when you go to remote parts of Asia where English is not spoken, how do you translate that concept?"

Because of Asia's cultural, linguistic, and social diversity, he said there can be no single model for implementation.

"There isn't one solution that will solve all the problems of the Churches in Asia," he explained. "Each local Church must discern what synodality looks like within its own context."

For Fr. Devadass, the deeper issue is not language but spirituality.

He said synodality must be accompanied by what he described as a genuine spiritual conversion. Using the Malay and Indonesian word kerohanian (spirituality), he explained that synodality should become the Church's way of being rather than simply a process or methodology.

"If synodality remains only a process, people will eventually ask, 'What's next?'" he said. "But if it becomes a spirituality, it shapes how we live every day."

That spirituality, he added, should animate every aspect of ecclesial life—from parish pastoral councils and finance councils to diocesan assemblies, parish ministries, and everyday decision-making.

Throughout the FABC Assembly, delegates have repeatedly emphasized that synodal conversion is not limited to organizational change. Fr. Devadass echoed that conviction, saying the Church must move beyond maintaining existing structures toward becoming more missionary.

"We have to move from a maintenance Church to a missionary Church that goes out," he said.

Such renewal, he stressed, does not abandon the Church's rich traditions but allows them to inspire new ways of proclaiming the Gospel in today's world.

His remarks reflected one of the recurring themes of the FABC Plenary Assembly: synodality is ultimately about conversion. It calls the Church to become more attentive to the Holy Spirit through listening, dialogue, and communal discernment while remaining faithful to its mission.

As the Synod enters its implementation phase across the world, Fr. Devadass's message offered a practical reminder that the future of synodality in Asia will not depend primarily on new structures or additional programs. Its success will be measured by whether local Churches embrace synodality as the ordinary way of living the Gospel and journeying together in mission.