In the October 29 interview, Bishop Obanyi said the continental phase of the Synod will help Catholic Church leaders to “understand the Church in a broader sense.”
Newsroom (02/11/2022 8:15 PM, Gaudium Press) — The consultation phase of the ongoing preparations for the Synod on Synodality has provided an opportunity for “new horizons” in the way of listening and understanding the people of God, the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Kakamega in Kenya has said.
Bishop Joseph Obanyi Sagwe said the consultative phases of the synod “was like a thunderbolt to many of our Christians”.
“The period of consultation opened to us a new horizon of understanding and listening; it required us to go beyond what we normally do,” Bishop Obanyi said during the October 29 interview on the sidelines of the Episcopal Golden Jubilee celebration of the pioneer Bishop of Kakamega Diocese, Bishop Philip Sulumeti.
The synodal process has been “a good time and it gave us an indication of what the Church must do to remain relevant,” the Kenyan Catholic Bishop said, adding that the process has brought about the realization that “many times we take it for granted that we listen”.
“How often do we really listen to everyone as a whole including other groups that have emerged,” the Local Ordinary of Kakamega said, and identified prisoners, street children and commercial motorcycle riders as some of the special interest groups who made remarks on how they can be served better.
He added, “I think through the synodal process, we begin to understand.”
“I think this is what the Holy Father has always been saying. The Church must not always be conformists. Let us move out of our comfort zones. Let us go to the peripheries. Let us go to the battlefield where we can be wounded and yet we learn what it is,” the bishop said.
Launched by Pope Francis in October 2021 as a worldwide undertaking during which Catholics were encouraged to submit feedback to their respective Dioceses, the Synod on Synodality had been scheduled to conclude in 2023.
On October 16, the Holy Father said the Synod on Synodality will be extended to 2024.
The process that began with consultations at the level of the Dioceses is currently at the continental stage, which is expected to last through March 2023.
In the October 29 interview, Bishop Obanyi said the continental phase of the Synod will help Catholic Church leaders to “understand the Church in a broader sense.”
“It is going to help us also to understand the Church in Africa more with the issues that are there,” said the 55-year-old Bishop.
He added, “The very fact that we have come up with several views here in Kenya does not mean that something new is not out there in other parts of Africa.”
– Raju Hasmukh with files from ACI Africa
