The basis of the exchange was the study "Synodal Way - Global Church Perspectives" related to the project of the same name, conducted at the Institute for Global Church and Mission by Dr Catalina Cerda-Planas. In two stages, surveys were conducted among scholarship holders of KAAD, IWM and ICALA on the four main topic areas of the German Synodal Path. In a first step, the conference with participants from all continents (Prof Francis-Vincent Anthony SDB from Asia, Prof Agbonkhianmeghe Orobator SJ from Africa, Prof Carolina Bacher from Latin America, Prof Miloš Lichner SJ from Eastern Europe, Prof Ziad Fahed from Middle East) served to contextualise the empirical results. In a next step, a connection of contexts and thematic focuses was sought in order to make a further contribution to understanding. This was done by means of workshops oriented both regionally and towards the questions of "Power and the Division of Powers in the Church" (Dr Josée Ngalula, Congo), "Priestly Existence Today" (Dr Bernardo Brown, Japan), "Women in Ministries and Offices in the Church" (Dr Paula Depalma, Argentina) and "Sexuality and Partnership" (Dr Yuriy Pidlisnyy, Ukraine).
In his opening reflection "Thinking and doing Synodality from an intercultural perspective." Father Dr Dr Markus Luber SJ, acting director of the Institute for Global Church and Mission, pointed out that the intention of holding the online event was not to promote the resolutions of the German synodal project. Rather, he saw in the topics central aspects of a reform concern that was also demonstrably recognisable in other local churches through the empirical survey. This does not exclude the recognition of different weightings and alternative emphases. Therefore, it was also a concern of the study to find out which other topics might require more attention in different regions of the Catholic Church. He affirmed that the exchange was designed as an open discussion. However, insisting on the status quo was out of the question, as it was not compatible with Pope Francis' vision of constitutive synodality. The General Secretary of KAAD, Dr Nora Kalbarczyk, explained in her opening speech the reasons for carrying out the study. She emphasised that the reflection on synodality and the call for reform cannot be separated from the crisis in the Catholic Church provoked by the reality of abuse.
The virtual conference was held under the heading of intercultural dialogue.
Accordingly, Father Luber emphasised that church exchange and interaction with each other required cultural sensitivity when dealing with individual topics. It must be recognised that people inevitably exist in social spaces and regional contexts. In LG 23, the Second Vatican Council therefore also expresses an appreciation of ecclesial plurality. However, there was also a tendency in the demand for recognition of plurality that could be associated with indifference. It loses sight of the aspect of justice, which knows no cultural boundaries. He could not recognise a holy synodal spirit where the call for plurality is made in order to save oneself the trouble of confrontation, said Father Luber. That is why it is important to develop cultural sensitivity, but also to avoid putting people in cultural cages. Christian faith in particular always means the possibility of crossing cultural boundaries in view of the transcendent vocation.
The cultural differences could not be overlooked throughout the conference. For example, not only the concept of power or the concept of synodality, but also the respective contextual embedding of church structures were reflected differently by speakers and participants from North and Latin America, Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe and the Middle East. The conference ended with theological prospects by professors Sandra Arenas and Kristin Colberg under the heading "On the way to a context-sensitive Church in Global Mission" and a concluding discussion. The virtual panel included Professor Sandra Arenas, Professor Kristin Colberg, Professor Bernhard Emunds and Professor Chibueze Udeani.
Overall, a great need for exchange became noticeable. A synodal spirit was perceivable where there was no yielding to the polarising tendencies of the church. It became clear that dialogue is possible when exchange takes place at eye level. In the end, there is the conviction that the conclusion of the synodal project in Germany, despite all the controversies, has sent important impulses into the global church. But its completion also marks the necessary beginning of a new phase of worldwide understanding. The project, the study and the conference were able to make an initial contribution to this. The results and contributions will be published as usual in the IWM series "Weltkirche und Mission".
Link to the project: https://iwm.sankt-georgen.de/projekte/synodaler-weg-weltkirchliche-perspektiven-catalina-cerda-planas/
