In the run-up to the 53rd Eucharistic World Congress in the Ecuadorian capital Quito (8-15 September 2024), the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Ecuador (PUCE) hosted an international KAAD alumni seminar from 5-7 September. The event was organised by the local alumni association Asociación Ecuatoriana de ex-Becarios Católicos en Alemania (AEBCA) and was attended by former scholars from Ecuador as well as alumni from Peru and Colombia. The event was not only open to KAAD alumni and PUCE students and teachers, but also to interested participants of the Eucharistic World Congress.
Professor Carlos Miguel Gómez (Universidad del Rosario, Bogotá, Colombia) gave an introductory lecture on the topic of ‘Post-Secular Transformations of Religion in Latin America’, in which he traced secularisation processes and presented their various influences on religiosity (for example in the form of fundamentalism and de-institutionalised religiosity). This was followed by the keynote speech by Dr Frank Ronge, former Head of the Synodal Office and Head of the Faith and Education Department of the German Bishops' Conference, in which he outlined the central elements of the Synodal Path in Germany. In the subsequent discussion, the contributions ranged from well-known points of criticism (such as the danger of splitting the church) to recognising the structure of the synodal meetings, i.e. the recognition of formulated resolutions whose implementation is transparent and comprehensible.
Other speakers from Colombia and Peru expanded the picture (Amazon Synod, church assemblies involving lay organisations and initiatives, etc.) of synodality in practice in Latin America. While the seminar offered the Latin American participants deeper insights into their Latin American neighbours and into the synodal processes in Germany, the German Christians were surprised by the diversity and the synodality practised in Latin America, which can be seen, for example, in the Amazon Synod, in church assemblies and the inclusion of lay organisations and initiatives.
Finally, KAAD alumnus Carlos Ignacio Man Ching SJ led the international group of participants through the historic centre of Quito and offered expert guided tours of various monasteries and churches.
The seminar showed that large parts of the Church are on the path of synodal and missionary conversion called for by Pope Francis.