Press conference to launch the Continental Synodal Assembly of the Catholic Churches to be held in Lebanon on February 13-18, 2023

Press Release

Bethania , Harissa February 06, 2023

On the occasion of the Continental Synodal Assembly of Catholic Churches in the Middle East that will be held in Lebanon, Bethania – Harissa between 13 and 18 of February 2023, the organizing committee of the event held a press conference in Bethania – Harissa, which included His Eminence Bishop Isaac Jules Boutros, Metropolitan of the Patriarchal Department of the Syriac Catholics, Reverend Father Khalil Alwan, Secretary General of the Council of Catholic Patriarchs of the East and General Coordinator of the Synodal Assembly, Professor Mirna Abboud Mouzawak, Coordinator of the Women’s Pastoral Office in Bkerki. Participants were introduced by Father Abdo Bou Kassem, Director of the Catholic Information Center.

The conference began with an invitation from Bishop Boutros to pray for the victims of the devastating earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria, asking for healing for the wounded and those affected by this natural and human catastrophe.

After that, Father Bou Kassem welcomed the participants in the conference, which launches the work of the continental synodal phase. He also thanked the media that accompanied this episode, which he considered one of the other synodal episodes that move the Church towards the ultimate goal, which is the family encounter with Jesus the Redeemer.

Boutros: The synodal journey is a state of general spiritual mobilization

Then, His Eminence, Bishop Jules Boutros, explained the course of the synodal journey called for by His Holiness Pope Francis of the Catholic Church in the world, under the title: “For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, and Mission” which current phase conclusions were sent by Episcopal councils around the world.

The Synod’s journey focused on walking together under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and spiritual conversation, and was sent to the General Secretariat of the Synod at the Holy See in Rome. He continued, “In light of these conclusions, the General Secretariat issued the continental document. Given the great importance that the Church views the contributions of the Eastern churches in the synodal process, these churches in the Middle East have given a continental dimension.”

As for the goal of the continental phase, Bishop Boutros revealed, “It is about deepening the distinction about what emerged in the first stage of diocesan and national listening, with the aim of more accurately formulating the questions raised, and in order to clarify and deepen the ideas received from the local churches, from a continental perspective. The continental document helps to reflect on what emerged from the consultation God’s people in local churches around the world, and it is also an opportunity to listen to facts that have emerged and stand out on the sidelines of the church’s work.

He concluded, “The continental stage is not about giving answers or making decisions about the measures that must be adopted, but rather a state of general spiritual mobilization in solidarity to highlight the identity of the people of God and their call as a church in the heart of the world.”

Alwan and preparations for the assembly

After that, Father Khalil Alwan had a speech about the preparations for the Assembly. “One year after the inauguration of this synodal path, in which millions of believers from all over the world participated in its first advisory phase, we reached the second phase, which was called Continental”, he said.

“Our Churches submitted to the Holy See, like the rest of the world’s Churches, the summary of their thinking, and successively the Secretariat of the Synod received 112 reports out of 114 sent by the National Episcopal Conferences, and 13 reports from the Catholic Eastern Churches. Add to this the opinions of the Roman Curia, the reports of the Union of Superiors General and Superiors General of the Orders, the Institutions of Consecrated Life and the Apostolic Life Communities, and the associations and movements of the lay faithful. Thousands of contributions were received from individuals and groups, and different opinions, have also reached through social media”, Father Alwan said.

As for the participants in the Synodal Assembly, Father Alwan revealed, “In addition to the Catholic Patriarchs, 120 representatives of Christians are participating. They constitute a sample from all the aforementioned groups of society, coming from Syria, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, the Holy Land and the Gulf states. They are affiliated to the Maronite Church, the Coptic Catholic Church, the Melkite Greek Catholic Church, the Syriac Catholics, the Armenian Catholics, the Chaldeans, and the Latins.

Other attendees affiliated to the Orthodox and Protestant churches, people who do not belong to any religious, and others from “Anta Akhi” association (You are my brother) also will participate in it. “In the work of this Assembly, we adopt a new methodology, which stems from the continental document and relies on what is called listening, spiritual conversation, and spiritual discernment.”, said Fr. Alwan

Mouzawak: The synodal journey is an effective hope in these days of hardship

For her part, Professor Mirna Mouzawak considered that the synodal journey adds dynamism to life in the Church, as an effective hope in these difficult days. She added, “Each of us is responsible and is a constituent of the Church: we walk, pray, think and build together. This synodal journey affects women as it does to all human beings, because in the eyes of the Church every human being is an absolute value. The endeavor to highlight the value of women and empower their presence and role is the endeavor to guarantee the good of the family, the Church and society.”

She added, “In the church, where men make decisions, there are few spaces for women to make their voice heard, even though they form the backbone of church groups, either because they constitute the majority among the believers, or because they are the most effective among the members of the church.”

Regarding the youth and the Synod, Mouzawak noted, “The absence of the youth’s voice in the synodal journey and in the life of the Church is a global concern. Caring for the youth, their upbringing and accompanying them is a renewed and urgent matter according to the results of the previous Synod of Bishops on “Youth, Faith and Vocational Discernment”.

And she concluded, “Young men and women are called to carry the culture of the cross through active commitment, and not as bystanders, which begins by building oneself in order to reach the other.”

The press conference ended with a live testimony by Ms. Julie George, a member of the Coptic Catholic Church, in which she spoke about the experience of young people in the church, and the participation she experiences with the ‘Post Cresima’ group in the parish of St. Catherine of the Syriac Catholics in Cairo. The aforementioned parish aims at accompanying the young Egyptian generation in an attempt to overcome difficulties and crises by the grace of prayer and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.