The Indian Catholic Forum (ICF), an informal platform of like-minded persons concerned about the renewal of the Church and nation building, stressed the need for a “synodal Church” and a “secular society” during a gathering this week.
Delegates, including at least seven priests, attended the event on February 17 and 18 to discuss the issue of “Synodality and Secularism” in the northern Indian city of Varanasi.
Shortly after Pope Francis announced the synodal process, the ICF conducted an exhaustive online survey on people’s expectations. The findings were collated and published as “The Pulse of the People.” The report was sent to the synod secretariat in Rome and the bishops of India.
This week’s meeting came up with a five-point “Varanasi Declaration” that endorsed the recommendations of the survey, including:
- improving the functioning of parish councils and finance committees
- lay involvement in the selection of bishops who should be transferable every ten years
- the establishment of Grievance Cells and Arbitration Boards in every diocese
- a more humane and pastoral approach to family planning as espoused by the Church in the India Seminar of 1969
- a non-condemnatory approach to abortion
- ordination of women and married persons
The declaration asserted that the teachings of Vatican II, its ecclesiology, and social praxis are central to synodality.
The meeting stressed a strong commitment to ecumenism, inter-religious dialogue, and inculturation of our religious expressions as the focus of the forum’s activities.
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