Two Asian bishops have been elected as members of the Ordinary Council of the General Secretariat of the Synod, responsible for implementing the synodality process and preparing for the next one.
Cardinal-elect Pablo Virgilio David of Kalookan, Philippines, and Cardinal Filipe Neri Ferrão of Goa and Damão, India, were elected on Oct. 23 during the 15th General Congregation of the Synod of Bishops.
David and Ferrão will represent Asia on the Ordinary Council of the Synod’s General Secretariat. Both prelates head their respective bishops’ conferences.
In February, Ferrão was appointed president of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC), with David serving as vice president. They are set to formally begin their new roles in January 2025.
During the first session of the synod last year, David was chosen to be part of the synod’s Commission on Information. Earlier this month, Pope Francis appointed Ferrão to the committee tasked with drafting the final document for the Synod on Synodality.
The second session of the ongoing Synod began on Oct. 2 and is scheduled to conclude on Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024.
The other elected members of the Council are:
– His Beatitude Youssef Absi, Patriarch of Antioch of the Greek Melkites and Head of the Synod of the Greek Melkite Catholic Church
– Most Rev. Msgr. Timothy John Costelloe, S.D.B., Archbishop of Perth (Australia)
– Most Rev. Msgr. Daniel Ernest Flores, Bishop of Brownsville (United States)
– Most Rev. Msgr. Alain Faubert, Bishop of Valleyfield (Canada)
– Most Rev. Cardinal Luis José Rueda Aparicio, Archbishop of Bogotá (Colombia)
– Most Rev. Msgr. José Luis Azuaje Ayala, Archbishop of Maracaibo (Venezuela)
– Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline, Archbishop of Marseille (France)
– Most Rev. Gintaras Grušas, Archbishop of Vilnius (Lithuania)
– Cardinal Dieudonné Nzapalainga, C.S.Sp., Archbishop of Bangui (Central African Republic)
– Most Rev. Andrew Fuanya Nkea, Archbishop of Bamenda (Cameroon)
The Ordinary Council of the General Secretariat is responsible for the preparation and implementation of the Ordinary General Assembly.
Members of the Ordinary Council take office at the end of the Ordinary General Assembly during which they were elected; they then serve as members of the next Ordinary General Assembly and conclude their mandate when the assembly is dissolved.
The Council, chaired by Pope Francis, is an integral part of the General Secretariat. – with reports from the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP News) and the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI) Secretariat
