The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Thailand (CBCT) has established a national committee to spearhead the implementation of the Synod on Synodality’s Final Document, marking a new phase in the Church’s global journey toward greater communion, participation, and mission.
The newly formed high-level committee is chaired by Archbishop Anthony Weradet Chaiseri, Vice-President of the CBCT, and includes representatives from all dioceses, CBCT offices, religious congregations, and lay organizations.
“This structure includes two levels,” explained Fr. Suwat Luangsaard, CBCT Deputy Secretary-General, in an interview with LiCAS News on June 3.
“At the national level, the high-level committee brings together leaders from all sectors of the Church. At the diocesan level, similar structures will be established to reflect local contexts,” the prelate added.
The move comes in response to a letter from the Synod’s General Secretariat urging all bishops—and through them, the entire People of God—to begin the final stage of the synodal journey: implementation.
This stage marks a shift from a one-time global event to a continuous and dynamic ecclesial process.
The synodal journey, officially titled “For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, Mission,” is structured in three phases: preparation, celebration, and implementation.
With the first two phases completed in October 2024, the Church has now entered the crucial third phase—turning discerned insights into lived realities.
CBCT’s implementation plan begins with a comprehensive planning meeting scheduled for this month. It will focus on aligning the efforts of various CBCT offices with the recommendations of the Synod on Synodality.
The goal is to create a unified framework that allows the Church in Thailand to “walk forward together,” while being mindful of the country’s unique pastoral and cultural context.
According to Fr. Suwat, the high-level committee will meet at least twice a year to coordinate and evaluate progress, working closely with diocesan-level teams.
These local teams—composed of priests, religious, and laypeople—will work with their bishops and report regularly to the CBCT. Evaluations will eventually be submitted to the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC) and the Synod General Secretariat in Rome by 2028.
“This process ensures transparency, accountability, and mutual learning,” Fr. Suwat noted. “It reflects the spirit of walking together as a missionary synodal Church.”
The Final Synod Document calls for the establishment of “synodal teams” at local levels to help embed synodal principles in daily Church life. These teams are vital to enabling communities to listen, discern, and act together in mission.
Fr. Suwat emphasized that this phase is not just about institutional planning. “It’s an invitation to all Catholics in Thailand to walk forward together in unity, with renewed missionary zeal,” he said. “This is a moment to rediscover the Church’s true nature—as a community of missionary disciples.”
Echoing this sentiment, Cardinal Mario Grech, Secretary General of the Synod, in his message to the bishops, reminded local Churches that implementation should not be seen as “a simple application of directives from above,” but rather as a reception process tailored to each Church’s local culture and reality.
“The goal,” said Cardinal Grech, “is not to add work upon work, but to help Churches walk in a synodal style.”
For the Catholic Church in Thailand, this is a defining moment—to live out synodality not as a project with an endpoint, but as a permanent way of being Church: listening, discerning, and journeying together in the spirit of the Gospel.
