Dear Friends,

This week I departed for Rome to take part in the Synod of Bishops on Synodality.

I have been appointed by Pope Francis to be a small group facilitator during the Synod discussions, and while I am certainly aware of the enormity of the task ahead, I am also honoured and excited to be a part of it.

For me, preparation – both psychological and spiritual - has been key to my participation. I’ve always said, this is not a meeting that you can simply rock up to. Before my departure, I took several days out at a quiet place to slowly and prayerfully read the Instrumentum Laboris, or working document, of the Synod, as well as each of the seven continental submissions from around the world.

I think I’m ready, or at least as ready as I ever can be.

I’m excited, but not naïve. I know this is serious business, but I also know that the main protagonist will be the Holy Spirit, and while this means we can’t predict the outcome, it also means we can place our trust in God.

I’m actually looking forward to the tensions that may arise from whatever the Spirit has in store for all the 500-plus attendees of bishops, priests, lay men and women and religious.

More than anything, I see the Synod as a deep, deep listening process. And in my role as facilitator, I have to listen to all the voices – whether they be progressive or conservative, so-called left-wing or right-wing. I have to honour all the voices as they entrust themselves in their own discernment, listening to the Holy Spirit and to each other, always respecting the Church’s Tradition, while being open to the movement of the Spirit.

My pre-departure reading has convinced me that in this Synod on Synodality, Pope Francis is trying to honour the dignity of every baptised Christian, making space for everybody and allowing everybody to make space for the Other, the Holy Spirit, to speak.

I think we will be operating in that liminal space, which through deep listening can lead to transformation.

I will be taking with me the experience of the two assemblies and the final synthesis of the Australian Plenary Council, as well as my role as co-facilitator at this year’s Federation of Catholic Bishops Conferences of Oceania meeting in Suva, Fiji. And, as a Pacific Islander, I will also be taking with me the voices of the vulnerable people of the Pacific, asking what it means to be a synodal Church in the Pacific and indeed, what it means to be a synodal missionary. Finally, I will take with me my experience as an SVD, living and ministering interculturally, and also my own experience of God.

The proceedings will begin with an ecumenical prayer service, followed by three days of retreat for all participants, before Pope Francis formally opens the Synod on October 4. It will run all the way through to until October 29.

I think there could be a gentle revolution happening to support Pope Francis’ dream of a synodal Church and I am so honoured to be a part of this Synod. I am reminded of St Paul’s exhortation to the Ephesians to “speak the truth in love”, and I pray this will be the basis of the Synod discussions.

Please pray for me and for the success of the Synod.

Yours in the Word,

Fr Asaeli Rass SVD,

Provincial.