DIOCESAN SYNOD

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

What is the Diocesan Synod?

The Diocesan Synod is a way to express the communion and unity of the people of God within a diocese, each according to his/her specific state of life, so that they may share Christ's ministry as priest, prophet and king. The Synod, therefore, is the assembly of selected priests and other members of Christ's faithful of a particular Church which, for the good of the whole diocesan community, and by the grace of God, suggests new pastoral projects and, in doing so, assists the diocesan Bishop.

Why?

The convocation of the Diocesan Synod, necessitated by the challenges presented by the Third Millennium, aims at evaluating the past and projecting the future.

Thirty years ago, the late Bishop Francis Hsu convoked the Diocesan Convention in Hong Kong to implement the spirit of Vatican Council II in the Diocese.

From the 70's to the 80's, Cardinal John Baptist Wu, in accordance with the documents of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences, promoted "renewal movement" for priests and the laity.

In the past decade the Diocese has been active in implementing the pastoral and evangelization issues as proposed in the Cardinal Wu's Pastoral Exhortation "March into the Bright Decade" of which a mid-term evaluation and an interim report were made.

On the occasion of the Year 2000 in memory of Our Lord's birth, we intend to review the past and plan for the future. It is a time to unite with the universal Church in an endeavour to deepen our faith and revive our spirit of witness to Christ. It is a time for us to probe new pastoral approaches for the new era.

When?

The Hong Kong Diocesan Synod is scheduled for March 4, 2000 with a solemn opening Mass, followed by the first plenary session.

Prior to the opening ceremony, public talks on the nature of the Synod will be given, and a leaflet pertaining to the event will be published along with a prayer for its success, so that the faithful may come to know the significance of the Synod and offer up prayers for its success.

Who?

The whole people of God in the Diocese may participate in the Synod in various ways according to different situations.

Those who directly take part in the Synod amount to about 200 persons, chosen from among the diocesan clergy, men and women religious, and the laity, who have the obligation to attend all synodal sessions, select topics for discussion, join small groups and draw up drafts. These drafts will go through public consultation before being revised according to opinions thus collected. Thereafter, the synodal members will discuss the revised drafts and make concrete suggestions which will be voted on in the final phase. The document thus produced will be of a consultative nature for the Bishop who will order its implementation according to his own discretion.

During the public consultation period, all the faithful are invited to actively express their opinions, and, in particular, pray for the success of the Synod. The Diocese will prepare a text of the prayer to facilitate its recitation in private and in public assemblies so that the Diocesan Synod may become an event of grace for the Church in Hong Kong.

How?

The Diocesan Synod will proceed in 3 phases:

(1) 1.1 Selection of Topics for Discussion: The Preparatory Committee will propose 13 topics for synodal discussion based on the existing diocesan documents and opinions of the faithful. Once the proposed topics are approved by the Bishop, the 200 synodal members will decide on the order of discussion according to their preference. (1 month)

1.2 Drawing up Drafts for Discussion: The synodal members will be divided into small groups, according to the number of topics, to draw up drafts, i.e. the First Draft.?(3 months)

(2) 2.1 Public Consultation: The First Draft will go through public consultation in order that the faithful may express their opinions about them. An ad hoc committee will rewrite the drafts, making necessary amendments according to opinions collected from public consultation, i.e. the Second Draft.?(3 months)

2.2 Group Study of the Second Draft: Each synodal member will study the second drafts and discuss them in their respective groups, and present their written proposals to the groups concerned which will make any necessary amendments prior to the Third Draft. (2 months)

The above phases will take 9 months to complete.

(3)The last phase: The synodal members will discuss and vote on each and every topic which will last 1 month.

The duration of the Synod will depend totally on the number of topics for discussion.

X topics = X drafts which will take X months to finish

The total duration of the Synod = 9 + X months

What is the content of the Diocesan Synod?

The contents of the Synod are basically determined by synodal members.

The Bishop will delegate the Preparatoty Committee to draw up 13 topics for discussion. The synodal members in their turn will select from among them the topics for discussion in the synodal sessions.

These topics are drawn up from: