Radio Kwizera, in collaboration with Jesuit Conference of Africa and Madagascar interviewed Rev. Fr. Nicholaus Segeja M’hela, Member of the Commission Synod and Synodality. The President of Jesuit Conference of Africa and Madagascar (JCAM) Rev. Fr. AGBONKHIANMEGE Emmanuel Orobator SJ had lauded the Synod on Synodality, which Pope Francis announced earlier this year to solemnly open next month, on 9–10 October 2021 in Rome.
Describing the Synod as an inclusive process and not just a one-off event, Fr. Agbonkhianmeghe Orobator provided a synthesis of the scheduled meeting of Catholic Bishops from around the world in an interview with ACI Africa ahead of JCAM’s planned Synodality conversation on Saturday, 18th of September, 2021.
The JCAM President noted that the Synod that is to solemnly open in each particular Church on October 17 particularly stands out from other past Synods given that it is to involve people at the grassroots in the decision-making process of the Church, inviting all members of the Church to journey together as a community.
“Although other Synods have strived to be inclusive, this particular Synod is different,” Fr. Orobator had said in the Tuesday, September 14 interview. He explained, “For the first time, the very theme of sodality is going to be the theme of this Synod. But the most interesting part is that unlike other Synods, which were gatherings that were held for a period of time by some leaders of the Church, mostly Bishops, Pope Francis is calling the entire Church to engage in this as a process so that it is not just a one-off event.”