- 28 September, 2025
Samphran, Thailand September 28, 2025– More than 50 bishops and Church leaders from across Asia gathered in Samphran, a western suburb of Bangkok, from 22 to 26 September, to reflect on and strengthen synodality in the Church in preparation for the 2026 Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC) Plenary Assembly in Bali.
The FABC Bishops Seminar on Synodality, held at Baan Phu Waan, opened on 23 September with Mass presided over by Archbishop Anthony Weradet Chaiseri, vice president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Thailand.
“The purpose was to study and understand the Final Document of the Synod together, reflect on our dioceses, and consider how the Church in Asia can put it into practice,” Archbishop Chaiseri told LiCAS News.
The seminar also revisited the Bangkok Document, issued during the FABC’s 50th anniversary in 2022, which remains closely linked to the global synodal process.
Using a model inspired by the Synod of Bishops in Rome, participants combined lectures, prayerful reflection, and small-group sharing. Nine group discussions centred on three themes: the connection between the Synod’s Final Document and the Bangkok Document of 2022; the reception of the synodal pathway across Asia; and the importance of transparency and accountability in a synodal Church.
Archbishop Chaiseri highlighted that Asia’s contemplative approach to discernment—characterised by silence, attentive listening, and consensus—aligns closely with the global synodal method of Conversation in the Spirit.
The seminar took place as the global Church entered the implementation phase of the Synod, following the release of the Final Document in November 2024 and the framework introduced by Cardinal Mario Grech in March 2025. Running until 2028, this process requires bishops to set clear goals and timelines while ensuring broad participation across all sectors of the Church—including clergy, parishioners, young people, marginalised communities, and even those sceptical of the synodal process.
Catholic schools, hospitals, prisons, digital platforms, religious communities, and lay movements are also expected to play an active role.
“These meetings reflect the growing desire among Churches in Asia to deepen synodality, strengthen communion, embrace the path of synodality within the Church, and walk in closer unity with the Universal Church under the guidance of Pope Leo XIV,” Archbishop Chaiseri affirmed.
Courtesy: Vatican News
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