Fr. Jason Laguerta, Archdiocese of Manila, Philippines - Best Practices

Greetings from the Philippines. I am Fr. Jason Laguerta, a diocesan priest from the Archdiocese of Manila, Philippines. My sharing is about some concrete practices for the first Macro-theme of the conference. Priests in the Changing Epoch, in a Synodal and Missionary Church.

I would like to offer three practices that are being done in our local context to help our priests to carry out their ministry in a more synodal style and orientation.

The first initiative comes from our local ordinary, the Archbishop of Manila, Cardinal Jose F. Advincula. The bishop sets the tone for synodality in the diocese. We are blessed that we are given an Archbishop whose Episcopal Motto is, Audiam, I will listen. For him, this is not just a slogan but a leadership style. He leads by listening. He consults. He involves priests in decision-making. Our Archbishop is one of the synod delegates. When he attended the First Session of the synod last October, his interventions were not just his own but a collaborative effort between him and a team of priests in the Archdiocese. Forming a synodal Church begins with a synodal bishop.

The second initiative is to encourage the presbyterium to learn and practice the synodal process of conversation in the Spirit or spiritual conversation. I was honored to facilitate several clergy retreats last year and I used this method instead of the usual sharing during retreats. The results were truly amazing. From the feedback of the clergy who tried this communal discernment process, I am convinced more than ever that our continuing formation in synodality is anchored on the quality and depth of our spiritual conversations. The silence, the resonances, the synthesis and consensus, the Holy Spirit as the protagonist. These are essential elements in pastoral leadership that we have overlooked all this time and are just beginning to appreciate only now. At least, from our end.

The third and last initiative that I wish to share is the ongoing renewal and reorganization of our Archdiocese in Manila. When we gathered the fruits of the Archdiocesan synodal consultations, we felt that these were too precious to be wasted and lost in the synthesized version of the report to the metropolitan and national levels. We decided to use them as our starting point to design a strategic pastoral plan for the Archdiocese. We moved from conversation in the Spirit to conversion of structures. Led by our Archbishop, we did not end the synodal process with the submission of our report. We continued the journey by creating a Roadmap, a common plan and direction for the Archdiocese. We called it, Traslación Roadmap. Traslación, is our local image and cultural symbol of synodality. It is a massive procession here in Manila of the miraculous image of Jesus Nazareno, participated in by millions of devotees from all walks of life. Yes, synodality is about walking together. But we also need a Roadmap to guide us in our way. In our Traslación Roadmap, we specified in concrete objectives and initiatives the path we must take and the direction we must pursue. This is where the rubber meets the road.

We must not romanticize synodality. Let us translate our conversations into a conversion of Church culture. We have a very good chance here for an authentic renewal in the Church, beginning with the clergy. Thank you very much.