Cardinal Bo: Synodal Journey is about Healing, Reconciling the World

by CNS · October 24, 2023

Cardinal Charles Bo, archbishop of Yangon, Myanmar, and president of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences, elevates the chalice during Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica as part of the assembly of the Synod of Bishops at the Vatican Oct. 23, 2023. (CNS photo/Stefano Carofei, pool)

By Carol Glatz, CNS – God has a plan for everyone and for the church whose journeys and plans must align with his will, Cardinal Charles Bo told participants in the assembly of the Synod of Bishops.

“Our synodal journey is not a pre-programmed space odyssey with fixed mathematical equations. Rather, when God calls us, he becomes our guide, our roadmap and our companion,” Cardinal Bo, archbishop of Yangon, Myanmar, said in his homily during a Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica with synod participants Oct. 23.

“Faith shines a light on the path through life’s darkest and most tumultuous moments, allowing us to see God’s grace penetrating the shadows,” he said, in the homily, which he titled, “The Long March Toward the Synodality of Hope, Peace and Justice.” Japanese Archbishop Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi of Tokyo and Indian Cardinal Oswald Gracias of Mumbai concelebrated, and an all-female choir led the singing.

“The church is called to be righteous, to embody a synodal journey of faith with the conviction that God never fails,” even though doubt and anxiety might accompany the faithful on “this long march” in life, he said. “While we may not reach our intended destination, participating in the journey is a blessing in itself.”

“God has a plan for each one of us and for our church, and our journeys and plans must align with his will,” he said.

Human greed and self-centredness create much suffering in the world, and they have “inflicted deep wounds upon our planet and stripped millions of their dignity,” Cardinal Bo said.

Women from Asia sing during Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica as part of the assembly of the Synod of Bishops at the Vatican Oct. 23, 2023. (CNS photo/Stefano Carofei, pool)

The world needs reconciliation with God, nature and one another, he said, and “our synodal journey is about healing and reconciling the world in justice and peace.”

Cardinal Bo, who is president of the Federation of Asian Bishops Conferences, said the world needed to focus attention on the significant environmental damage in the region due to climate-driven crises, “to the destruction of huge swathes of forests” and to the increased violence against Indigenous peoples, who have been “the protectors of nature, but they have also suffered from modern ideologies, colonisation and resource exploitation.”

“The Christian faith journey” is especially challenged in Myanmar, he said. Catholics “are on an exodus. Homes have vanished, and churches have borne the brunt of cruelty, and the Way of the Cross is a painful reality in many parts of Asia.”

But despite the many challenges and difficulties, the church in Asia “remains vibrant and young,” he said. “This synodal gathering has energised us to return to the great days of evangelisation by the apostles.”

Like the women who followed Jesus along the Way of the Cross, he said, “the church in Myanmar and Asia invest in the hope of reconciliation. We continue our tear-filled synodal journey, believing that, like those women, we will see all wounds healed, and a new dawn of hope, peace, and justice will shine upon every long-suffering nation.”

“We pray that the Catholic Church, under the leadership of Pope Francis, will bring the entire human family into the long march of healing our world and our planet, ultimately leading us to a new heaven and a new earth,” he said.

Among the prayers of the faithful was one for the church in Asia: “That these emerging churches coming from rich and diverse cultures may journey together in unity; may the church in mainland China increasingly preserve and celebrate the communion of love and light with the universal church.”