By Pamela Adinda
The Catholic Diocese of Tombura Yambio recently concluded its Synod, a journey that began in 2017 in a celebration that was done in nearly 14 days according to the local ordinary, Rt. Rev. Edwardo Hiiboro Kussala. The nearly 14 days gave the synod delegates opportunity to analyse the information collected going from topic to topic which included evangelization, social concerns, the daily life of the Church, the administration of the Diocese and the structure of the Diocese.
“During these nearly fourteen days we spent in the celebration of the synod, we had over 400 participant delegates whom together we engaged in the plenary discussions and were able to clear our agendas and select out issues which we felt we need to implement in order to move our Diocese forward,” Bishop Hiiboro explained in an interview with AMECEA Online New
He pointed out that a Synod is usually called by the Bishop as a kind of consultative model in order to consult and listen to the people of his Diocese in order to chart a way forward for better running of the dioceses and integral growth of the faithful.
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| Synod deliberations in small groups |
“When I became a bishop I started thinking about a diocesan synod because I had seen the benefits in the Archdiocese of Khartoum when I was a student, a seminarian studying there. I saw the Archbishop, now Cardinal Wako, called for a synod because there were so many Christians who moved into Khartoum among the Muslims, he therefore felt it necessary to organize the Archdiocese so that the Christian community would be able to be productive Pastorally among the Muslims, and the synod in deed bore a lot of fruits.”
With that background, Bishop Hiiboro felt that in order to work better an organized Diocese was key and a diocesan synod would offer perfect opportunity for the Diocese to reflect as a family and chart their way forward. Additionally, he wanted the synod to be part of peace building owing to the fact that the conflict South Sudan is having has much more to do with relationships, poor resources management, differences among peoples and ignorance.
“The celebration of the synod was successful owing to the enthusiasm of the people. This made notice three things; that my people love their Church very much, secondly they are aware of what their Church stands for and how it should be operating and the third thing is their willingness to move further to have a Diocese that belongs to the people; not the Bishops Diocese or the priest's Diocese.”
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| A section of Synod Delegates during plenary session |
“I must therefore say that this celebration has helped me to appreciate more the mission of God which is to get people back to him and this has boosted my own spirituality in managing the Diocese. Secondly, the synod has helped me to know my Diocese well and to realize that there are certain things that I used to take for granted, thinking that we were moving on well, however, listening to the people I gathered that there is so much to do in order to reach up there. Finally, through the synod, I have come to appreciate the enormous love and the desire in the hearts of the priests, the religious, and the lay faithful to make their Diocese better. Their commitments to the Diocese to see it excel is something that for ever I will be grateful to God.”
What happened during the Diocesan Synod and Way forward
Bishop Hiiboro explained that the Diocesan Synod, like all well-organized synods had five phases. The first phase was about the launching and explanation of what it was about in order to make people understand the idea behind it. During this phase was also the preparation of Lineamenta, the questionnaire which formed the basis for the research that would engage people to share their opinion about the selected topics.
The second phase usually referred to as the listening phase was the time the diocese gave people opportunity to answer the questions that had been prepared as well as contribute to other issues that may not have been included in the Lineamenta but were deemed important. This was done in the chapels, the prayer centres and the Small Christian Communities. The information gathered during this phase was compiled and then brought back to the secretariat of the diocesan synod. The secretariat was therefore able to receive information from all individuals who were engaged, both within the Diocese, diaspora as well as the displaced people who are either living in the displacement camps within the country or in refugee comes in the neighbouring country.
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| Bishop Hiiboro with Five Newly Ordained Priests at the End of the Synod |
The third phase was the celebration of the synod which the diocese conducted in about 14 days. It involved Synod delegates coming from all over the dioceses to deliberate and study/analyse what people provided during the listening stage, going through it topic by topic. From the deliberations, a document is produced. According to Bishop Hiiboro, the Diocese is currently studying the recommendations made during the synod and once ready, he will promulgate the document as the act of the synod by signing these recommendations for the Diocese.
After promulgating the synod act, they will move to phase four which is the implementation of the acts of the synod. Here everybody will now begin to do their part towards realizing the recommendations made for the Diocese and according to the Bishop, the implementation phase will run for the next five years starting from the date of promulgation. Finally, phase five of the synod is the evaluation of the implementation process. Here the diocese will have to evaluate the five years’ implementation of the acts of the synod and from there seek way forward, which may be a call for a second synod.
At the conclusion of the Synod, the Catholic Diocese of Tombura Yambio witnessed a harvest of vocations, five new priests were ordained into the diocese while the following week, 31 couples received the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony.
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| A section of 31 couples who celebrated Sacrament of Matrimony at the end of Diocesan Synod |
“The ordination of the five new priests signified to us that the synod has to continue; we have prepared and brought forth the agents of evangelization who are the priests. These five were students the first group from our philosophicum seminary here in the diocese and we couldn’t be more thankful to God,” Bishop Hiiboro expressed.
He thanked the government for the support, and also the Diocese of Arua in Uganda through Bishop Sabino Odoki who allowed one of his priests to be the moderator for the synod, which was done under the theme, “We are God’s people, a participating Servants Church.”