Sharing his own joy and that of all those participating in the first session of the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops last October in Rome, Cardinal Mario Grech highlighted outcomes from the gathering and his hopes for the next session in October. Cardinal Grech, Secretary General of the Synod of Bishops, offered his perspectives on 19 January while addressing participants at the Philippine Conference for the New Evangelization (PCNE) taking place in Manila.

Expressing his interest in learning more about local preparations and experiences in the overall synodal process happening in the Philippines, Cardinal Grech spoke about three aspects October's global assembly and how they regard the Church in Asia as well. First, he highlighted the synodal process where Synod participants met in the Paul VI Audience Hall, priests and lay people mixed, seated around large round tables of ten to twelve persons "as though at a wedding reception or other large family gathering." This novelty in the synodal process helped set the stage then for the “Conversations in the Spirit” that took place. And thirdly, he recalled the full and equal participation of non-bishops, including the lay faithful, those in consecrated life, deacons and priests, as voting members. 

“The experience of being listened to also overcomes our sense of isolation. When people take the time and effort to listen to us, this gives us a sense of being appreciated. It also nurtures companionship and builds solidarity.”

Cardinal Grech then noted prominent themes in The Synthesis Report. The report underscores how local Churches need better engagement with young people in their communities, sacramental life and missionary endeavours, he noted. He suggested that the Philippines, and the Catholic Church in Asia in general is " well placed to provide leadership to the universal Church in responding to what the First Session of the General Assembly referred to as making a preferential option for young people." The majority of the world’s youth population now lives in Asia.

A second outcome from the Synod's October session calls for "listening to the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor, which is one and the same cry" Cardinal Grech explained. Quoting from the Synthesis Report, Cardinal Grech, underscored this urgency saying that "standing with those who are poor requires engaging with them in caring for our common home...the lack of responses to this cry makes the ecological crisis, and climate change in particular, a threat to the survival of humanity." He invited the Philippine Church to take a lead role in this process, "conscientizing us all in these regards, sharpening all our consciences in responding to the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor."

Finally, Cardinal Grech highlighted how a key theme underscored in the Synthesis Report reminds us to keep "uppermost in our minds and hearts" being the Joy of the Gospel, "the joy that flows both from hearing and from proclaiming the Good News."

Regarding the forthcoming Second General Assembly in October 2025, Cardinal Grech expressed hopes that the next months "will be a time of deepening both our understanding and experience of what it is like to live in a Church where co-responsibility for mission is an everyday experience and can come to be taken for granted." In this area, he suggested working on practical steps towards a more co-responsible approach to the Church’s mission and ministry involving all the faithful, as well as embedding a synodal dynamism into the daily life of the Church, deepening how we understand and live out synodality in our local Churches.