Bangkok's first diocesan synod in over three centuries ends
Yesterday, after Maundy Thursday mass, Cardinal Kitbunchu closed the Synod that opened a year ago. The Thai Church is becoming increasingly aware of the growing importance of the laity.
Bangkok (AsiaNews) Cardinal Michael Michai Kitbunchu yesterday, Maundy Thursday (13 April), marked the close of his first Synod of the diocese of Bangkok, with solemn mass in the Cathedral of the Assumption. The last Synod dated back to the XVII century. The cardinal presided over mass for Maundy Thursday concelebrated by 140 priests and 800 worshippers.
More than 100 representatives of various Catholic organizations, including several lay ones, took part in the Synod, which opened on 24 March last year.
In an interview with the diocesan monthly, Cardinal Kitbunchu said the "main objective of the Synod was to reform the life and mission of the archdiocese of Bangkok, allowing bishops, priests, religious and lay people, men and women, to identify a solution to present situations, based on principles of the universal Church and the Church in Asia. Each one of us is a precious treasure, chosen by God to love and to serve others."
After the Maundy Thursday celebration, booklets with information about the conclusions of the Synod were distributed among the congregation. The aim was to make known to the community the directives discussed to be able to put them in practice in daily life. Fr Paul Surachai Chumsriphan, secretary of Cardinal Kitbunchu, said the works of the Synod had focused on "improving the life of lay people and clergy, the formation of priests, mission for the poor, inter-faith dialogue and social communications."
Fr Jospeh Trebaol, provincial of the MEP Paris Foreign Mission Society said "in those times, there were not too many Catholics and the resolution of the Synod was to set up a major seminary". Mgr Pierre Lambert de la Motte, who was among the organizers of the first Synod in the XVII century, was a member of the MEP. "Today, society is profoundly changed, there are many Catholics with many more missions and we must be aware of the importance and the great role of the laity," added Fr Trebaol.
The first Synod of the Catholic Church in Thailand, and also the first of the Asian Church, was the so-called Synod of Ayutthaya the former Thai capital north of Bangkok in 1664. Two bishops, five priests and a lay person who served as an assistant took part. In the meeting, it was decided to set up the Congregation of the Lovers of the Cross and to establish a major seminary. The directives of the Synod of Ayutthaya were applied until the XX century.
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