Karonga Diocese Begins 2023 Synod Consultations among the Clergy and Religious
By Benjamin Msowoya
As part of preparations for the Synod of Bishops in 2023, the Diocese of Karonga has started collecting views on synodality among the clergy, the religious men and women. Karonga Diocese organised its first sessions of consultations among the clergy and religious on 26th October 2021.
All priests (diocesan and religious) and religious sisters working in Chitipa and Kapoka Deaneries of the Diocese met at St Michaels Parish; while all priests, religious brothers and sisters working in Karonga and Chilumba Deaneries of the Diocese met at St Mary’s Parish for their deliberations.
In their deliberations, they appraised the current status of the Church’s ‘journeying together’ as it is happening today in the Diocese. They were also forward-looking on what needs to be done in order to make this ‘journeying together’ better in the Diocese.
The product of their deliberations (their assessment and recommendations) will be consolidated in a report together with the views of the various groups of the laity across the Diocese; men, women, members of various lay movements and devotional groups, members of Small Christian Communities, the youth, children, members of other faiths that collaborate with the Diocese, officers working in various institutions of the Diocese.
With these first consultations done among the clergy and religious, the Diocese has a clear plan on how to engage further, the various members in the Diocese on similar consultations between October 2021 and March 2022. Before these first consultative meetings started, the Diocese formed a 9-member Diocesan Committee on Synod; appointed by Bishop Martin Anwel Mtumbuka on 21st September 2021. The Diocese also launched the Synod on 23rd October 2021 at Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish.
The Holy Father, Pope Francis, announced that the Synod of Bishops will take place from October 2021 to October 2023. The theme of the Synod is “For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, and Mission.”