Walking Together: Synodality

"The church is not a closed alley. The alley leader does not go outside the alley, because if he goes out, he can't be the leader. The church, however, must go outside and constantly walk with Jesus." This was taken from the Korean Now/Here Catholic Website.

"There is no church in Korea that faces as many obstacles in realizing synodality as ours. It's because of bishops like me. We have this treasure, but we are burying it in the ground." These were the words of a bishop of a large diocese.

The Joy and Hope Pastoral Research Institute, which has sought gospel-based solutions to the realities and historical issues that institutional churches have overlooked or ignored, has marked its 30th anniversary.

On the 20th, the institute offered a commemorative Mass at the Familia Chapel in Myeongdong, Seoul, and held a regular symposium at the Catholic Hall under the theme 'The Synod and the Church - The Synodality We Will Live'.

This discussion was a reflection on the current state of the Korean church, looked at coldly and honestly. Laypeople, religious, priests, and bishops shared their experiences of synodality (walking together) in their respective positions, pointed out the authoritarianism and closed nature of the Korean church, and conveyed concrete voices from the field on how to become a 'church that walks together'. The sermon at the Mass emphasized 'Universal Priesthood.

The chairman emphasized that the orientation of the institute is rooted in the pastoral constitution 'Joy and Hope.' He honored all the comrades who opposed the Park Chung-hee Yushin dictatorship, including Bishop Ji Hak-soon, stating: 'We remember and cherish the lives and testimonies of the National Priests' Association for Justice in the Catholic Church'.

He introduced the first reading of the day (1 Peter 2:9-10) as the verse that inspired Martin Luther for the Reformation, explaining that the core idea is the concept of 'universal priesthood,' meaning 'all are priests'.

He said, 'This universal priesthood was declared in Chapter 2 of the Second Vatican Council's Church Constitution', emphasizing that 'the value of the church community as the People of God precedes the hierarchical system described in Chapter 3'.

The 23rd symposium in the afternoon, with five speakers, including young and older laypeople, religious, priests, and bishops, discussing the theme of 'synodality.'

The presenters diagnosed the current state of the Korean Church with keywords such as 'authoritarianism,' 'closedness,' and 'exclusion'.

One of the lay presenters spoke about 'love and hospitality for different voices'. She began by saying: 'Synodality does not seem to be well practiced in Korean parishes today'. She cited her experiences in meetings while preparing for the World Youth Day as examples. She noted, 'Priests continuously tried to lead or conclude meetings from a position of teaching and guiding laypeople, especially the youth, and young people received their 'orders'...

A Religious Sister who runs the youth free meal program ‘House of Charity,’ shared her experience under the title ‘Hey kids~! Let's eat!’ and deeply resonated with the audience.

She recounted a school violence incident involving a youth who was a “problem student” at school but a “model student” at the cafeteria. She appealed to the school, saying: “When you look at the children, please don't just see what's visible; I hope you can also see what lies beneath the person,” and shared how this led to a peaceful resolution of the problem.

The Sister emphasized, “While we didn't set out to do this under the name ‘synodality,’ isn't this very spirit of striving to live together synodality itself?” She stressed that “not blaming someone else for problems, but taking shared responsibility and caring together” is the path of walking together.