MANILA, Sept. 22, 2012— Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Tagle is one the “Synod Fathers” appointed by Pope Benedict XVI for the upcoming assembly of bishops on the New Evangelization.
Tagle will join 34 other cardinals, bishops and representatives of different religious orders and charisms within the church when they meet with the pontiff from October 7 to 28 in the Vatican.
This also means that the Manila archbishop will already be in the Vatican during the canonization of the soon-to-be second Filipino saint, Blessed Pedro Calungsod, on October 21.
There are only two Asians in the group, which will be composed of 10 cardinals, one patriarch, 11 archbishops, eight bishops and four priests.
The other Asian prelate is Mumbai Archbishop Oswald Gracias, secretary general of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC).
The 13th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops will address the theme “The Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith.”
The gathering will be guided by a working document, issued June 19, which is the result of more than a year worldwide consultation among church leaders.
Part of the document states that New Evangelization must provide “an adequate response to the signs of the times, to the needs of individuals and people of today and to the new sectors with their cultures through which we express our identity and the meaning of our lives.”
Established by Pope Paul VI in 1965, the synod of bishops aims to “foster the unity and cooperation of bishops around the world with the Holy See.” [RL/CBCPNews]
