Pastoral Letter
“EVALUATION OF THE SYNOD OF MANILA”
Circular No. 24; Series of 1984
June 29, 1984
To our beloved Pastors, Parochial Vicars, Superiors
and Members of Religious Congregations, Guest Priests,
and People of God in the Archdiocese of Manila:
Five years ago our Archdiocese
was effervescent with the enthusiastic preparation of the Fourth Synod of
Manila which was celebrated in October 1979. In the decree of promulgation
of its Statutes, I clearly emphasized that the purpose of the Synod and its
legislation was “to respond to the existing needs in the local Church and
to discern the signs of the times in the Archdiocese” and that “the implemeptation
of decrees [would] enable us to follow Christ more avidly and to make his
presence more vividly felt in our community.”
It is obvious that if Synodal legislation is important to give the proper direction
to the apostolate, the main problem however lies in its implementation. Even
the best legislative measures need continued evaluation and updating, as it
has been clearly seen, among other prominent ecclesial facts, by the updating
ushered by the Second Vatican Council and the promulgation of the new Code
of Canon Law whose effectivity began last November.
In order to make the implementation
more effective and adapted to the emerging needs, periodic evaluation is
necessary. This is so because of the changes brought about in the course of
time, and because of the realities of life whereby a certain legislation,
necessary and apt at the time of its promulgation, might not have been fully
integrated into the current life of the local Church. We have to ask ourselves
whether the legislation proposed in the synod, and above all its spirit, have
been vitally integrated into the life of the life of the People of God in
the Archdiocese.
An added reason leads us to
the necessity of evaluating the decisions taken by the Fourth Synod of Manila:
the promulgation of the new Canon Law, with whose regulations the life of
the People of God in the Archdiocese has to be in perfect consonance.
As indicated in the Directory
on the Pastoral Ministry of Bishops (nn.
99 - 105) the renewal of pastoral action, if it is to be effective, should
be adapted to contemporary situations and the exigencies of times and places.
Therefore, if, any methods and procedures have been used up to the present
that no longer suit the present times, new forms of apostolic endeavor must
be wisely and prudently found which should be joined to those traditional
methods that are sound and still useful.
This demands that an adequate
knowledge of the socio-religious state of the Archdiocese be acquired. The
use of questionnaires, which will be sent to all the parishes, associations,
institutions and religious communities, will help in seeing with greater clarity
the pluses and minuses in the life of the Archdiocese under the light of the
Statutes of the Fourth Synod of Manila.
Obviously, the moral and spiritual
factors that affect people’s lives will have primacy of interest; and thus
their knowledge will be necessary for the proper direction of the People of
God and to supply fitting remedies for the evils and obstacles that will be
found.
I would like to point out with
special emphasis that I most earnestly hope that the lay faithful in the Archdiocese
— and by this I mean not only lay associations but the lay people themselves
at all levels — will take special interest in the enterprise of evaluating
the Archdiocesan Synod celebrated five years ago. This is particularly fitting
since the theme that the Holy Father has decided upon for the Synod of Bishops
which will be celebrated in 1986 is precisely “the Role of the Laity in the
Church and in the World Today.” No class or sector of those to be evangelized
or catechized will be excluded; cooperation and coordination of all apostolic
laborers, laity, religious men and women, priests of both diocesan and regular
clergies will be required; all sectors of the pastoral apostolate must be
united in action: namely liturgical, catechetical, missionary, charitable,
social, cultural, family, educational, etc. In other words, we will have to
reflect upon each and every section which the Fourth Synod of Manila reflected
upon and approved in its Statutes.
As necessary conditions for
obtaining the fruits, we must be deeply imbued with the spirit of the Gospel
and be faithful to God and man. We have to bring the life and light of Christ
to those who seek solutions to social questions, and to promote the mission
to foster and defend genuine human values, following the lead of our Holy
Father John Paul II, for where true “man” is lacking the grace of Christ can
scarcely take root.
Another condition for the spiritual
success of our evaluation work is to realize that we should strive not so
much to obtain better organization of pastoral structures, as “to acquire
and practice the spirit of humble and constant service by which (all) will
discover the grace of unity according to the saying of the Lord: Whoever loses
his life for my sake and for the Gospel will preserve it” (Mk 8: 35) (DPMB
105).
Therefore, after much prayer,
reflection and consultation, I have decided to initiate a period of evaluation
of the Fourth Synod of Manila. I earnestly hope that the People of God in
the Archdiocese who so fervently responded when the Synod was being prepared
and celebrated, will now again be spiritually mobilized. This mobilization
will help us to evaluate the Synod within the perspective of today, examining
with sincerity what has been achieved, what the progress obtained in certain
areas has been, and what are the shortcomings which all of us, in a concerted
effort, should try to correct for the good of the Church.
In order to achieve this end
in a more efficient way, I have appointed a commission under the Chairmanship
of Bishop Teodoro Buhain,
Auxiliary Bishop of Manila, with the following members under him: Bishop Teodoro Bacani, Msgr. Josefiino Ramirez, Msgr. Danilo
Pascual, Fr. Pedro S. de Achutegui,
S.J., Fr. Rolando Tria
Tirona, O.C.D., Sister Ma. Isabelita
Riego de Dios, R.V.M.,
Atty. Roman Mabanta, Jr., Mr. Jerome Cruz, and Mr.
Armando de Jesus, executive secretary.
The Commission is entrusted
with the responsibility of a) organizing the committees which will examine
the various aspects considered by the Synod and the actual application of
the Statutes, and b) of suggesting new measures to be taken either to adapt
the Synodal statutes to the emerging needs, or to
propose new initiatives for the fostering of the life of the People of God
in the Archdiocese.
A simple initial celebration
will be held on the last Sunday of October, the fifth anniversary of the completion
of the Synod, and a more solemn celebration will take place in 1985, on Holy
Thursday, the fifth anniversary of the solemn promulgation of the Synodal Statutes.
Devotedly yours in the
Sacred Heart,
(Sgd.) + JAIME L.
CARDINAL SIN, D.D.
Archbishop of Manila
June 29, 1984
Feast of the Sacred Heart
