Zambia and synodality: Listening and allowing everyone to participate in the Church

By Martha Mvula - Lusaka

Fr. Cletus Mwiila is one of the parish priests from around the world who attended a ‘Parish Priests for Synodality’ meeting in Rome, Italy, in May 2024.

During the Rome meeting, Pope Francis mandated parish priests gathered at the international meeting to become missionaries of Synodality: “I ask you to become missionaries of synodality with your brother parish priests, once you return home,” said the Pope.

It is a mission that Fr. Cletus has taken to heart.

The centre of Synodality is Christ

From St. Mary’s Choma Parish in Monze Diocese, Fr. Mwiila has spoken about his involvement in creating awareness of the Synod around Zambia.

He told Vatican News about his appreciation of how the Synod’s message has been received in the country. People are happy about being listened to and feel called to fully participate in the life to the Church.

He did, however, acknowledge that possibilities of misunderstanding the Synod as yet another theological concept in the Church abound.

“Synodality has nothing to do with theological theories or issues,” he said. “It can have a theological foundation, but it is certainly not about doing theology or accepting ‘wrong things.’ Synodality is about allowing everyone, regardless of their status, to participate fully in the life of the Church.”

“The centre of Synodality is Christ who went out to and reached out to everyone -the lame, widowed and people living in different conditions of life,” Fr. Mwiila said. “Misrepresenting the Synod as anything else is a sign of distorted understanding.”

A new narrative of being Church

As part of his mission, Fr. Mwiila said he has engaged different communities and sectors of Zambian society with the Synod on Synodality messaging.

Highlighting the Synod’s importance, Fr. Mwiila noted that it is a new narrative of the Church that invites everyone to participate.

“We are a community in communion. Everyone should participate in the life of the Church as an important partner,” he stressed.

Listened to and not judged

Fr. Mwiila further emphasized that above all, the Synod on Synodality is about listening, walking together and inviting everyone to participate.

“The call for everyone to participate is one way the Catholic Church is implementing the decisions of the Second Vatican Council.”

He said people should share their stories and be listened to without feeling judged, as Jesus did.

Fr. Mwiila said the message of Synodality is not just for Catholics. It is a liberating message for all.

It is for this reason that “we have shared the message of synodality with the media, such as the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation Television, national, private, and community radio stations, where even non-Catholics have shown appreciation for the message,” he said.

A call to unity

Aware of areas of disunity that exists in the world and even in Zambian society, Fr. Mwiila has implored Zambians not to be divided by race, ethnicity, politics or religion but to be “each other’s keeper.” The Lord Jesus never discriminated against anyone, he said.

“Jesus even accommodated sinners by washing their feet to express humility, service and as a sign of reaching out and inviting everyone to the table. At the end of the day, we are all brothers and sisters,” he underscored.