By Ivy Chai
KUCHING — In preparation for the Synod of Bishops 2023 and Pan Malaysian Pastoral Convention (PMPC) 2026, parishes in the Archdiocese of Kuching are to hold their Parish Pastoral Assembly (PPA) in June – July 2022.
Synodal Journey
The Archdiocese synodal journey began with a Joint Day of Recollection by Archbishop Simon Poh on 16 October 2021 via Zoom, attended by members of the Archdiocesan Pastoral Council (APC) commissions and committees, priests, religious, seminarians, parish councillors and church leaders. The Roadmap to the Synod of Bishops 2023 and Pan Malaysian Pastoral Convention 2026 was unveiled.
The launch of the Archdiocesan level Synod of Bishops 2023 and PMPC 2026 took place the following day, 17 October, during a livestream Mass.
The Archdiocese of Kuching held its 1st Kuching Archdiocesan Pastoral Assembly (KAPA) in 2017. This was followed by the 1st Malaysian Catholic Clergy Assembly (MCCA) in Majodi Centre, Johore from 16-21 July 2018 where 278 clergy, comprising arch/bishops, priests and deacons from the nine arch/dioceses in Malaysia gathered for discernment, prayer and fellowship.
The outcome of the assembly was the recognition of a need for the Malaysian Church to focus on eight areas of concern: Family, Islamisation, Youth, Secularisation, Evangelisation and Mission Witnessing, Faith Formation, Disparities between East and West Malaysia, and Vocation.
The Holy Father, Pope Francis, launched a two-year consultation process known as the Synodal Process, in 2021 and this will culminate with the Synod of Bishops in Rome in 2023. The overall theme is, “For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, Mission”.
The synodal process is a prayerful process, rooted in the encounter with Jesus in the prayerful reading of the Sacred Scriptures, through the liturgical life of the Church and inspired by an openness to the movement of the Holy Spirit. The synodal process is a time to listen, discern and pay attention to what the Holy Spirit is saying to us.
Parish Pastoral Assembly (PPA)
The Archdiocese of Kuching took into account several factors in its deliberation to hold the Parish Pastoral Assembly:
- The last KAPA took place in 2017, so 2022 would be a good time to review and reassess its performance after five years. Of particular interest would be the last 2.5 years of challenges and uncertainties faced by the Church and her people, brought about by the pandemic.
- At the MCCA in Majodi in 2018, the Malaysian Church mooted holding the Pan Malaysian Pastoral Convention 2026.
- The Synod of Bishops 2023.
Considering these events, the Archdiocese started a process of consultation and formulated the Kuching Archdiocesan Pastoral Assembly (KAPA) 2022 Questionnaire that encompasses the PPA, Synod of Bishops 2023, Sarawak Regional Assembly 2024 and PMPC 2026.
Parishes disseminated the Questionnaires to parishioners manually and via Google Forms from December 2021 to February 2022, with the overall Questionnaire findings presented at the 47th APC Board Meeting in March.
Parishes held pre-PPA group deliberations in May and must complete their PPA and submit their PPA Consolidated Report for KAPA 2022 by end of July.
The Kuching Archdiocesan Pastoral Assembly (KAPA) will be held on 1-2 October 2022.
 2026, parishes in the Archdiocese of Kuching are to hold their Parish Pastoral Assembly (PPA) in June and July 2022.){kind=link}