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Nyeri Catholic archbishop Anthony Muheria and his Mombasa counterpart Martin Kivuva will be among the more than 400 participants at the upcoming Catholic Synod on Synodality assembly to discuss issues affecting the church.

The assembly scheduled for October at the Vatican, is expected to discuss controversial issues  including women deacons, priestly celibacy, LGBTQ outreach, and highlights a desire for new institutional bodies to allow for greater participation in decision-making by the “People of God.”

One of the thorny issues likely to take limelight is the debate on whether to allow blessing ceremonies for same-sex couples, which most European nations are agitating for.

The 50-page working document released by the Vatican also outlines a “synodal method” of spirituality focused on listening to the Holy Spirit and “discerning the signs of the times” and calls for new formation programs to train candidates for ordained ministry “in a synodal style and mentality.”

Special invitation

Archbishop Kivuva will represent Kenyan Catholics in his capacity as the chairman of the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB) while archbishop Muheria will attend on the special invitation of Pope Francis.

The name of John Cardinal Njue, who retired as the archbishop of Nairobi two years ago is conspicuously missing in the list of anticipated participants released by the Vatican over the weekend.

Archbishops Muheria and Kivuva will present views of Kenyan Catholics on some of the controversial issues facing the church.

Only thirty African countries will be represented at the high-profile meeting that is expected to shape the future of the Catholic church worldwide.

Besides archbishops Muheria and Kivuva, other African participants include Tanzania’s Jude Thaddaeus Rwaichi and Flavian Kassala, Stephen Ameyu Martin Mulla (Sudan), Sanctus Lino Wanok (Uganda), Raphael Macebo Mabuza Ncube (Zimbabwe), Ignatius Chama (Zambia), Edouard Sinayobye (Rwanda), Marcl Utembi Tapa) DRC), Ildevert Mathurin Mouanga (Congo Brazzaville) and George Bizimana (Burundi).

For the first time, laypeople will not only participate in the Synod of Bishops assembly, they also will be full members, with the ability to vote on a final document at the end of the process in October 2024.

More than 50 women will be participating as voting members in the synod assembly scheduled for Oct. 4-29 at the Vatican. Among them is Nicaraguan Sister Xiskya Valladares, known as the tweeting nun, who is a professor and journalist based in Spain and is a cofounder of iMision, an organization seeking to support the presence of the Church in the digital world.

Catholic faithful

For over two years, the Kenyan Catholic church, like others across the world, has been collating views from all Catholic faithful at the parish level with a view of having them presented during the assembly.

Kisumu archbishop Maurice Makumba says the sixteenth Ordinary General Assembly of Bishops was initially slated for October 2022, but was postponed to October 2023, in order to, “among other reasons, allow for wider consultation with the people of God.”

The Synod on Synodality, Bishop Muhatia explains, “Is an ecclesial journey that has a soul that is the Holy Spirit,” hence the upcoming Synod emphasizes “the participation of all the faithful from the local Church all the way up to the universal Church. It is hoped to be a common path for the laity, pastors and the Bishop of Rome, some kind of decentralised synod.”