The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manila on Maundy Thursday revealed plans to make the churches under its jurisdiction more inclusive and accepting, in line with the global Catholic Church’s preparation for the Synod on Synodality 2024, an international gathering of bishops next year.

Before the Chrism Mass at Manila Cathedral, Father Jason Laguerta of the Archdiocese of Manila announced the creation of the “Traslacion RCAM Roadmap,” which consists of goals by the Archdiocese for the next five years, following consultations with various sectors of the church through the “Audiam sa RCAM.”

“In our listening to the Holy Spirit and to one another, many have felt that the synod should not just stop as a concept on paper. There needs to be a resumption on the conversations and listening to the different sectors inside and outside the church,” he explained.

Synodality is a concept of ‘journeying together,” a concept by which Pope Francis advocated heavily in his Papacy, urging a participative dialogue between all members and sectors of small and large Catholic communities.

The Catholic Church, under his leadership, is currently under the process of synodality which is expected to culminate in October next year.

The Traslacion RCAM Roadmap consists of five perspectives and 14 goals, all aiming for a Church leadership and community that is more participatory, more understanding and more inclusive. It particularly urges the Catholic community to be open to the youth, the elderly, persons with disabilities, women, members of the LGBTQ+ and other genders, and other religions and denominations.

However, Laguerta said the plan is still a work in progress, with the goal of crafting localized roadmaps and the completion of the general roadmap from August to November this year.

“This is not a completed road map. It needs to be further sharpened and adjusted to the levels of churches, schools, ministries, apostolates and other communities,” he said.