The FABC Bishops Seminar on Synodality, held at Baan Phuwan, opened with Mass on September 23 presided over by Archbishop Anthony Weradet Chaiseri, vice president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Thailand, ahead of the 2026 Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC) Plenary Assembly in Bali.

“The purpose was to study and understand the Final Document of the Synod together, reflect on our dioceses, and consider how the Church in Asia can put it into practice,” Archbishop Chaiseri told LiCAS News.

The prelate also noted that the gathering revisited the Bangkok Document, issued during the FABC’s 50th anniversary in 2022, which is deeply connected to the global synodal process.

Participants used a process modeled after the Synod of Bishops in Rome—combining lectures, prayerful reflection, and small-group sharing. 

Nine group discussions focused on three themes: the link between the Synod’s Final Document and the FABC’s Bangkok Document of 2022; the reception of the synodal pathway across Asia; and the need for transparency and accountability in a synodal Church.

Archbishop Chaiseri noted that Asia’s contemplative approach to discernment—marked by silence, listening, and consensus—aligns closely with the global synodal method of Conversation in the Spirit. 

The seminar comes as the global Church enters the implementation phase of the Synod, following the release of the Final Document in November 2024 and a framework introduced by Cardinal Mario Grech in March 2025.

Running until 2028, the process calls for bishops to set clear goals and timelines while ensuring broad participation across all sectors of the Church. This includes not only clergy and parishioners but also young people, marginalized communities, and those skeptical of the synodal process.

Catholic schools, hospitals, prisons, and digital platforms are also expected to play a role, alongside religious communities and lay movements.

“These meetings reflect the growing desire among Churches in Asia to deepen synodality, strengthen communion, embrace the path of synodality within the Church, and walk in closer unity with the Universal Church under the guidance of Pope Leo XIV,” Archbishop Chaiseri said.