Resolving to continue to journey on the path of a synodal Church with a preferential option for Indigenous Peoples, and with renewed hope and determination to celebrate and safeguard Indigenous living traditions within the local Churches in Asia, participants to the Asian Forum on Celebrating Synodality and Living Traditions in the Church shared their statement with the universal Church and local churches in Asia.
The forum, held at the Caritas Nepal Center in the traditional mountainous town of Dhulikhel in Nepal from 10 to 16 November 2024, gathered lay faithful, priests, religious men and women, and bishops from 13 countries in Asia (Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea, Thailand, Timor Leste, and Vietnam). And representing all Indigenous Peoples, there were participants from Ahka, Ati, Ayta, Dusun Bundu, Fataluku, Gurung, Hmong, Jarai, Kadazan, Kasi, Kayan, Kharias, Mao, Oraon, Paskari, Pulangiyēn, Santal, Subanen, Tamang,Tangkhul, and Tetum Indigenous nations.
The statement included action recommendations on: 1) Synodality as a natural way of life in Indigenous cultures: Networking and communication; 2) Pathways for evangelization, catechesis, liturgy, and research; and 3) Issues to be addressed.
The forum statement is available here.