Synod: Archbishop Palma of Cebu talks of building 'community of disciples'

The XIII Ordinary assembly of the Synod of Bishops has passed the halfway point of its work, and is into the small-group phase during which participants organised roughly by language group gather to discuss particular themes and share ideas and opinions. One of the ex officio Synod Fathers is the President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, José Palma of Cebu. He spoke with Vatican Radio about the major concerns he brought to the whole body of participants in General Congregation, saying, "[I]t was a sharing of what we, in the Philippines, did in connection with Vatican II.” Archbishop Palma went on to describe the great gift, in 1991, of the II Plenary Council of the Philippines, called to implement the II Vatican Council. “We defined a vision of the Church,” he said, “and we said, ‘for us, we would like to live as a community of disciples.’” Archbishop Palma also discussed the peace agreement reached between the government of the Philippines and the rebel Moro Islamic Liberation Front, saying that it could facilitate efforts to achieve better understanding among Christians and Muslims. “The fruits have [yet] to be seen,” said Archbishop Palma, “but we are hopeful that something good could happen.” Listen to Paolo Ondarza's conversation with Archbishop José Palma of Cebu in the Philippines: