PANAJI
Pope Francis has appointed Archbishop of Goa and Daman Cardinal Filipe Neri Ferrão, President of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI), to the committee responsible for drafting the final document for the Synod on Synodality.
The committee comprising 14 members, includes representatives elected from seven global regions, along with ex-officio members and those directly appointed by the Pope.
Along with Cardinal Ferrão, Pope Francis also appointed Sister Leticia Salazar from California and Fr Giuseppe Bonfrate from Rome.
The second session of the Synod on Synodality began in the Vatican on October 2 and will conclude on October 27.
Among the elected members are Catherine Clifford (theologian from St Paul University in Ottawa), Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo (President of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar), Bishop Shane Mackinlay of Sandhurst (Australia), Cardinal Luis José Rueda Aparicio of Bogota (Columbia), Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline of Marseille, Father Clarence Davedassan of Malaysia, and Bishop Mounir Khairallah, a Maronite Bishop.
Ex-officio members include Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich of Luxembourg, Cardinal Mario Grech, the secretary-general of the Synod of Bishops, Msgr Riccardo Battocchio, and Jesuit Father Giacomo Costa.
Cardinal Filipe Neri Ferrão was created Cardinal by Pope Francis on August 27, 2022. He has been President of the CCBI since its 31st Plenary Assembly in 2019 and was re-elected during its 33rd Assembly in 2022.
