Interview with Sr. Julie Rose, Superior General of Sisters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary during the UISG-USG Joint Meeting (november 22-24, 2023).

As a leader of the congregation, I think about synodality as practice in the congregation; in the sense of listening with respect to our sisters and the people with whom we are working and we are serving, since we have so many institutions like orphanage, home for aged, home for mentally children, home for disabled and HIV affected and infected people and tribal people and nomads refugees.

I think first we need to go together with them first to understand them, not treating them apart from us and then going together towards the Kingdom of God. And once we have that experience, then we can do the same also with the other religious congregations, other Christian denominations, other people other lay people, to everybody. When we are united together our life is always directed towards hope. Without hope, we cannot live and in the synodality is giving hope to us.

The situation, especially political situation in India is very complicated: I am talking about the Christians and Muslims and how they were treated by the government. Churches were distracted and Christians are sent away from the places, so there are many problems for the Christian and for the Muslim brothers. How the synodality will give courage to go on? We should not remain indifferent seeing that situation, we have to go towards the synodality, hand in hand together with all.

In India we have religious conference, so we are going together: priests, brothers and sisters, very strongly understanding each other. I think we can realize the synodality here: we stay together and discuss together and we listen each one respectfully. We’re understanding one another with respect, so we are truly together, not only Indians or not only Africans or not only Europeans or Americans. We’re all together now at one table; all the nations, people together it resembles that we have unity and with if we are union we can do with the help of Jesus. With the inspiration of Holy Spirit, we can do anything.