VATICAN (RVA News): Bishop Pablo Virgilio David of Kalookan, the Philippines, was elected one of the members of the Commission of Information for the ongoing Synod on Synodality in Rome on October 9.
Bishop David, also president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, will serve as one of the representatives for the Churches in Asia, alongside six others.
The other elected members include Víctor Manuel Cardinal Fernández, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith; Joseph Cardinal Tobin from the United States; Archbishop Andrew Nkea Fuanya from Cameroon; Bishop Anthony Randazzo from Australia; Jesuit Father Antonio Spadaro, the undersecretary of the Dicastery for Culture and Education; and Father Khalil Alwan from Lebanon.
The rest of the commission members were appointed by Pope Francis, including its president, Paolo Ruffini, who is Prefect of the Dicastery for Communication.
As per synod rules, the Commission for Information is tasked with working in “close collaboration with the Dicastery for Communication and the General Secretariat of the Synod” to oversee the communications work of the Synod Assembly.
They are mandated to “report on the progress of the Synodal Assembly” and collaborate “in the preparation of communiqué on specific topics” when necessary.
Furthermore, it is also the commission’s responsibility to enforce “confidentiality and discretion” for every participant of the Synod as well as the team of communicators they collaborate with.
