Asymmetrical listening shaped by colonial and ecclesial power persists in a largely Eurocentric global Church despite demographic shifts towards the Global South. The Church's structures, decision-making, fundamental philosophy and epistemology reflect Western priorities and ecclesial models. A theological lag emerges as "spiritual colonisation" or "ideological imperialism." The lived realities of authentically doing and being Church are often compromised by the push for "uniformity" at the expense of "unity," indicative of unreflected spiritual coloniality. How does synodality correct the asymmetrical power that silences voices from the Global South through this surd?
This paper proposes a theology of synodal transcendence arising from a Melanesian horizon, rooted in Pope Francis's view that synodality is "an ecclesial journey that has a soul, which is the Holy Spirit." Thus, it transcends synodality as merely for conflict resolution, doctrinal modification, or abstract rhetoric. Synodality's universal call to conversion must address the hegemony of a Western-centric theology that prioritises uniformity over unity at the expense of genuine agency, authority, and integrity, particularly for voices from the Global South. Three interweaving concerns are analysed in relation to this:
1. A rereading of Vatican II's aggiornamento vis-a-vis Pope Francis's insistence on synodality for conversion, as a change in consciousness for changed consciences.
2. Synodal Education as mutual conversation and conversion, through probing existential and theological questioning on the cognitional, epistemological and metaphysical for interrogating power imbalances.
3. A hermeneutics of Melanesian culture, traditions, and cosmology for re-authoring understandings of authority, agency and authenticity without compromising synodality with Melanesian women's woundedness being the theologici loci for this reflection.