<i>Palaver</i> as a Synodal Praxis of Belonging in the Catholic Church

African praxis of palaver is its own cultural enactment of a synodal consciousness. It is rooted in the African psyche as a source of ritualizing social belonging while also upholding the unique creativity and imagination of the constituent members of the social group. This approach to responding to the signs of the times in the African social world can serve as a source of articulating a synodal culture in the Catholic Church. Such an embrace of synodality ought to proceed with a sense of inclusivity and belonging of all baptized persons. This work sheds light on what is at stake when this process is done well and what horizon of new possibilities can arise for the Church, especially as it works at responding to the signs of the times. While acknowledging that the Church is catholic in the sense that it embodies multitudes of cultural ways of being in the world, this work is intended to articulate an African consciousness of how to be church in Africa.