Dr. Francisco Castillo, a member of the Sociedad de Catequetas Latinoamericanos (SCALA), is among the scholars and pastoral practitioners representing the United States in this international society of catechetical experts. His participation brings the perspectives and experience of U.S. theological education and pastoral ministry into conversation with catechetical leaders throughout Latin America and beyond.

Following its 2025 meeting in Paraguay, SCALA issued the Manifesto: La iniciación cristiana, corazón de una Iglesia sinodal (Christian Initiation, the Heart of a Synodal Church). As part of the 2025 SCALA Manifesto, Dr. Castillo was invited to offer a reflection on its fourth section, “Prácticas de iniciación sinodal” (“Practices of Synodal Initiation”). Dr. Castillo’s reflection is available on YouTube in Spanish with English subtitles.

Regarding the subject of his talk, Dr. Castillo says, "Drawing on my experience accompanying graduate students, parishes, dioceses, catechists, and pastoral ministers, I explore a conviction that has continued to grow in me: synodality is not learned simply by reading documents in a classroom setting; it is learned by walking together with those we form." Moreover, he says, "Christian initiation is, therefore, a privileged space where the Church learns to be Church. More than transmitting content or preparing people to receive the sacraments, our practices form concrete ways of listening, discerning, celebrating, accompanying, and serving. In this sense, a community that learns to initiate people into Christian life also learns to live synodally."

Dr. Castillo’s contribution to the SCALA Manifesto highlights the important connection between catechetical practice, theological formation, and the life of the Church. His reflection offers a valuable perspective on how Christian initiation can become not only a process of forming individuals in the faith, but also a way for communities to grow in the practices of listening, discernment, accompaniment, celebration, and service that characterize a synodal Church.