Bishops want Asian Church to respond to social realities

Oct 27, 2022

BANGKOK: Catholic bishops in Asia are working on a pastoral plan for the Church in Asia, taking into consideration the emerging social, economic, religious and political realities on a continent where Christians are a minority.  

“What exactly is the reality? How should the Church respond? What priority should we have in the next few years? What should the churches in Asia do? We are in the process of identifying and trying to open ourselves to understand these priorities and to see what is the way forward. We want to commit ourselves, the bishops of Asia, to work for a better Asia,” said Cardinal Oswald Gracias.

“We will present a message to the peoples of Asia and also begin the elements of a final document which will be like a guide document, a pastoral plan for the Church of Asia,” said the Indian cardinal.

He was among three Asian cardinals, including the president of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conference (FABC) general conference, who addressed the press on Oct 24 to help sum up the last 12 days of their meeting. Some 20 cardinals, 120 bishops, 37 priests, eight nuns, and 41 laypeople from 29 countries are taking part in that conference.

Cardinal Gracias said that several consultations were held prior to this meeting to prepare for it, to identify concerns, challenges, opportunities, what people face, what the Church faces, and what bishops and Church personnel face.

“Having put all those together, we identified some of the concerns which were given to us and then we have now the whole conference trying to respond taking that as a basis,” Cardinal Gracias said.

These include “the Church’s duty to protect human dignity, justice, reconciliation” and for “the Church to be a bridge-builder” to address these issues so as to make Asia a place where Gospel values are reflected.

“How we can really make Asia a place which God wants it to be. How the Gospel values, justice, peace, love, unity, and harmony are promoted. That's our mission. That's our task, that's our calling”, Cardinal Gracias said.

“The Church in Asia is young, growing and the time has come for the Church in Asia to make her contribution also to the Universal Church ... One specific point on which the rest of the world can learn from Asia is about interreligious dialogue,” Cardinal Gracias said.

There are many countries, especially in Europe, struggling with how to deal with other religions. “I think we've got the experience because for us it's not an option. It's a necessity and we have successfully harmoniously helped each other, other religions, Cardinal Gracias said.

Myanmar Cardinal Charles Bo of Yangon, president of the FABC, pointed out that even though Catholics represent only about 2% of the population in Asia “our presence is effective.” This is because “Asian values that can be shared are the family, spirituality, respect for elders and parents, peace and meditation and sacredness, since the vast majority of people have some connection with a religious tradition,” Cardinal Bo said.

“We are planning a future. We shall be taking a route, different routes, especially in the areas of peace, dialogue, and reconciliation, as a new path of a new evangelization,” Cardinal Bo said adding, “we are not discouraged because though that we are minority our presence in the whole of Asia is a very, very effective ... going through this journey in a dialogue with the poor, culture, religions and nature.”

Hence, Cardinal Bo said: “We have a reason to rejoice and we are grateful that will be continuing our journey in Asia, especially projecting the face of Jesus in an Asian way.

Cardinal Gracias told UCA News that projecting the face of Jesus in an Asian way is an important topic for evangelization and that “our focus at the moment has been how to bring the gospel of Jesus and the presence of Jesus and the person of Jesus in these different realities and different challenges that were mentioned.”

Thai Cardinal Francis Xavier Kriengsak Kovitvanit of Bangkok said that to declare credibility to the Christian faith depends mainly on “witness and lay people.” The witness of the laity immersing themselves in society can help “give witness to the people of other religions and other faiths” he said.--ucanews.com