Dialogue not optional in Asia, it’s a ‘matter of survival’

Nov 01, 2024

By Joseph Masilamany
With a population of 4,815,671,322 people in over 40 countries, including China, India, and Indonesia which are the world’s most populated countries - and hosting a mosaic of people and cultures who speak 2,300 languages, Asia is truly an enigma - being the birthplace of 11 major religions.

Hinduism, Taoism, Judaism, Shintoism, Zoroastrianism, and Buddhism are the religions of Asia’s people, along with Jainism, Christianity, Islam, Sikhism, and the Baháí faith.

Christians number 383 million people and among them are 153.3 million Catholics who also make up the face of Asia. Against this juggernaut of Asia’s complex matrix, the Church in Asia is called to live in synodality - unarguably, a tightrope odyssey requiring amicable navigation via harmony and dialogue.

Speaking during the Synod on Synodality in Rome, October 22, Malaysian delegate Fr Dr Clarence Devadass cautioned: “For Asia with a minority Christian population and an even smaller population of Catholics, the experience of living synodality will be unique within the Church (ad intra) and with Asia’s gigantic pluralistic demography (ad extra).”

He said: “Apart from the Philippines and Timor Leste, Asia is a continent where Catholics are a minority. While the faith is very much alive, it does not mean that the negative impacts of secularisation and other problems are not present.

“The public space for the expression of faith seems to be getting smaller and smaller, in many places, not least due to political and religious extremism. In such a context, one must seek harmony by engaging in dialogue.”

He pointedly said: “Dialogue is not an option for the Asian Church but rather a matter of survival. It is not a novelty but a necessity and is part of the experience we live daily within a pluralist culture in Asia,” he added.

The challenge in Asia involves learning to do theology “from the perspective of living with others” and learning to evangelise “where faith cannot be expressed in a public way.”

Synodality, he said, is “at the foundation of all this” and is being lived everywhere, starting with the family, and it continues to bear fruit. This means synodality is “at the very base” of all faith communities in Asia.

Touching on the phenomenon of migration, which has led many Asians to live in other parts of the world he pointed out: “They are the new missionaries because when they leave their homes, they are not just looking for an income but they take their faith with them, he said, adding:

“And I know that in many places in the world, they animate the churches in the communities where they live and work, contributing to keeping the faith alive.”

Speaking to HERALD by phone from the sidelines of the synod, Fr Dr Clarence, who is the director of the Catholic Research Centre defined “dialogue” in its pastoral context.

He reiterated that beyond formal discourses between groups and organisations “what we do” for our neighbour constitutes “active dialogue” which must prevail in Asia and more so in Malaysia, a multi-racial, multi-cultural, and multi-religious nation.

“During the COVID-19 pandemic, we saw how people reached out to one another to help and care. Acts of kindness and charitable exchanges like these “bear witness” as to who we are, in the model of the Good Samaritan in the Gospel.”

He said dialogue among different races and people of different faiths has always been a natural norm among people in Asian communities and in Malaysia.

“This positive trait must continue to counter the negative impacts of polarisation which is increasingly becoming a trend among people and cultures.”

Fr Dr Clarence, is also one of the elected members from the seven geographical regions to serve on the Commission of 14 members for drafting the final document.