BANGKOK (UCAN): The Church in Asia has made unique and valuable theological contributions to the universal Church from the continent’s deep religiosity and multi-religious cultures, said Charles Cardinal Bo and Oswald Cardinal Gracias, during a press conference on October 24 in Bangkok, during the October 12 to 30 general conference of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences [FABC].
Asian values of family, religiosity, devotion, respect for the elders and values like peace, meditation, and the sense of the sacred are values that “could be shared very deeply with the West,” Cardinal Bo, the FABC president, said.
Cardinal Gracias of Mumbai told the press conference that “one point on which the rest of the world can learn from Asia is about interreligious dialogue.”
Cardinal Bo said the sense of religiosity is shared by almost everyone in Asia. At least 95 per cent of Asians follow some religious faith.
Asian values of family, religiosity, devotion, respect for the elders and values like peace, meditation, and the sense of the sacred are values that “could be shared very deeply with the West,”
Cardinal Bo
“Nobody in Asia, for example, Myanmar, will say that I am a free thinker… I have no religion. Each one will have their own,” he said.
“It’s the devotion, the real sense of God in Asia. That could be the real basis to be shared with the other countries, especially with the West,” he said.
Cardinal Gracias said that several countries, particularly in Europe, “are struggling on how to deal with other religions. We’ve got the experience because for us it’s not an option. It’s a necessity and we successfully help each other; other religions.”
The need for inter-religious struggle is not just a Western issue. It exists in African nations too, Cardinal Gracias said.
“So I think that’s a very big contribution that we can make,” he said about the inter-religious dialogue and cooperation existing in India.
We are very conscious of the importance of their youth, their generosity, their authenticity, their eagerness to do something to change Asia. And, they’re an indispensable partner in all our works
Cardinal Gracias
Some countries in Asia also have peace and reconciliation committees, he said, adding, “I’m thinking of South Korea and Japan. I myself attended meetings in South Korea” referring to efforts for the unification of South and North Korea. “We’re planning for the future unification of the two. Peace and reconciliation.”
Cardinal Gracias said, “Certainly these are contributions we can make from our experience, our reflection, successes, and failures to the universal Church.”
He also said Asia is a young continent with young people forming some 60 per cent of its population.
“We’re aware of the young… we want the youth to be with us in whatever project because they are the present,” Cardinal Gracias said.
“We are very conscious of the importance of their youth, their generosity, their authenticity, their eagerness to do something to change Asia. And, they’re an indispensable partner in all our works,” he said.
Meanwhile on October 29, Luis Cardinal Tagle, Pope Francis special envoy to the general conference, said that Church in Asia needs to respond to the changing landscape of social media and artificial intelligence to evangelise young people and communities.
The pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelisation said that social media has changed “the self-identity of youth … their feelings of belonging and empathy for others.”
The cardinal said that the speed and limits of social media impact the ability of young people “to infer, critically analyse, and empathise.”
He also highlighted the importance of deep reading and the danger of digital crimes and the monopoly of media by businesses.
Social media “is not only a means for connectedness but a powerful tool for creating a new humanity,” he said.
“The Church of the young has become the Church swimming and navigating the new frontier of the web,” he said stressing the need to use new media technologies for evangelization
