invitation to the Churches gathered in Bangkok

The General Conference opened with a celebration of 50 years since the founding of the FABC. Cardinal Bo: “Called to be prophets of peace and evangelizers amid the suffocating clouds of conflict, famine and authoritarian governments that have become the norm.” Message from Pope Francis: “In the diversity of the continent, develop different ways of announcing the joy of the Gospel”. Sister Rekha Chennattu, an Indian nun, had the task of commenting on the passage from the Gospel of the Magi, which she took as a point of reference.

Bangkok () – A meeting to “confirm, renew and revitalize” the path of the Catholic Churches in Asia. In this spirit, the solemn opening of the General Conference of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC) was held today in Bangkok with a celebration for the 50th anniversary of its foundation that took place in the church dedicated to Blessed Nichola Kitbamrung. The liturgy of the Word referred to the Gospel passage of the Magi (Mt 2,1-12), which has been chosen as the point of reference for the meeting, whose objective is “to walk together with the peoples of Asia”. After this initial day, the assembly itself will take place between October 12 and 30, with the participation of 250 delegates from all over the continent.

The objective is not so much to remember the past, but rather to look forward, to respond to the provocation of the current Asian context. “We meet in the midst of suffocating clouds of conflict and exodus of peoples – recalled Cardinal Charles Bo, archbishop of Rangoon and president of the FABC – of the collapse of the economy, terrible climate changes, pandemics and famine of millions of people. . Secularization is spreading in the traditional Christian world. Authoritarian governments are becoming the norm in many countries. Democracy faces difficult challenges. Fundamentalism and religious violence threaten world peace. We are called to ask ourselves what the role of the Asian Churches can be in the face of these challenges”, and how to be “prophets of peace in a world increasingly dominated by anguish”.

Aware that every challenge is also an opportunity “we are called to be a synodal Church, which puts evangelization first – continued Cardinal Bo-. On the justice front, the Pope asks for our commitment in the fight for environmental and economic justice.” He recalled the contribution that the Catholic communities of Asia are already making in the fields of health, education and development of their countries, together with the vitality in vocations to the consecrated life, affirming that they are “a great opportunity”, to that this really becomes “the century of Christian Asia”.

In the message that he sent to the FABC and was read by the apostolic nuncio, Pope Francis himself expressed the hope that this General Conference “renews the Churches of Asia in fraternal communion and missionary zeal for the spread of the Gospel in the peoples, cultures and social realities so diverse from the vast continent”. “I pray that the deliberations you carry out – continued the pontiff – allow your local Churches to develop, within the polyhedral unity of the People of God, different ways of proclaiming the joy of the Gospel, of forming new generations of disciples missionaries and to work for the spread of the kingdom of Christ, holiness, justice and peace throughout the world”.

The evangelical icon of the Magi is an invitation to be willing to take “other paths” after having encountered Jesus. An Indian nun, Sister Rekha Chennattu, was called upon to comment on this word during the celebration. She expressed the hope of an Asian Church that can reflect more and more the richness of her interior life and her fraternity “going out to meet the poor, of those who are alone, of the marginalized, building together a community where the multi-religious and multicultural world of Asia can recognize that we are Christians because we take care of each other. That on the soil of Asia – he added – the Church becomes sign of the presence of God that spreads joy and hope even in the midst of persecution”.

For his part, the Cardinal of Mumbai Oswald Gracias, who coordinated the preparation of this Conference, recalled that the FABC was born 50 years ago precisely because of the desire “for a Church of the poor, of the young and of dialogue. And these are challenges that continue to be decisive today.” He then explained that the General Conference of the FABC is part of the synodal journey that the whole Church is doing, and invited everyone to “ask God for help to seek together the face of Jesus in Asia. That Jesus -he affirmed- who is already in our midst, despite our differences”.