We, the Pastors of the Catholic Church in Asia, share this message of joy, hope, and solidarity with you, Peoples of Asia. We are grateful for the blessings that God has showered on Asia through the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC) comprising 17 Episcopal Conferences and two Synods of Oriental Churches.
“Journeying together as Peoples of Asia” was the theme of our conference in which we sought to reaffirm our journey of the past 50 years, revitalize the Church, and envision new pathways of service.
We are deeply thankful to the Royal Thai Government for the warm welcome and for honoring our general conference with the presence of the Minister of Culture during the opening ceremony. We express our deep appreciation to the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Thailand, especially the Archdiocese of Bangkok, for hosting the FABC 50 General Conference. We were happy to have with us representatives of the Holy See and other Continental Conferences. It was a fruitful time of praying, listening, discerning, and encouraging each other. It was also a moment of healing from the pain caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Through our discussions and deliberations at the conference, we touched the soul of Asia. At the same time, we were inspired by the hope, courage, and determination shown by the Churches in Asia to journey together and work with more dedicatedly for a better Asia.
We were challenged by the different voices of our multifaceted continent that we hear crying out for help and justice:
- the sufferings of the poor, deprived, and marginalized longing for a dignified life,
- the anguish of refugees, migrants, displaced, and indigenous peoples seeking genuine human dignity and safe places,
- the groaning of nature with wounds of exploitation, climate change, and global warming, pleading for being more adequately cared for,
- the dream of youth seeking for more significant roles in the Church and society,
- the voices of women asking for a more inclusive Church that respects their dignity and recognizes their rightful place, the desire of families looking for better stability and more support from all.
We are also deeply concerned about:
- the pain and suffering of some churches that need to receive relief through our empathy and solidarity;
- the rising voices of extremism that needs to be responded to wisely;
- the urgent need for a greater respect for life to be inculcated in society;
- the escalating violence and conflicts in our continent that call for dialogue and reconciliation;
- a society that is challenged by the digital revolution, which has impacted all both positively and negatively.
Read full news in LiCAS.news
