Need to dialogue with cultures, with poor and with religions: Card. Gracias

October 09, 2012: “The Churches of Asia have identified three thrust areas for our work because of the three major challenges facing us. So we need to have a dialogue with cultures, a dialogue with the poor and a dialogue with religions: to study what the Gospel mandate means to us in our relationship with these three major realities.” Said Cardinal Oswald Gracias, Archbishop of Bombay, Secretary General of the "Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences" (FABC), on Monday afternoon, in the presence of the Pope at the Second General Congregation of the Synod on New Evangelization for the transmission of the Christian faith.

At the reading of the Reports on the continents representing the Asian Continent Card Gracias said An overarching mega trend that impacts every aspect of Asian life is Globalization and that it has become a phenomenon of culture, bringing with it counter values of materialism, individualism, consumerism and relativism which has been affecting our value systems. The spirit of secularism and materialism is getting more prevalent, he lamented.

Family ties are getting eroded with attacks on the sanctity of married life with divorces and same sex marriages gaining ground in the name of freedom, he said. But there are Many family movements facing the challenge to preserve the sacredness of the family and the home, he added.
Although he enumerated anti life ethnic conflicts, violent suppression of different religious persuasions; the tragic threat to life against the helpless; the unborn; female feticide, he was hopeful that since the Asian soul by itself has great respect for life, the Gospel pro life message will find easy acceptance.

Moreover, since the Asian soul seeks community, the basic Christian Community method as the new way of being Church has found great success, he opined. Further, he said that a rising number of attacks made Christian communities feel weak and defenceless and yet he there are cases of heroic witnessing in the midst of suffering. In this context he added that dialogue is a necessity not a luxury.

In conclusion he said religion in Asia is more a discipleship of a person than an adherence to a doctrine or obedience to a set of rules. Moreover he said the Asian mentality finds more meaning in contemplative prayer than in discursive meditation and urged the Synod to focus on contemplation at least in a para liturgical service which can bring deep satisfaction to the Asians to feel the presence of God and be strengthened by Him.


Full Text of the Address:
Asia is a continent experiencing the hopes and joys of a constant rebirth in the Spirit (Ecclesia in Asia). We all know that 60% of the world's population lives in Asia. It is a young continent with a majority of the population young. And hence in several ways Asia is very central for the future of the world. India and China which have 37% of the world's population are emerging as major players on the international scene in many fields.

There is hardly any uniformity in the Asian scene and so it is difficult to define what Asianness is. We see high economic development levels in some countries like Japan. South Korea, Taiwan; rising development in other countries; and some countries struggling with poverty. Asia is blessed with a richness of cultures, ancient and well developed. It is also the cradle of many of the world's religions. Would this be because of the deep rooted spiritual nature of the Asian soul which constantly seeks the Absolute?

The Churches of Asia have identified three thrust areas for our work because of the three major challenges facing us. So we need to have a dialogue with cultures, a dialogue with the poor and a dialogue with religions: to study what the Gospel mandate means to us in our relationship with these three major realities.

An overarching mega trend that impacts every aspect of Asian life is Globalization. This is an ongoing, inexorable, complex and ambivalent process which impacts every sphere of life and activity. Begun as an economic process which led to free competition sometimes to the detriment of the poorer countries, this has now become a phenomenon of culture. It impacts cherished Asian cultural values bringing in its wake materialism, individualism, consumerism and relativism. The youth in particular are very vulnerable to its effects.

The effects of globalization are seen overall affecting our value systems. Traditional Asian values, much cherished traditions and cultures are being impacted and eroded. As we embark on the great project of New Evangelization may I identify some:

1. As mentioned a spirit of secularism and materialism is getting more prevalent. The Asian people are religious by nature with hundreds of thousands queuing to visit temples and places of worship to receive divine blessings on the occasion of special festivals. Now some are finding that God is being forced away from the center of people's lives to the periphery. From our Christian perspective our Churches are still getting large congregations. But will this continue? The Year of Faith will present us with a challenge to convey the message of Faith in a way that is attractive, relevant and an answer to the questions of our times.

2. Family ties once considered so important for all Asian homes and deep rooted are slowly being eroded. Also connected with this are the attacks on the sanctity of married life. Divorce once considered taboo is now not so uncommon. Some feeble voices have been raised for same sex marriages. It is not yet a big movement, but slowly gaining ground in the name of freedom.
Many family movements have sprung up in the Church of Asia. This apostolate has borne much fruit because the family is accepted as the basic cell of society, the ambience where once happiness, success and life mission is worked out. It is a challenge to us to find new ways to preserve the sacredness of the family and the home.

3. Anti life movements while the Asian soul treats all aspects of life as important, there are rising threats to life that are disturbing in different ways. Ethnic conflicts, violent suppression of different religious persuasions; the tragic threat to life against the helpless; the unborn; female feticide is commonly practiced in some areas because the girl child is considered a divine curse or a financial burden. The Asian soul by itself has great respect for life. In some religious traditions animals and plants are considered holy and to be treated with utmost respect. In this environment the Gospel pro life message will find easy acceptance.

4. The Asian soul seeks community. Now this too is being impacted upon by individualism creeping in, with a lack of care for the other and indifference to his/her needs, a lack of hospitality which was traditionally important in all societies. The Asian Church has chosen the basic Christian Community method as the new way of being Church for us. This has found great success in some places and has led to lay participation in the Church. lay formation and outreach to the other. It has given a sense of belonging to many who were otherwise neglected.

5. Unfortunately, we are also witnessing a rising number of attacks on religion. In some countries the persecution of Christians is on the rise. The opposition comes from a dominant religion or sometimes from an ideological thrust which wants to impose political authority on religious groups. The Christian communities feel weak and defenseless in some places but we have seen cases of heroic witnessing in the midst of suffering.

The great insights of Vatican II in Nostra Aetate are relevant even today. For us in Asia. dialogue is a necessity not a luxury. A dialogue of life is something all of us are involved in everyday. In Asia we are just 3% of the total population with a Christian majority only in two countries, the Philippines and East Timor. Religious fundamentalism is making itself felt in our continent. These incidents though sporadic are sufficient to cause alarm.

We look forward to the Year of Faith so that we can understand our faith more deeply, live it more authentically and proclaim it more confidently.

May I conclude with two further elements from our Asian context: For us religion is more a discipleship of a person than an adherence to a doctrine or obedience to a set of rules. The person of Jesus is deeply attractive: His message and His life, His passion, death and resurrection. Adherence to doctrine comes as a fruit of discipleship of a master. This is how the first Christians proclaimed the Good News. Further the Asian mentality finds more meaning in contemplative prayer than in discursive meditation. These are riches we can build upon and share with the world. Our liturgies are central to our Christian faith, but if a focus on contemplation can be made at least in a para liturgical service it can bring deep satisfaction to our people feeling the presence of God and strengthened by Him.

The challenges before us are immense. But the possibilities are great. Young Asia is blessed with an unprecedented communications boom. This is not to be viewed as a threat but a great gift from God to be used to spread the Good News. Our call is to train our youth particularly to use the new media and benefit from the new media.


Petition To End Abortion In Spain Draws 100,000 Signatures
(http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=25803)

MADRID, SPAIN, October 5 (CNA/Europa Press) .- Accompanied by a group of children, a local pro-life leader delivered a petition signed by 100,000 people to the Ministry of Justice calling for the end of abortion in Spain.

Every day in the country, "300 children die in a violent way in the wombs of their mothers," said Ignacio Arsuaga, head of the Spanish civil rights group HazteOir.org.

As he presented the petition to government officials on Oct. 4, Arsuaga urged them to fulfill their "electoral promise to change the law on abortion to protect the right to life."

This includes not only ending abortion but also enacting policies to support mothers, "so that women who have an unexpected pregnancy can move forward," he added.

The organization Right to Life collected the signatures, which were delivered just three days before the local March for Life takes place in Madrid on Oct. 7.

According to Right to Life, the petition states that abortion constitutes "the cruel and violent death of a human being" and that it always leaves "two victims: the child that dies and the mother who suffers it."

It also denounces "the million-dollar industry that benefits a few individuals who profit from the deaths of other human begins."

The third annual International March for Life, which also kicks-off on Oct. 7, will take place in more than 100 cities across Spain and in other cities around the world. Some 323 national and international associations are expected to participate in the march.