REJOICE, O ASIA-CHURCH!

James H. Kroeger, M.M.

JAMES H. KROEGER, M.M., a Maryknoller who has served mission in Asia since 1970
(Philippines and Bangladesh), is currently professor of Systematic Theology, Missiology, and
Islamics at the Jesuit Loyola School of Theology in Manila. He has recently published Asia-
Church in Mission (Claretian Publications: Manila). Mailing Address: Maryknoll Box 285;
Greenhills Post Office; 1502 Metro Manila, Philippines.

Gratitude, celebration, and optimism characterize Ecclesia in Asia, the Apostolic Exhortation
signed by Pope John Paul II during his pastoral visit to India (November 5-8, 1999). The issuance
of Ecclesia in Asia (EA) was the concluding moment of the Special Assembly for Asia of the
Synod of Bishops, popularly known as the “Asian Synod.” This four-year project of Church
reflection and renewal began with the publication of the Lineamenta (1996), continued with
discussion on the Instrumentum Laboris (1998), reached its apex with the month-long Synod
sessions in Rome (April 19 - May 14, 1998), and culminated with the proclamation of the Post-
Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Ecclesia in Asia (November 6, 1999).

The Asian Synod was a multi-faceted event on many levels. As Ecclesia in Asia (EA) notes, “It
was indeed a moment of special grace” (3). It was also “a celebratory remembering of the Asian
roots of Christianity” (4). The Synod event became “an ardent affirmation of faith in Jesus Christ
the Savior” (4); and, as the local Churches of Asia gathered in Rome, “the Synod Fathers sought
to discern the principal areas of mission for the Church in Asia as she crosses the threshold of
the new millennium” (18).

Ecclesia in Asia, a rich, lengthy document, becomes an important signpost of evangelization for
the local Churches in Asia. An analysis of EA reveals three major sections or underlying
thematics:

(1) Asian Realities relevant to the Church and her Mission of Evangelization (5-9);

(2) Theological-Doctrinal Aspects of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit (10-23);

(3) The Church’s Mission of Love and Service in Asia (24-49).

The main body of EA is framed by an Introduction which captures the highlights of the Synod
process (1-4) and a conclusion that expresses the Pope’s gratitude and encouraging words as
well as a final prayer to Mary, “Mother of Asia” (50-51). The entire document is focused on
“seeking to discern the Spirit’s word to the Churches in Asia” (51).
Asian Context

Ecclesia in Asia devotes its first chapter to an exploration of the concrete situation of
contemporary Asia--her religious, cultural, economic, social, political, and historical realities (5-9).
This inductive approach, characteristic of current Asian theological reflection, mirrors the method
and experience of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC). The Asian Church
accepts that “a critical awareness of the diverse and complex realities of Asia is essential if the
People of God on the continent are to respond to God’s will for them in the new evangelization”
(5).

As EA notes, “Asia is the earth’s largest continent and is home to nearly two-thirds of the world’s
population”; its variety of peoples are “heirs to ancient cultures, religions and traditions.” One is
amazed “at the sheer size of Asia’s population and at the intricate mosaic of its many cultures,
languages, beliefs and traditions” (6).

Economically, socially, and politically, “situations on the Asian continent are very diverse, defying
any simple classification” (7). EA highlights various concrete pastoral concerns: rapid change,
migration, nuclear power, tourism, population growth, poverty, women, and a host of additional
challenges. In this complex situation, the Church’s one ambition is to continue Christ’s mission of
service and love (cf. 50). Her approach is that of mutual exchange and enrichment; thus, EA
confirms “the importance of dialogue as a characteristic mode of the Church’s life in Asia” (3).
Mother Teresa of Calcutta is proposed as “an icon of the service to life which the Church is
offering in Asia” (7).

This “chosen” continent of Asia, with all its immensity, diversity, and complexity, holds special
meaning for the Church. God “sent his only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ the Savior, who took flesh
as an Asian” (1); “Behold the Savior of the World is born to us, born in Asia” (2). Yes, Asia is
unique as “the birthplace of Jesus and of the Church” (5). This Church thanks God “for choosing
Asia as the earthly dwelling place of his incarnate Son” (50; cf. 2, 9, 20). This unique gift implies a
task; the Church commits her energies to making Jesus, his Gospel of Life, and his Community
the Church truly “at home” (inculturated) in Asia and her peoples (9, 20).
Theological Foundations

Three chapters of EA, focusing on Jesus and the Spirit, describe a type of “doctrinal” orientation
to the Church’s Asian mission. Yet, the manner of presentation is decidedly “pastoral” in style and
focus; it blends theologies “from below” and “from above.” It reads easily; the language flow is
smooth. Some insights even enjoy poetic expression: “Contemplating Jesus in his human nature,
the peoples of Asia find their deepest questions answered, their hopes fulfilled, their dignity
uplifted and their despair conquered” (14).

The thematic of “gift” is a creative optic frequently employed in these “theological” chapters.
Jesus the Savior is a gift to Asia; this faith-gift is to be both appropriated and proclaimed. “The
Church’s faith in Jesus is a gift received and a gift to be shared; it is the greatest gift which the
Church can offer to Asia” (10). “Only if the People of God recognize the gift that is theirs in Christ
will they be able to communicate that gift to others through proclamation and dialogue” (31; cf.
19-20).

Proclaiming the Christian faith-gift meets unique challenges, particularly in the “multi-ethnic, multi-
religious and multi-cultural situation of Asia” (21). Asia has its indigenous religions, soteriologies,
and savior figures (cf. 14, 19-20). This reality demands a humble, dialogical stance on the part of
the Church; “proclamation is prompted not by sectarian impulse nor the spirit of proselytism nor
any sense of superiority” (20; cf. 4, 31, 46). And yet, this genuine respect and reverence for the
Church’s dialogue partners “does not eliminate the need for the explicit proclamation of the
Gospel in its fullness” (20; cf. 31). By her very identity the Church is “a community aflame with
missionary zeal to make Jesus known, loved and followed” (19).

Affirming the relevance of Jesus for Asia (1, 9, 10, 18, 50) demands a particular approach to
proclamation. The Church “needs to follow a pedagogy which will introduce people step by step
to the full appreciation of the mystery.” She should employ “narrative methods akin to Asian
cultural forms” and follow “an evocative pedagogy, using stories, parables and symbols so
characteristic of Asian methodology in teaching.” In a word, the Church must “evangelize in a way
that appeals to the sensibilities of Asian peoples” (20). Engaging Asian peoples, their cultures
and religions (FABC’s triple dialogue) demands genuine commitment to inculturation (20-23) and
interreligious dialogue (29-31).

EA asserts that Christology is necessarily integrated with Pneumatology as well as Trinitarian

faith. It is the “uniqueness of Christ which gives him an absolute and universal significance” (14);
one cannot “separate the activity of the Holy Spirit from that of Jesus the Savior” (16). The Holy
Spirit, “the prime agent of evangelization,” (17) is “an absolutely vital part of the mystery of Jesus
and the salvation which he brings” (15). Jesus and his Spirit are only adequately comprehended
within the “Trinity’s plan of salvation” (15); there are no two parallel economies of salvation. There
are real, complex missiological questions and the Asian Synod / EA attempted to face them.
A Missionary Community

The longest section of EA (24-49) focuses on the Church and her mission in the vast Asian
continent. Four discernable themes emerge: Church as Communion for Mission (24-28),
Dialogue (29-31), Human Promotion (32-41), and Agents of Evangelization (42-49). EA presents
a vision as well as concrete approaches for mission; these emerge from a particular faith-stance:
“the question is not whether the Church has something essential to say to the men and women of
our time, but how she can say it clearly and convincingly” (29). EA recognizes “the pressing need
of the local Churches in Asia to present the mystery of Christ to their peoples according to their
cultural patterns and ways of thinking” (20).

“Communion Ecclesiology” finds strong expression in EA. The Church is a “privileged place of
encounter” between God and people; her first purpose is “to be the sacrament of the inner union
of the human person with God.” She is also “the sacrament of the unity of the human race.” This
means that “communion and mission are inseparably connected [and] they interpenetrate and
mutually imply each other.” Communion is “both the source and fruit of mission.” In short,
“Communion gives rise to mission and mission is accomplished in communion” (24).

The Church in Asia promotes internal communion and participation on many levels: with the
Successor of Peter, among various sister local Churches, dioceses, basic ecclesial communities
(“a positive feature of the Church’s evangelizing activity”), renewal movements, the Catholic
Eastern Churches, other Christian Churches (cf. 25-27). Internal communion emanates outward
toward other groups throughout Asia: the variety of peoples, cultures and religions with whom the
Church shares life (25), Churches and peoples in Mainland China, North Korea, and the ex-
Soviet territories of Asia (28). Regional and continental associations of Bishops that foster
communion (e.g. FABC) are recognized and praised (26), but their profound insights are never
directly quoted.

An inherent demand of “communion ecclesiology” is dialogue. This “desire for dialogue... is not
simply a strategy for peaceful coexistence among peoples; it is an essential part of the Church’s
mission..., a veritable vocation for the Church” (29). A particularly helpful section is devoted to
Interreligious Dialogue (31), seen as “a part of the Church’s evangelizing mission, an expression
of the mission ad gentes.”

The entire Chapter VI treats human promotion and Church social teaching. Striving to build a
“civilization of love,” the Church views all human development not only as a “technical or
economic question; it is fundamentally a human and moral question” (32). An integral, holistic
approach to evangelization is employed, encompassing the areas of human dignity (33),
preferential love of the poor (34), health care (36), education (37), peacemaking (38) globalization
(39), foreign debt (40), the environment (41). In these diverse fields, the Church resists “the
culture of death” in accord with her vision of “the Gospel of Life” (35).
Agents of Evangelization

Chapter VII, entitled “Witnesses to the Gospel,” focuses on the Church’s missionary identity in
Asia. The Church strives to be a credible witness, because “people today put more trust in
witnesses than in teachers, in experience than in teaching, and in life and action than in theories”;
in the Asian context “people are more persuaded by holiness of life than by intellectual argument”
(42). EA asserts that it is a “genuinely religious person [who] readily wins respect and a following
in Asia” (23).

Gospel witness in Asia needs holy men and women who themselves are “on fire with the love of
Christ and burning with zeal to make him known more widely, loved more deeply and followed
more closely.” Why? “A fire can only be lit by something that is itself on fire”; Christian witnessing
demands “a true missionary spirituality of prayer and contemplation” (23). Asian peoples,
especially the youth, manifest this “deep thirst for spiritual values” (6). In a word, living Christian
mission in Asia demands “contemplative action and active contemplation” (23).

EA addresses a variety of Gospel witnesses: Pastors (43), religious and missionaries (44), laity
(45), families (46), young people (47), and those whose apostolate is social communications, “the
areopagus of the modern age” (48). Striking insights are often presented: “People in Asia need to
see the clergy not just as charity workers and institutional administrators but as men whose minds
and hearts are set on the deep things of the Spirit” (43).

The Pope encourages and thanks missionaries (20, 42, 44, 50), urging “the Church in Asia to
send forth missionaries, even though she herself needs laborers in the vineyard” (44). Mission is
to be central to each local Church; local “missionary societies of apostolic life, characterized by
their special commitment to the mission ad gentes, ad exteros and ad vitam” are strongly
encouraged (44). EA calls upon “the great host of Asian martyrs, old and new,... to teach the
Church in Asia what it means to bear witness” (49).
Additional Emphases

The Asian Synod surfaced crucial questions facing local Churches in Asia; EA reflects several of
these pastoral-missionary concerns. “Jesus is often perceived as foreign to Asia. It is paradoxical
that most Asians tend to regard Jesus--born on Asian soil--as a Western rather than an Asian
figure.” To address and overcome this reality, the Church must open herself to “new and
surprising ways in which the face of Jesus might be presented in Asia” (20). How can Jesus be
effectively proclaimed--bearing an “Asian face”?

In various places in Asia “Christians are not allowed to practice their faith freely” (8); “explicit
proclamation is forbidden and religious freedom is denied or systematically restricted” (23).
Christians are forced “to live their faith in the midst of restrictions or even the total denial of
freedom” (28). Governments are enjoined to “guarantee religious freedom for all their citizens”
(28), assure “immunity from coercion” (23) in religious matters, and recognize “the right to
freedom of conscience and religion and the other basic human rights” (34).

Analysis and comparison between the content of EA and the decades of pastoral reflection by
Asian bishops (FABC) reveals many similarities. Since 1974 in its document “Evangelization in
Modern Day Asia,” the FABC has promoted the local Church’s triple dialogue with Asia’s peoples,
cultures, and religions; this vision is repeatedly found in EA (cf. 1, 15, 18, 20, 21, 24). Again, the
FABC pastoral priorities enunciated over the years, particularly the focus on the family, women
and the girl-child, youth, ecology, and the displaced (cf. FABC VII: 15) are also highlighted by EA
(34, 37, 41, 46, 47, etc.). FABC itself is mentioned (2, 3, 26, 31), though none of its fine work is
directly quoted or even noted in the copious endnotes.

The Christian virtue of compassion repeatedly surfaces in EA (e.g. 11, 12, 14, 20, 45, 51). The
apostolic exhortation is correct in expressing the Church’s mission in terms of this appealing
focus. Presenting Jesus as “the Compassionate Friend of the Poor” (20) will find a resonance and
reception among Asians. In the Church’s mission of love and service, women evangelizers
contribute greatly “to bringing the compassionate Jesus, the healer and reconciler, to Asian
people, especially the poor and marginalized” (45). In Jesus, the God-Man who saves, “Divine
compassion had never been so immediately accessible” (11).

As the Church in Asia enters the new millennium, she faces some very demanding challenges;
EA highlights some important apostolates: women (7, 34, 45), youth (6, 47), nuclear power (7,
38), peacemaking and reconciliation (38), globalization (39), foreign debt (40), and the
environment (41). The authenticity of the Church’s “mission of service and love” (50) will indeed
be tested; will it produce “a great harvest of faith ... in this vast and vital continent” (1) of Asia?
Conclusion
Ecclesia in Asia concludes as it began on a clear note of optimism and gratitude. “Blessed be
God for the peoples of Asia, so rich in their diversity yet one in their yearning for peace and
fullness of life” (50). With committed faith, “the Church in Asia joyfully makes her pilgrim way into
the Third Millennium” (50). “Mary, model of all disciples and bright Star of Evangelization,... look
tenderly upon the Church of your Son planted on Asian soil” (51).

Contemplating God’s salvific deeds and wonders during the Easter Vigil liturgy, the Universal
Church proclaims in the Exsultet: “Rejoice, O Mother Church”! In similar fashion, the local
Churches in Asia acclaim God’s marvels in their midst; they joyfully affirm the Asian Synod event
as a “celebratory remembering of the Asian roots of Christianity” (4). They pray that the
proclamation and subsequent internalization of Ecclesia in Asia will confirm the Church in her
servant mission to bring Christ’s love and abundant life (Jn 10:10) to Asia and her peoples.
Rejoice, O Asia-Church!

NATURE AND FUNCTIONS

The Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences (FABC) is a voluntary association of episcopal

conferences in Asia, established with the approval of the Holy See. Its purpose is to foster among
its members solidarity and co-responsibility for the welfare of Church and society in Asia. The
decisions of the Federation are without juridical binding force; their acceptance is an expression
of collegial responsibility.

THE FUNCTIONS SHALL BE:

* To study ways and means of promoting the apostolate, especially in the light of Vatican II and
post-conciliar official documents, and according to the needs of Asia
* To work for and to intensify the dynamic presence of the Church in the total development of
the peoples of Asia
* To help in the study of problems of common interest to the Church in Asia, and to investigate
possibilities of solutions and coordinated action
* To promote inter-communication and cooperation among local Churches and bishops of Asia
* To render service to episcopal conferences of Asia in order to help them to meet better the
needs of the People of God
* To foster a more ordered development of organizations and movements in the Church at the
international level.
* To foster ecumenical and interreligious communication and collaboration.

STRUCTURE

FABC functions through a hierarchy of structure consisting of the Plenary Assembly, the Central
Committee, the Standing Committee, and the Central Secretariat.

The Plenary Assembly, the supreme body of FABC, is composed of all presidents of member-
conferences or their officially designated episcopal alternates, Bishop-delegates elected by the
member-conferences, associate members and members of the Standing Committee. The Plenary
Assembly meets in ordinary session every four years.

The Central Committee, composed of the presidents of member-conferences or their officially

designated episcopal alternates, oversees the implementation of the resolutions and instructions
of the Plenary Assembly. This committee meets every two years.
The Standing Committee, composed of five Bishops elected from different parts of Asia,
implements the resolutions and instructions of the Central Committee. It provides direct guidance
and support to the Central Secretariat and other organs of FABC.

The Central Secretariat is the principal service agency and an instrument of coordination within
the FABC and with outside offices and agencies. To assist the Central Secretariat are seven
Offices each handling specialized ministry/area of concern:

* Office of Human Development

* Office of Social Communication
* Office of Laity
* Office of Theological Concerns
* Office of Education and Student Chaplaincy
* Office of Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs
* Office of Evangelization
* Office of Clergy
* Office of Consecrated Life

The bishops' conferences of the following countries are members of the FABC:

1. Bangladesh
2. India
3. Indonesia
4. Japan
5. Kazakhstan
6. Korea
7. Laos-Cambodia
8. Malaysia-Singapore-Brunei
9. Myanmar
10. Pakistan
11. Philippines
12. Sri Lanka
13. Taiwan
14. Thailand
15. Vietnam

The Federation has ten (10) associate members, namely:

1. Hong Kong
2. Macau
3. Mongolia
4. Nepal
5. Kyrgyzstan
6. Siberia (Russia)
7. Tajikistan
8. Turkmenistan
9. Uzbekistan
10. East Timor

Historical Notes on FABC Office of Mission/Evangelization

1.
The Central Committee established the Office in 1977 with Bishop Patrick D'Souza of
Varanasi, India, as its Chairman. He continued as a one member Committee till 1979, when it
was set up with five members.
 2.
The first meeting of the FABC Secretariat for Apostolate and Missions was held on October
22, 1977 in the Collegio Urbano, Rome on the occasion of the Synod of Bishops on Catechesis.
The purpose of the meeting was to draw up the outlines of a systematic plan of action for the
FABC/M. It was a Consultation with five participants, Bishop Patrick D'Souza as Chairman of the
FABC/M and Fr. Engelbert Zeitler, SVD as its Secretary, operating from Pune, India.

3.
This Consultation proposed among other things BIMAs (Bishops' Institute for Missionary
Apostolate) or zonal meetings of the type of BISAs:

A meeting of 7 experts representing the 3 Zones was held on December 10, 1977 to prepare
a draft on BIMAs. The First BIMA was held in Baguio, Philippines from July 19-27, 1979. BIMA II
was held in Trivandrum, India from November 22-30, 1980 for South Asia. BIMA III was held in
Changhila, Taiwan from 17-25 August 1982. The objectives of BIMAs are:

*
To identify basic missionary problems of the local Churches and regions and to relate them to
wider issues in an Asian context.
* To point out the possible solutions.
* To animate the participants for missionary action.
*
To create a sense of solidarity and co-responsibility among the Asian Churches while at the
same time inculcating the principle of subsidiarity according to which every Church must be
allowed to function on its own strength and be helped to the extent needed.

The BIMA IV was a Consultation on Islam. And it was a joint effort of BIMA and BIRA, but the
Office of Mission was responsible for its organization. It was organized by the Islamic Studies
Association, India from 23-25 November 1983.

4.
A planning sessio for the Mission Section of the FABC was held in Manila on December 4,
1979 in connection with Manila World Mission Congress attended by Bishop Patrick D'Souza,
Chairman; Fr. Edward Malone, Dy. Secretary General, FABC, and Fr. E. Zeitler, SVD, Secretary
of FABC/M. It drew up the future plans for missionary action, which were finalized at the first Joint
Planning Meeting of the FABC Offices, July 13-16, 1981 in Hong Kong.

5.
A meeting of the FABC Office of Missions was held in Hong Kong in 1980 to review its identity
and the terms of reference, and plan for the next two years.

6.
A planning session of the FABC Office of Mission organized at Majowe Centre, Plentong on
15 June 1983 was attended by 5 Bishops including Bishop Patrick D'Souza, Chairman and Fr. E.
Zeitler, Secretary. At this meeting a proposal was made to change the name of the Office to
Office for Evangelization. Reasons for change: There was general dissatisfaction with the present
name "Office of Missions". "Mission" is not used any more after Evangelii Nuntiandi. It has also a
pejorative connotation in many Asian countries. The new proposal: "OFFICE FOR
EVANGELIZATION". This is also the present name for the "Mission Office" of the Church in
Rome and has no negative connotations. It is not the ideal name either, but for our purpose it is
good enough.

7.
The Report of the Office for Mission at the Joint Meeting of FABC Offices in Korea, May 7-9,
1984, among other things mentioned that :

*
A systematic documentation be made on the work of evangelization in Asia. The Ishvani
Kendra Centre in India has started a library, covering Churches and countries of the FABC (so far
a thousand books). The Report of the Office given on 15 June 1983 for the period from 1981-82,
speaks of Ishvani Kendra as a missiological research, training and orientation center in Pune,
India presently also acting as Secretariat of the Mission Office is building up a missiological
library (at present 10,000 volumes) with specialization on Asia and a documentation center, and
has already established an audio visual center for the missions. In due time similar arrangements
elsewhere will fill up a long felt information gap concerning Churches in Asia.
*
This office should think of those areas which at present are not the primary responsibility of
any office as it did for Laity in 1977, before the Committee for the Laity was set up. One such
area now is priestly formation, initial and continued.
*
The question of a full time secretary is a complicated one. Is he the secretary of the Chairman
or of the Office, one who continues even when the Chairman is changed? How can a Secretary
function far away from the Chairman? Could we encourage the Secretary to build up a
Secretariat?
*
All BIMAs, specially the consultation on Islam, have shown the importance of an integrated
approach to ministry. Though each office has its own specific area of concern, the theme selected
for reflection by one office, affects, often substantially, the other offices as well. Hence the need
of collaboration. Consequently, the common meeting of all offices assumes a particular
importance.

8.
Fr. Ed Malone, writing to Fr. Sebastian Karotemprel, successor of Fr. E Zeitler, on 31 March
1988, said: "I think we should settle on the name of your office as 'Office of Evangelization'".

9.
A meeting of the FABC Office of Evangelization was held on 16 January 2001, on the
occasion of the FABC Central Committee meeting at the Archdiocesan Formation Center, Baan
Phu Waan, Samphran. It discussed and finalized the plans for the next three years.

Vision

The Church is Missionary by nature. She is the sacrament of salvation and she exists in order to
evangelize. In this sense, all that the Church is and does is evangelization. However, since there
are other FABC Offices, which take care of the different aspects of evangelization, the Office of
Evangelization is specifically concerned about the explicit proclamation of the Good News. This it
intends to do through its four Desks, namely on Mission, Bible, Liturgy, and Missionary Formation
of Children. The Desk on Mission has been just started in response to the instruction of the
Congregation for the Propagation of Faith, Cooperatio missionalis. All its activities are of
motivational, informative and inspirational nature, acting mainly through the Episcopal
Conferences:
Desks

1. Missions Desk

A Desk has been created within the FABC-OE under the name of "Missions Desk", following an
instruction of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples on Missionary Cooperation. This
will be the proper responsibility of the Secretariat along with the general operation of the Office.

Its objectives are:

* to assist to realize the goals of the Instruction Cooperatio missionalis;

* to assist in particular the Central Asian Churches (Associate members of the FABC);
* to assist the member Conferences in realizing their mission ad gentes and ad exteros;
*
to assist the various institutes of consecrated life, societies of apostolic life, lay associations,
Christian movements, volunteer groups and others to integrate their efforts on missionary
cooperation.

2. Missionary Formation of Children

The Child population in Asia averages nearly 1/3 of the total number of people living in our
continent. This vast continent is still to receive the Good News that God loves them and has sent
His only Son to save them from sin and death. The challenge of evangelization in Asia is truly
phenomenal indeed. His Holiness Pope John Paul II makes special mention of this responsibility
of the Church when he says:

"Within the territories entrusted to these Churches - particularly in Asia... there remain vast
regions still to be evangelized" (RM. 37). And again, "Particularly in Asia towards which the
Church's mission ad gentes ought to be chiefly directed, Christians are a small minority" (RM.
37).

This responsibility devolves on all Christians and since the children are the future evangelizers of
this continent and their numbers are a blessing to the Church, their formation has to receive our
priority attention. Responding to the call of our universal Shepherd we should strive to imbibe a
strong missionary spirit in our children and they will become the missionaries of Asia tomorrow.

It is, therefore, necessary to organize a special programme for this purpose so that from their
tender age Asian Catholic children learn to exercise their full Christian commitment by being
missionaries of Jesus.

The special Desk for the Missionary Formation of Children established recently under the FABC-
OE will soon start organizing different activities towards assisting the local Churches in Asia in
this regard. The central Office is to be located in Colombo at the Secretariat of the Catholic
Bishops' Conference.

The Office will seek to co-ordinate these programmes with the different Episcopal Commissions
for Evangelization and the National Directors of the Pontifical Mission Societies in Asia.

3. Biblical Desk
see documents

4. Liturgy
FABC Paper No. 89
Towards Asian Liturgical Inculturation

Investigating the Resources in the Documents of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences
(FABC) for Developing An Asian Theology of Liturgical Inculturation

by Jonathan Yun-Ka Tan

OUTLINE OF ESSAY

Introduction

A. Inculturation in the FABC Documents: A Brief Overview

* First FABC Plenary Assembly: Evangelization in Modern Day Asia (Taipei, 1974)
* Second FABC Plenary Assembly: Prayer - the Life of the Church in Asia (Calcutta, 1978)
* International Congress on Mission (Manila, 1979)
* Consultation on Christian Presence Among Muslims in (India, 1983)
* Bishops' Institutes for Interreligious Affairs on the Theology of Dialogue (BIRA)
* 1991 FABC Theological Consultation (Hua Hin, Thailand)
* Theses on the Local Church (1991)

B. The Asian Contextual Theology of the FABC:

Some Important Foundational Themes

(i) Theology of the Local Church

Local Churches and the Task of Christian Mission in Asia

(ii) Theology of the Kingdom of God

(iii) Theology of Dialogue

A Necessity for Dialogue in the Asian Milieu
A Triple Dialogue with Asian Cultures, Religions and the Poor
Dialogue with Asian Cultures
Dialogue with Asian Religions
Dialogue with the Poor
Dialogue and the Task of Christian Mission in Asia

(iv) Theology of Harmony

Harmony, Cosmic Unity, Trinity and Communion (Koinonia)
Harmony and Dialogue
Interreligious Harmony

C. From the FABC Documents to An Asian Theology

of Liturgical Inculturation
 D. Shaping An Asian Theology of Liturgical Inculturation

(i) A Trinitarian Vision of Harmony in the Liturgy

(ii) Christological Foundations of Liturgical Inculturation: the Incarnation and the Paschal
Mystery

(iii) Pneumatological Foundation of Liturgical Inculturation: a New Pentecost

(iv) The Praxis of Dialogue in Liturgical Inculturation

(v) The Local Church as the Locus of Liturgical Inculturation

The following abbreviations are used in this essay:

AFER = African Ecclesial Review

BILA = Bishops' Institute for Lay Apostolate
BIMA = Bishops' Institute for Missionary Apostolate
BIRA = Bishops' Institute for Interreligious Affairs on the Theology of Dialogue
DOL = International Commission on English in the Liturgy, Documents on the Liturgy 1963-
1979: Conciliar, Papal and Curial Texts (Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 1982). All numerical
references to the DOL refer to the document number followed by the paragraph number in the
marginal column.
EAPR = East Asian Pastoral Review
FABC = Federation of Asian Catholic Bishops' Conferences
FABC Documents = Gaudencio B. Rosales & C.G. Arévalo, For All The Peoples of Asia:
Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences Documents From 1970-1991 (Maryknoll: Orbis Books,
1992).
VJTR = Vidyajyoti Journal of Theological Reflection

.
Introduction

The Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences (FABC) is a transnational body comprising 14

full member conferences: Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Laos-Cambodia,
Malaysia-Singapore-Brunei, Myanmar (Burma), Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Taiwan
(Republic of China), Thailand and Vietnam, as well as four associate members: Hong Kong,
Macau, Mongolia and Nepal.[1] In June 1999, the FABC expects to admit six new associate
members from the Confederation of Independent States (CIS): Siberia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, bringing the total number of associate members to ten.
[2] The foundation for the FABC was laid at an historic gathering of 180 Asian Catholic bishops at
the Asian Catholic Bishops' Meeting in Manila during the visit of Pope Paul VI to East Asia and
Southeast Asia in November 1970.[3] The FABC convenes in Plenary Assembly, the highest
body, with the participation of all presidents and delegates of member conferences once in every
four years.[4] To date, there have been six Plenary Assemblies: FABC I: Evangelization in
Modem Day Asia (Taipei, Taiwan, 1974), FABC ll: Prayer - the Life of the Church in Asia
(Calcutta, India, 1978), FABC Ill: The Church - A Community of Faith in Asia (Bangkok, Thailand,
1982), FABC IV: The Vocation and Mission of the Laity in the Church and in the World of Asia
(Tokyo, Japan, 1986), FABC V: Journeying Together Toward The Third Millennium (Bandung,
Indonesia, 1990); and FABC VI: Christian Discipleship in Asia Today: Service to Life (Manila,
Philippines, 1995).

In between these Plenary Assemblies, the FABC has sponsored colloquia on Ministries in the
Church (Hong Kong, 1977), and the Church in Asia and Global Transformation (1997); an
International Congress on Mission (Manila, 1979), a Consultation on Christian Presence among
Muslims in Asia (Varanasi, 1983), an International Theological Colloquium entitled "Being Church
in Asia: Journeying with the Spirit into Fuller Life" (Pattaya, Thailand, 1994), several Bishops'
Institutes on Lay Apostolate (BILA), Missionary Apostolate (BIMA), Interreligious Affairs on the
Theology of Dialogue (BIRA), Social Action (BISA) and Social Communication (BISCOM), as well
as the Faith Encounters in Social Action (FEISA). Programs are developed and executed by
seven specialized offices: Office of Evangelization (OE), Office of Social Communications (OSC),
Office of Human Development (OHD), Office of Education and Student Chaplaincy (OESC),
Office of Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs (OEIA), Office of Laity (OL), and Office of
Theological Concerns (OTC, formerly known as the Theological Advisory Commission). An
Indian theologian, Felix Wilfred, has remarked that "the FABC has created horizontal
communication between the bishops and the bishops' conferences; it has fostered a spirit of
collegiality, communion and cooperation among them."[5] At the same time, he acknowledged the
fact that the Asian local churches, despite many similarities, are not homogeneous, and therefore
"the FABC can speak only in general terms and cannot address itself specifically to concrete
situations."[6]

With that caveat in mind, this essay seeks to investigate the possible resources in the various
documents of the FABC[7] for constructing an Asian theology of liturgical inculturation which is at
the "service of life"[8] in Asia. To begin with, one looks in vain in all the documents of the FABC
for any significant discussion of liturgical inculturation beyond its many brief references and
allusions. In fact, the eminent missiologist Stephen Bevans has noted that explicit reflections on
the general theology of inculturation are "relatively sparse."[9] According to Ladislav Nemet, this
lack of any significant discussion is not surprising because it arises out of the preferred FABC
approach to inculturation as "a more complex encounter between the Gospel and a local church
in the whole Asian reality, made up of religions, cultures, poverty and the poor" (italics in the
original).[10] Nemet summarized the approach of the FABC as follows:

The process of inculturation is no longer a question of a search for external adaptation to Asian
reality and way of living, but a question of an existential nature: being and living in Asia and with
Asians, becoming involved in all the aspects of life, collaborating with all the forces which are
working actively to build up the Kingdom (italics in the original).[11]

As such, the quest to construct an Asian theology of liturgical inculturation from the documents
of the FABC would have to be grounded in the way the FABC has developed a rich and profound
contextual theology based upon foundational themes which arise in the pluralistic and diverse
Asian milieu. Such a quest requires a thorough analysis of these foundational themes in the six
Final Statements of the FABC Plenary Assembly, the documents from the various Bishops'
lnstitutes, the major FABC-sponsored colloquies and meetings, as well as the relevant
documents which have been issued by the FABC Office of Theological Concerns. While all of
these documents have different theological authority, taken together they could give a clearer
view of the FABC's conception of a method and content of a contextual theology which emerges
from, as well as speaks to the pluralistic and diverse Asian milieu. A threefold approach has
been adopted for the purposes of this paper. First, this paper surveys the various documents of
the FABC which have some explicit discussion on inculturation. Second, it focuses on the
foundational theology. These foundational themes include a focus on the local church as the
locus of theologizing, the building of the Kingdom of God in Asia, a triple dialogue of the Christian
Gospel with Asian cultures, religions and the poor, and the overarching vision of harmony as the
fruit of such dialogue. Finally, it evaluates the possibility of developing an Asian theology of
liturgical inculturation from the foundational themes in both the FABC's theology of inculturation
as well as its development of an Asian contextual theology.

A. Inculturation in the FABC Documents: A Brief Overview

In the early documents of the FABC which were produced within the first 15 years after Vatican
II, various terms like "adaptation," "indigenization," "incarnation" and "inculturation" were used
interchangeably. It appears that the idea of discussing the relationship between the Christian
Gospel and culture was still a novelty within the FABC at this stage, and there was no
consistency in the terminology. For example, the first official reference to the term "inculturation"
in the documents of the FABC is article 24 of the Final Statement dated 29 November 1970 of the
Asian Bishops' Meeting with Pope Paul VI in Manila:

In the inculturation of the life and message of the Gospel in Asia, there have been hesitations
and mistakes in the past, but we are more than ever convinced that dialogue with our fellow
Asians whose commitment is to other faiths is increasingly important. We also urge on all a deep
respect for the culture and traditions of our peoples, and express the hope that the catholicity of
the Church, the root of our diversity in the oneness of faith, may serve to help Asians remain truly
Asian, and yet become fully part of the modem world and the one family of mankind (emphasis
added).[12]

Even at this early stage in the aftermath of the Second Vatican Council, the Asian Catholic
bishops had linked the nascent neologism "inculturation" to interreligious dialogue and respect for
Asian cultures and traditions as the expression of the catholicity of the Church. However, at the
same time, the term "inculturation" was not used consistently by the Asian Catholic bishops.
Thus, one notes in Resolution 13 of this meeting that the Asian Catholic bishops used terms such
as "indigenous" and "incarnate" in respect of Asian cultures and traditions as well:

We also pledged ourselves to develop an indigenous theology and to do what we can so that
the life and message of the Gospel may be ever more incarnate in the rich historic cultures of
Asia, so that in the necessary process of modernization and development, Asian Christianity may
help to promote all that is "authentically human in these cultures" (emphasis added).[13]

First FABC Plenary Assembly:

Evangelization in Modern Day Asia
(Taipei, 1974)

Subsequently, the FABC held its first Plenary Assembly in 1974 with the theme "Evangelization
in Modem Day Asia" and issued two versions of its Final Statement.[14] Article 26 of the
unabridged Final Statement states:

Indigenization renders the local church truly present within the life and cultures of our peoples.
Through it, all their human reality is assumed into the life of the Body of Christ, so that all of it
may be purified and healed, perfected and fulfilled (emphasis added).[15]

Here, "indigenization" is perceived as a unidirectional process which "purifies and heals,

perfects and fulfills"[16] human cultures and life into the Body of Christ. In addition,
"indigenization" is seen as a missiological technique for a more effective evangelization in a
unidirectional process of purification, fulfillment and assumption of the Asian cultures and
traditions. In contrast, article 20 in the abridged Final Statement has a slightly different emphasis
without any mention of a unidirectional process of purification, fulfillment and purification of the
Asian cultures:

These are the three elements of crucial importance in the task of preaching the Gospel in Asia,
today:

- Inculturation, which renders the local church truly present within the life of our people.
- Dialogue with the great Asian religions, which brings them into contact with the Gospel, so
that the seed of the Word in them may come to full flower.
- Service of the poor, uniting with them in their struggle for a more human world (italics in the
original, emphasis added).[17]

While article 20 of the abridged Final Statement is wider than article 26 of the unabridged Final
Statement, it appears that they both use the terms 'indigenization" and "inculturation"
interchangeably and focus on the need to "render the local church truly present" in the Asian Sitz-
im-Leben. At the same time, article 12 of the unabridged Final Statement uses the term
"inculturation" in conjunction with "incarnation" and "indigenization":

The local church is a church incarnate in a people, a church indigenous and inculturated. And
this means concretely a church in continuous, humble and loving dialogue with the living
traditions, the cultures, the religions - in brief, with all the life-realities of the people whose midst it
has sunk its root deeply and whose history and life it gladly makes its own.[18]

Second FABC Plenary Assembly:

Prayer - the Life of the Church in Asia
(Calcutta, 1978)

At the Second FABC Plenary Assembly in Calcutta in 1978,[19] the FABC clarified its
understanding of "inculturation" in articles 10 and 11 of its Final Statement:

10. The handing-on of these values[20]to present and future generations calls for creative
assimilation and "translation" into contemporary cultural expression. For they must serve to
create or restore "spaces of silence and worship" in the lives of believing men and women and of
renewed communities within contemporary society.

11. This creative labor is, in a genuine sense, what the task of inculturation calls for in many of
our countries. It must assume into the full Christian life of our peoples what is good, noble and
living in our cultures and traditions -and thus in our hearts and minds. Thus, too, it will bring to
fulfillment the future harvest of "those seeds which God's own hand has planted in our ancient
cultures even before the Gospels were preached to our people" (emphasis added).[21]

This understanding of inculturation as a double movement of assimilation and translation

marks a paradigm shift which points to a more profound understanding of the relationship
between the Christian Gospel and culture. By calling for a bidirectional encounter of mutual
dialogue, critique and enrichment between the Christian Gospel and culture, the FABC
acknowledged that what is "good, noble and living" in the Asian religio-cultural Sitz-im-Leben
could be assumed into Christian life. Realizing that this encounter could be opened to criticisms
of syncretism, the FABC sought to allay and forestall such fears by stating that:

We are daily more convinced that the Spirit is leading us in our time, not to some dubious
syncretism (which we all rightly reject), but to an integration - profound and organic in character -
of all that is best in our traditional ways of prayer and worship, into the treasury of our Christian
heritage. Thus is a fuller catholicity made possible in this age of the Church (FABC II, article 31).
[22]

International Congress on Mission

(Manila, 1979)

Following the Second FABC Plenary Assembly, an International Congress on Mission was
organized by the FABC in Manila in December 1979.[23] The Second Consensus Report (CPW
II) of this Congress entitled "Local Asian Churches and the Tasks of Mission: Inculturation"[24]
concluded that:

6. Inculturation is not mere adaptation of a ready-made Christianity into a given situation but
rather a creative embodiment of the Word in the local church. This is the basic and fundamental
process of inculturation.

7. Inculturation is a dialogical encounter process understood in its deepest meaning that comes
from the salvific movement of the Triune God, because evangelization itself is above all a
dialogue between the Gospel message and the given reality (FABC I, 12). It is a dialogue
conducted in humility and mutual support to seek together with our brothers and sisters the
fullness of Christ.

8. Inculturation is a discovery of the seeds of the Word which lie hidden in the given cultures
and living traditions (cf. AG, 11). The mutual exchange of their discoveries among the local
churches will lead to their enrichment as well as that of the universal Church.

9. As the Incarnation of the Son has been fulfilled in the Paschal Mystery, the inculturation
process also involves an experience of death and resurrection. The Church as the messenger of
the Gospel on the one hand, the given cultures and traditions of the people on the other, both
must be purified, healed and transformed by the saving power of the Gospel (italics in the
original, emphasis added).[25]

Such an understanding of inculturation as a dialogical process of mutual enrichment and

purification of both the Asian reality and the local church is certainly more profound than the
earlier unidirectional approach of article 26 of the unabridged FABC I. Unfortunately, there was
no significant discussion of liturgical inculturation in CPW II beyond the indirect references and
allusions in article 19 of the CPW II:

(a) the use of the Bible by the faithful should be encouraged and promoted;
(b) catechesis should not be merely a handing down of a set of truths but an initiation to the
Christian life leading to the development of a spirituality beyond the merely cultic level;
(c) theologizing should be contextual, taking into consideration the ways of thinking and the
sets of meanings and values that shape the lives of the people;
(d) efforts should be exerted to foster the contemplative dimension of the Christian faith
through a study of the holy writings of Asian cultures and encouragement and guidance in
indigenous forms of prayer and asceticism should be provided; and
(e) seasonal festivals and other community celebrations should be given a Christian meaning
by interpreting them in the light of faith.[26]

Consultation on Christian Presence Among Muslims in Asia

(India, 1983)

The Message of the participants at the 1983 Consultation on Christian Presence among
Muslims in Asia[27] also referred to inculturation in articles 31 and 32 as follows:

31. Inculturation like dialogue is not a tactic to convert people to one's faith. It lies at the very
core of Christian incarnational faith, life and witness. It is the existential way a Christian lives and
witnesses to his faith in the concrete religious, social and cultural milieu in which providence
places him. Genuine inculturation takes place when Christians live out as individuals and as a
community their double heritage of faith and country. This can come about only through inter-
cultural and inter-religious dialogue.
32. In a predominantly Muslim cultural situation the Church tries to live, think, feel, speak and
worship in ways which spring from faith and the religio-cultural heritage of the people. Only in
such a community can those Muslims who come to visit or to join us feel at home. In our
attempts at inculturation we should always keep in mind the legitimate sensibilities and religious
feelings of the Muslims.

What is noteworthy here is the explicit condemnation of the understanding of inculturation as

the instrumentalization of Asian religious and cultural traditions for the evangelization of the
Christian Gospel in the Asian countries.

Bishops' Institute for Interreligious Affairs

on the Theology of Dialogue (BIRA)

The FABC Bishops' Institute for Interreligious Affairs on the Theology of Dialogue (BIRA),
which was set up in 1984, has organized an ongoing series of workshops on the nature and
implications of interreligious dialogue in Asia. The Report of BIRA IV/I which was held in
Samphran, Thailand, in October 1984[28 contains a section entitled "Dialogue and lnculturation:"

12. We perceive dialogue as a necessary condition and instrument for inculturation. To

achieve inculturation, dialogue with and the study of religious traditions and the local cultures are
expected to carry a preponderant weight. Two aspects seemed to deserve particular attention:
13. Harmony seems to constitute in a certain sense the intellectual and affective, religious and
artistic, personal and societal soul of both persons and institutions in Asia. Hence the imperative
of a study in depth of the theology of harmony in the Asian context leading to interreligious
dialogue appeared clear to us.
14. The Church is a "sign" and sacrament (LG, 1). It seemed important to us to have an
objective view of how the Church is viewed by different groups both within and outside the
Church in Asia, and to evaluate how effectively Church fulfills, or does not fulfill, the aspirations
and needs of the peoples of Asia, particularly the youth. From this respect the " spirituality" of the
Church in the concrete Asian milieu should be seriously reflected upon, leading to both a change
in personal and institutional life-style and a sincere commitment to the poor in the true spirit of
service (italics in the original, emphasis added).[29]

At this stage, the understanding of inculturation as dialogue is well entrenched in the FABC.
Now, there is a deeper understanding of this dialogue in tenns of a theology of harmony and
church as a sacrament. The mutuality of dialogue is emphasized in the reference to a need for a
hannony which calls for deep respect and openness for each other.

1991 FABC Theological Consultation

(Hua Hin, Thailand)

The FABC Theological Consultation which met in Hua Hin, Thailand, in 1991 has given a
christological and paschal orientation to inculturation in article 35 of its Conclusions:[30]

The same conformity of the Church to her master is the decisive theological foundation for the
inculturation of local Churches. The Son of God became man in Jesus in a particular place at
particular time of history, two thousand years ago in Palestine. Jesus was a Jew, deeply inserted
in the culture of his people. The revelation he conveyed of the mystery of God as well as the way
in which he accomplished his messianic and saving mission are steeped in the religious tradition
of Israel, even while they fulfill it in an unforeseen manner. The mystery of the incarnation and
the paschal mystery are at once the foundation and the model for the deep insertion of local
Churches in the surrounding cultures, in all aspects of their life, celebration, witness and mission.
[31]

Such a paschal orientation seems to suggest that the Asian local churches have to die to their
preconceived notions about being church before they can rise again as churches which are at
once catholic and local.

Theses on the Local Church (1991)

Finally, the FABC Office of Theological Concerns also discussed inculturation in relation to the
broader picture of the identity of the Asian local churches in its 1991 document entitled Theses on
the Local Church: A Theological Reflection in the Asian Context:[32]

A local Church comes into existence and is built up through a deep and mutually enriching
encounter between the Gospel and a people with its particular culture and tradition. In current
theological and magisterial language, this is known as inculturation. Inculturation consists not
only in the expression of the Gospel and the Christian faith through the cultural medium, but
includes, as well, experiencing, understanding and appropriating them through the cultural
resources of a people. As a result, the concrete shape of the local Church will be, on the one
hand, conditioned by the culture, and on the other hand, the culture will be evangelized by the life
and witness of the local Church (Theses on the Local Church, Thesis 5).[33]

In other words, inculturation is the "attempt to contextualize the life and mission of the Church
by bringing faith and culture into closer relationship" (Theses on the Local Church, Thesis 5,
article 5.01).[34] It is grounded in an encounter[35] of "mutuality and reciprocity"[36] between the
Christian Gospel and Asian cultures. On the one hand, there is necessity for the Christian
Gospel to be "experienced and understood through the cultural resources of a people" because,
"given the historicity of human existence in a determined context and tradition, it is inescapable
that our perception of truth, understanding and experiencing of reality - including the Gospel and
faith - be bound up with a particular culture" (Theses on the Local Church, Thesis 5, article 5.08).
[37] On the other hand, there is also a need for the Christian Gospel in tum to effect a prophetic
critique of the Asian cultures[38] because "Asian cultures are ambiguous, in the sense that, along
with many lofty ideals, visions and values, they contain also oppressive and anti-human
elements, such as caste, which goes against the equality of all human beings, discrimination
towards women, etc." (Theses on the Local Church, Thesis 6, article 6.18).[39]

While it may be argued that these statements are merely a summary of the various statements
on inculturation which were made in the earlier documents of the FABC, at the same time the
FABC Office of Theological Concems has also made three significant contributions to the
discussion on inculturation. First, it highlighted the challenges of multiculturalism and
multiethnicism, and the need for inculturation to promote harmony:

[T]he encounter of the Gospel need not always be with one homogeneous culture. It could be
with a diversity of ethnic, linguistic or cultural groups living in the same locality. In fact, in some
countries in Asia we have in the same local Church the presence of various ethnic and cultural
groups. This mosaic of various languages, cultures and peoples is a great enrichment for the
local Church. The process of inculturation must take into account this concrete situation as well
as the evolution and growth which these diverse human groups undergo as part of a region or
nation. In situations of conflict of ethnic or cultural identities, the local Church can serve as an
agent of unity and reconciliation. It will foster the communion of various cultures and traditions
and thereby shape its own specific identity as a local Church. In multiracial, multilinguistic and
pluricultural situations the task of inculturation would involve also the promotion of harmony and
communion (Theses on the Local Church, Thesis 5, article 5.11).[40]

Second, it also made a brief but highly significant reference to the need for liturgical
inculturation:

A very important area of inculturation is the liturgy of the Christian community. Liturgy
expresses the faith of the Church (lex orandi lex credendi). Liturgy must be the outcome of the
faith-experience in a particular cultural environment. In turn, such liturgical experience should
flower in a Christian life that is fully inculturated. Therefore, true liturgical inculturation of the
Christian community cannot be done from without and introduced through an external and
artificial process; it should spontaneously spring forth from the life of the faith lived fully in the
context of the culture and the life-realities of the peoples. Nevertheless, given the long
estrangement of the liturgical life of Asian local Churches from their cultural traditions, at this
stage of transition to a fully inculturated ecclesial life, certain liturgical experiments and models
are very legitimate and necessary in order to facilitate the process of inculturation by the whole
community. These experiments, however, should not reflect only the concems of a few experts,
but rather should be in dialogue with the whole Christian community (Theses on the Local
Church, Thesis 8, article 8.03).[41]

In addition, it also made the following suggestions in the section entitled "Pastoral Corollaries
and Recommendations:"

We recommend more leeway be given in inculturating the liturgy. Responsible experiments in

the liturgy with "control groups," accompanied and fostered by due catechesis, should be
encouraged so that new inculturated liturgical expressions may be discovered and developed.
We urge the episcopal conferences eventually to approve and present for general use among
their faithful some diverse inculturated liturgical expressions.[42]

Third, the FABC Office of Theological Concems pointed out that "[a] local Church realizes itself
through a process of inculturation by following the dynamic of Incamation, the Paschal Mystery
and Pentecost" (Theses on the Local Church, Thesis 10),[43] thereby expanding the ambit of
article 35 of the 1991 Theological Consultation[44] to also include the role of the Spirit at
Pentecost. The rationale for this tripartite "dynamic" of inculturation was stated as follows:

The miracle of the Pentecost (Acts 2) provides biblical grounding for the task of inculturation.
Pentecost manifests the Church's unity in the midst of diversity which is Catholic fullness
(catholica unitas). It grounds the authentic catholicity of the Church in the creative power of the
Spirit. The Spirit alone enables the Church to be one amidst the diversity of peoples and races
and amidst the multiplicity of human situations. For the mystery of the Church's catholicity, as it is
actualized in history, is ultimately rooted in the presence and action of the Spirit. Human efforts
to create a universal communion without God end up either in the monolithic uniformity of the
Tower of Babel (Gen 11:1-9) or a chaotic heterogeneity and individualism to which history attests.
Only in the power of the Word and the Spirit can a world of true human communion be built up on
our planet, bringing to fulfillment and fruition all the richness of human cultures and their
realizations (Theses on the Local Church, Thesis 10, article 10.10).[45]

B. The Asian Contextual Theology of the FABC:

Some Important Foundational Themes

(i) Theology of the Local Church

In any survey of all the documents of the FABC, the theme of the local church[46] stands out
as the overarching element in these documents and the cornerstone of all theological reflections
by the FABC. The First FABC Plenary Assembly explained the emphasis on the local church in
the following terms: "The primary focus of our task of evangelization then, at this time in our
history, is the building up of a truly local church" (FABC I, article 9).[47] The First FABC Plenary
Assembly went on to define the "local church" as follows:

10. [T]he local church is the realization and the enfleshment of the Body of Christ in a given
people, a given place and time.

11. It is not a community in isolation from other communities of the Church one and catholic.
Rather it seeks communion with all of them. With them it professes the one faith, shares the one
Spirit and the one sacramental life. In a special way it rejoices in its communion and filial
oneness with the See of Peter, which presides over the universal Church in love.

12. The local church is a church incarnate in a people, a church indigenous and inculturated
(emphasis added).[48]

This understanding of the local church was reiterated in articles 25, 26 and 27 of the 1977
Asian Colloquium on Ministries in the Church[49] and articles 3.1, 3.2 and 8.1 of the Third FABC
Plenary Assembly.[50] For a long time, the definition of a local church was rather fluid, ranging
from the abstract to the specific. On the one hand, the FABC Office of Theological Concerns said
that the local church is "the historical actualization of the mystery of God in Christ" (Theses on the
Local Church, Thesis 1).[51] It went on to explain that "the local church itself may be viewed as a
fresh and creative reactualization and reinterpretation of the Gospel and faith. Such
reinterpretation will not be a break with the Tradition, but will be in organic continuity with it, in as
much as the past will be repossessed and reactivated [sic] in the present experience of a local
Church" (Theses on the Local Church, Thesis 5, article 5.07).[52] On the other hand, the Fifth
FABC Plenary Assembly has defined the local church in specific terms: "it is the whole diocese,
the parish, the Basic Ecclesial Community and other groups" (FABC V, article 3.3.2).[53]

Beginning in the 1980s, the FABC began to explore the idea of church as communion: "the
Church is at its deepest level a communion (koinonia) rooted in the life of the Trinity, and thus in
its essential reality a sacrament (mysterium et sacramentum) of the loving self-communication of
God and the graced response of redeemed mankind in faith, hope and love" (FABC III, article 7.1,
italics in the original).[54] This communion is expressed in the Church as "a communion of comn-
fitted disciples - be they clergy or laity - working for the liberation of Asia" (FABC IV, article 4.1.3).
[55] Subsequently, the FABC coined the phrase "communion of communities":

The Church in Asia will have to be a communion of communities, where laity, Religious and
clergy recognize and accept each other as sisters and brothers. They are called together by the
word of God which, regarded as a quasi-sacramental presence of the Risen Lord, leads them to
form small Christian communities (e.g., neighborhood groups, Basic Eeclesial Communities and
"covenant" communities). There, they pray and share together the Gospel of Jesus, living it in
their daily lives as they support one another and work together, united as they are "in one mind
and heart" (FABC V, article 8.1.1).[56]

Such a communion of communities is marked by three characteristics: it is participatory,[57]

dialogical[58] and prophetic.[59]

Local Churches And The Task Of Christian Mission In Asia

According to the FABC, the Asian local churches play a very important role in Christian
mission. In this "new age of mission," evangelization can no longer be seen as a "one-way
movement from the 'older churches' to the 'younger churches,' from the churches of the old
Christendom to the churches of the colonial lands," but rather, "every local church is and cannot
be but missionary. Every local church is 'sent' by Christ and the Father to bring the Gospel to its
surrounding milieux, and to bear it also into all the world. For every local church this is a primary
task." (International Congress on Mission, article 14, italics in original).[60] Accordingly, "the
continued building up of the local church [is] the focus of the task of evangelization today, with
dialogue as its essential mode' (International Congress on Mission, article 19).[61] Every local
church has full autonomy in the way it chooses to respond to its missionary task: "since the
context of the local church differs from another, every local church enjoys a legitimate autonomy,
while maintaining the universal communion, to shape creatively its own life, structures and fulfill
its God-given mission in its cultural environment" (Theses on the Local Church, Thesis 8, anicle
8.02).[62]

At the heart of the task of mission of the Asian local churches is the dialogical encounter
between the local churches and the Asian milieu with its triple reality of Asian poverty, cultures
and religions:

[A] church in continuous, humble and loving dialogue with the living traditions, the cultures, the
great religions - in brief, with all the life-realities of the people in whose midst it has sunk its roots
deeply and whose history and life it gladly makes its own seeks to share in whatever truly belongs
to that people: its meanings and its values, its aspirations, its thoughts and its language, its songs
and its artistry. -Even its frailties and failings it assumes, so that they too may be healed. For so
did God's Son assume the totality of our fallen human condition (save only for sin) so that He
might make it truly His own, and redeem it in His paschal mystery (FABC I, 12).[63]

This dialogical encounter has also led to the articulation of the nature of the Asian local
churches in dialogical terms: "the Church is called to be a community of dialogue. This dialogical
model is in fact a new way of being Church" (BIRA IV/12, article 48, emphasis added).[64] As a
community of dialogue, the local church "is never centered on itself but on the coming true of
God's dream for the world. It seeks not to exclude others but to be truly catholic in its concems,
in its appreciation of the gifts of others, and in its readiness to work with others for a world at once
more human and more divine" (BIRA IV/12, article 49).[65] Such a dialogical encounter also leads
to an ecciesiology which views the local church as a community which is called to service to the
Asian peoples. As the Fifth FABC Plenary Assembly explained:

[T]he acting subject of mission is the local church living and acting in communion with the
universal church. It is the local churches and communities which can discern and work (in
dialogue with each other and with other persons of goodwill) the way the Gospel is best
proclaimed, the Church set up, the values of God's Kingdom realized in their own place and time.
In fact, it is by responding to and serving the needs of the peoples of Asia that the different
Christian communities become truly local Churches (FABC V, article 3.3.1, italics in the original,
emphasis added).[66]

This call to service has been reiterated most powerfully by the Sixth FABC Plenary Assembly
using the imagery of Jesus' foot-washing: "We join Jesus in serving life by washing the feet of our
neighbours" (FABC VI, article 14.3).

In short, the ecclesiology of the FABC goes beyond the contextualization of the Christian
Gospel, sacraments, and apostolic leadership by the local church, to include an ecclesiology
which also calls for the local church to engage in a mutual dialogue with and service to the Asian
peoples. Implicit in such an ecclesiology is the acknowledgement and acceptance of a
fundamental ontological, soteriological and existential relationship between the Christian Gospel
and the Asian peoples with their rich religious and cultural traditions, as well as their daily
socioeconomic challenges. Such a deep and profound ecclesiology enables the local church to
move away from the plantatio ecclesiae mentality, i.e., away from "an institution planted in Asia"
towards "an evangelizing community of Asia" (Theological Consultation, article 15).[67] Clearly,
the FABC has great hopes that the local church is able to be deeply inculturated in the Asia soil to
the extent that it becomes not simply a church in Asia, but truly an Asian church (BIRA IV/12,
article 50).[68] Otherwise, "if the Asian Churches do not discover their own identity, they will have
no future" (Asian Colloquium on Ministries in the Church, article 14(ii).[69]

(ii) Theology of the Kingdom of God

Romanticized by exotic legends and travellers' fables for thousands of years, Asia, with two-
thirds of the world's population continues to be shrouded in an aura of mystery with its diverse
and pluralistic ancient cultures, languages, philosophies and religions. At the same time, it is
facing a "swift and far-reaching transformation, a continent undergoing modernization and
profound social change, along with secularization and the breakup of traditional societies" (FABC
I, article 4).[70] The FABC has taken a positive approach to such diversity and pluralism in a
manner which attempts to avoid a reductionistic exclusivism, because the grace and presence of
God pertneate all of creation in a mysterious manner. For example, it has given a place of
reverence and honour to the diverse Asian religious traditions and acknowledged that God has
drawn the Asian peoples to Godself through these religious traditions (FABC I, article 15).[71]
The FABC also pointed out that:

Christians believe that God's saving will is at work, in many different ways, in all religions. It
has been recognized sinc the time of the apostolic Church, and stated clearly again by the
Second Vatican Council, that the Spirit of Christ is active outside the bounds of the visible
Church. God's saving grace is not limited to members of the Church, but is offered to every
person. His grace may lead some to accept baptism and enter the Church, but it cannot be
presumed that this must always be the case. His ways are mysterious and unfathomable, and no
one can dictate the direction of His grace (BIRA II, article 12, emphasis added).[72]

Subsequently, the 1988 FABC All-Asia Conference on Evangelization explained that the
"ultimate goal of all evangelization is the ushering in and establishment of God's Kingdom,
namely God's rule in the hearts and minds of our people" (BIMA IV, article 5).[73] At the same
time, "the core of Christ's proclamation is the Kingdom of God" (BIRA IV/10, article 6),[74] and the
local church "is and instrument for the actualizaion of the Kingdom" (BIRA IV/2, article 8.2).[75]
The FABC has explained the relationship between the Church and the Kingdom of God as
follows:

[T]he Reign of God is the very reason for the being of the Church. The Church exists in and for
the Kingdom. The Kingdom, God's gift and initiative, is already begun and is continually being
realized, and made present through the Spirit. Where God is accepted, when the Gospel values
are lived, where man is respected... there is the Kingdom. It is far wider than the Church's
boundaries. This already present reality is oriented towards the final manifestation and full
perfection of the Reign of God" (BIRA IV/2, article 8.1, emphasis added).[76]

The local church is perceived as "constantly [moving] forward in mission, as it accompanies all
humankind in its pilgrimage to the Kingdom of the Father' (FABC III, article 15).[77] In this
respect, the FABC also pointed out that:

Christian communities in Asia must listen to the Spirit at work in the many communities of
believers who live and experience their own faith, who share and celebrate it in their own social,
cultural and religious history, and that they (as communities of the Gospel) [sic] must accompany
these others "in a common pilgrimage toward the ultimate goal, in relentless quest for the
Absolute," and that thus they are to be "sensitively attuned to the work of the Spirit in the
resounding symphony of Asian communion" (FABC III, article 8.2).[78]

In addition, the 1991 FABC Theological Consultation concluded that "if the Church is the
sacrament of the Kingdom, the reason is that she is the sacrament of Jesus Chirist himself who is
the mystery of salvation, to whom she is called to bear witness and whom she is called to
announce. To be at the service of the Kingdom means for the Church to announce Jesus Christ"
(Theological Consultation, article 33).[79]

Hence, far from being an excuse for putting aside the task of evangelization, the paradigm of
the Kingdom of God in Asia challenges the local churches of Asia to work "with the Christians of
other Churches, together with our sisters and brothers of other faiths and with all people of
goodwill, to make the Kingdom of God more visibly in Asia" (FABC V, article 2.3.9).[80]
Elsewhere in the same document, the FABC pointed out that the ultimate goal of mission in Asia
is "to proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom of God: to promote the values of the Kingdom
such as "justice, peace, love, compassion, equality and brotherhood in these Asian realities. In
short, it is to make the Kingdom of God a reality" (FABC V, article 1.7).[81] The inclusivity of the
Kingdom of God holds great appeal to the FABC, which "acknowledge[s] the Kingdom at work in
sociopolitical situations and in the cultural and religious traditions of Asia" (Theological
Consultation, article 39).[82] For the Asian Catholic bishops, the inclusive nature of the Kingdom
of God is able to encompass those people who are followers of Jesus Christ, his life and his
teachings and those who continue to remain Hindus, Buddhists, Taoists or Muslims, and who are
otherwise excluded from the dialectical setup of present ecclesial structures.[83]

(iii) Theology of Dialogue

A Necessity for Dialogue in the Asian Milieu

In a keynote address at BIRA IV/12 in February 1991 the Archbishop Emeritus of Delhi, Angelo
Fernandes, pointed out that peoples of other faiths in Asia were not to be regarded as "objects of
Christian mission" but rather as "partners in the Asian community, where there must be mutual
witness."[84] He explained that the dialogue between the Asian local churches and the peoples of
Asia should be seen as a "manifestation of lived Christianity" with its own integrity which leads
towards the Kingdom of God.[85] This understanding of dialogue expresses succinctly the
FABC's profound understanding of dialogue as a "dialogue of life" which "involves a genuine
experience and understanding," and which "demands working, not for them merely (in a
paternalistic sense), but with them, to learn from them (for we have much to learn from them!)
their real needs and aspirations, as they are enabled to identify and articulate these, and to strive
for their fulfilment," (FABC I, article 20).[86] Such a dialogue leads to "receptive pluralism, that is,
the many ways of responding to the promptings of the Holy Spirit must be continually in
conversation with one another. A relationship of dynamic tension may open the way for mutual
information, inspiration, support and correction" (BIRA IV/3, article 16).[87] Dialogue also
"demands a total Christ-like self-emptying so that, led by the Spirit, we may be more effective
instruments in building up God's Kingdom" (BIRA IV/7, article 16).[88]

Underlying the call of the FABC for local churches to dialogue with the diverse and pluralistic
Asian milieu is the question of whether there are soteriological elements in Asian religions and
cultures. One notes that the Second Vatican Council had acknowledged the existence of
soteriological elements in other relgions and cultures[89] which were to be "uncovered,"[90] "set
free,"[91] as well as "purified, raised up and perfected"[92] to explain the salvific message of the
Christian Gospel to non-European peoples. However, by the 1970s such an instrumentalization
approach to evangelization came to be perceived by many Asian and African churches to be
pejorative, manipulative, paternalistic and a form of cultural imperialism or theological chauvinism.
[93] This is because it attempted to appropriate, modify and reorient the religious, philosophical
and cultural traditions of local communities as ancillae theologiae to propagate the Christian
Gospel without regard to their integrity.[94] In particular, the instrumentalization approach
presupposed a universal and unchanging depositum fidei. The values and thought forms of a
particular community are used, not because they are inherently holy and graced, but as a
convenient platform to present the unchanging depositum fidei. In this sense, the ontological
integrity and the soteriological ethos of the local sociocultural context are not being respected.[95]
As the FABC Office of Theological Concerns has explained in no uncertain terms:

[I]t should be clear that culture, which has its basis in God's creation of man and nature, should
be respected in its inner purpose and goal and should not be viewed simply as a means for
something else. Nor should individual elements of culture be isolated from the organic whole,
Hence, inculturation cannot be a process in which particular elements of a culture are selected to
serve as a garb for the Gospel. This will be a very external and superficial kind of inculturation
since it does not respect the inner soul of the culture and its organic character (Theses on the
Local Church, Thesis 5, article 5.06).[96]

In a similar vein, Archbishop Angelo Femandes himself characterized such an approach in two
words: "arrogance and ignorance."[97]

It is therefore not suprising that in an effort to distance itself from this problem, the FABC has
chosen the quintessential Asian trait of dialogue to undergird its fundamental missiological
approach in Asia. At the same time, the FABC has to come to terms with the pervasiveness of
Eurocentric ecclesial structures in Asia:

The Church remains foreign in its lifestyle, in its institutional structures, in its worship, in its
westem-trained leadership and in its theology. Christian rituals often remain formal, neither
spontaneous nor particularly Asian. There is a gap between leaders and ordinary believers in the
Church, a fortiori with members of other faiths. The Church has created a powerful priestly caste
with little lay participation. Seminary formation often alienates the seminarian from the people.
Biblical, systematic and historical theology as taught are often unpastoral and unAsian
(Theological Consultation, article 13).[98]

Therefore, dialogue is also necessary to redress the damage which has been perpetrated by
centuries of domination by colonial-era missionaries, resulting in a wariness of any attempt at
evangelization which smacks of instrumentalization. Dialogue allows two different parties, with
their different worldviews, to enter each other's perspectives on equal terms:

Dialogue brings to the local churches in Asia which are in danger of being ghettos an openness
to and integration into the mainstream of their cultures. Christians grow in genuine love for their
neighbors of other faiths, and the latter learn to love their Christian neighbors (International
Congress on Mission, Consensus Paper III, article 4b).[99]

This has led a Filipino theologian, Ladislav Nemet, to comment as follows:

Here, there is a shifting of the accent from collecting the seeds of the Word in religions and
inserting them into the local church, to constructive collaboration and dialogue that can lead to the
recognition of the deepest values and aspirations of Asian people, the clarification of meanings
and symbols, and the ability to work hand-in-hand in realizing the common destiny of all the
nations and people on the continent... Inculturation in such understanding does not mean
extracting selected elements from different religions, whether purely philosophical notions or
religious values, and the subsequent incorporation of these elements into Christianity; but it is a
dialogical process of collaboration and critical interaction for the realization of the fullness of life in
Asia (emphasis added).[100]

A Triple Dialogue with Asian Cultures, Religions and the Poor

As early as 1970, the Asian Bishops' Meeting with Pope Paul VI passed a resolution to engage
in "an open, sincere, and continuing dialogue with our brothers of other great religions of Asia,
that we may learn from one another how to enrich ourselves spiritually and how to work more
effectively together on our common task of total human development" (Asian Bishops' Meeting,
resolution 12).[101] Four years later, the First FABC Plenary Assembly developed this nascent
perspectivd on dialogue into a call for a triple dialogue with the Asian cultures, religions and the
immense multitude of the poor (FABC I, articles 12 and 19).[102] This call for a triple dialogue has
been reemphasized at the Fifth FABC Plenary Assembly in Bandung: "mission includes: being
with the people, responding to their needs, with sensitiveness to the presence of God in cultures
and other religious traditions, and witnessing to the values of God's Kingdom through presence,
solidarity, sharing and word. Mission will mean a dialogue with Asia's poor, with its local cultures,
and with other religious traditions" (FABC V, article 3.1.2, emphasis added).[103] Such a dialogue
is to be carried out as equal partners with the Asian cultures, religions and the poor:

We enter as equal partners into the dialogue in a mutuality of sharing and enrichment
contributing to mutual growth. It excludes any sense of competition. Rather, it centers on each
other's values. All the partners in dialogue participate in their own culture, history and time.
Hence, dialogue brings the partners more deeply into their own cultures and bears the
characteristics of inculturation (BIRA I, article 12).[104]

In addition, it is hoped that such a "multifaceted dialogue among all human groups, in which the
power of God is at work, will eventually lead the Asian peoples to a fuller communion with God
and among themselves, which is the ultimate goal of all evangelization" (Theological
Consultation, article 46).[105]

Dialogue with Asian Cultures

The First FABC Plenary Assembly emphasized that the primary focus of the task of
evangelization in Asia is the "building up of a truly local church" (FABC I, article 9)[106] which is
"incarnate in a people, indigenous and inculturated," as well as "a church in continous, humble
and loving dialogue with the living traditions, the cultures, the religions" (FABC I, article 12).[107]
According to the Second FABC Plenary Assembly, the local churches have to be inserted in the
context of the cultures of the Asian peoples today (FABC II, article 12).[108] The rationale for
local churches engaging in a dialogue with cultures has been explained by the FABC Office of
Theological Concems as follows:

Each culture not only provides us with a new approach to the human, but also opens up new
avenues for the understanding of the Gospel and its riches, When the Gospel encounters the
tradition, experience and culture of a people, its hitherto undiscovered virtualities will surface;
riches and meanings as yet hidden will emerge into the light. That is why it is so important to
reinterpret the Gospel through the cultural resources of every people; this reinterpretation truly
enriches the Christian tradition.[109]

By living within their particular context according to the "sense of faith aroused and sustained
by the Spirit of truth" (LG 12), the faithful will learn to express their faith not only in fidelity to the
Apostolic Tradition, but also in response to their cultural situations. This response is the
responsibility of the whole community, which discerns God's Word and Spirit in its culture and
history.[110]

This dialogical encounter "facilitates the incamation of the Good News in the various cultures,
creating new ways of life, action, worship and reflection, so as to help the growth of the local
Churches and to realize the catholicity and fulness of the mystery of Christ" (BIRA III, article 5).
[111]

It has been pointed out that the FABC has not articulated any comprehensive definition of
culture other than a few scattered indirect references in its documents.[112] For example, the
First FABC Plenary Assembly made an indirect allusion to an empirical understanding of culture
as a people's "meanings and its values, its aspiration, its thoughts and its language, its song and
its artistry" (FABC I, article 12).[113] As far as the FABC Office of Theological Concems is
concerned, "culture is ultimately the concrete way of being human among a determined people,
group or nation,"[114] which is best understood from four perspectives: (i) culture as cultivation of
the human spirit, (ii) empirical understanding of culture, (iii) symbolic dimension of culture and (iv)
understanding society itself as a cultural reality.[115] On a different note, the Intemational
Congress on Mission alluded to the rise of an "urbanindustrial universal culture" which falls in the
cracks of traditional Asian cultures (International Congress on Mission, Consensus Paper VIII,
article 29).[116] Such a sociological understanding of cultures and subcultures was also adopted
by the FABC Office of Theological Concems, when it highlightd the existence of "two types of
culture: that of the politically and economically powerful and that of the weak and powerless"
(Theses on the Local Church, Thesis 7, article 7.05).[117] Finally, the FABC Office of Theological
Concerns has also suggested a theological understanding of culture:

For culture, as the product of the human spirit acting on nature and creating various
instruments, institutions, social relationships, ways of living, etc., forms part of God's design of
creation. Besides, the culture of every people has a vocation: to contribute, each one in a unique
way, to the life and well-being of the one human family. Every culture manifests in a singular way
the richness of the humanum" (Theses on the Local Church, Thesis 5, article 5.05).[118]

Dialogue with Asian Religions

The importance of engaging in a dialogue with the Asian religions was recognized as early as
1970. Resolution no. 12 of the Asian Bishops'Meeting made this very clear: "We pledge
ourselves to an open, sincere, and continuing dialogue with our brothers of other great religions
of Asia, that we may learn from one another how to enrich ourselves spiritually and how to work
more effectively together on our common task of total human development."[119] It has been
suggested that inter-religious dialogue is not merely an activity of Christians in Asia, but rather "it
enters into the very definition of what it is to be a Christian in Asia. To be Christian is not an
abstraction, but a contextual reality."[120] Hence, the First FABC Plenary Assembly has
emphasized that it is only through dialogue that the Asian local churches are able to give due
reverence and honour to these Asian religions and acknowledge that God has drawn these
religions to Godself (FABC I, article 15).[121] In giving a privileged place to the religious traditions
of the Asian peoples, the First FABC Plenary Assembly pointed out that:

In this dialogue we accept them [=the great religious traditions] as significant and positive
elements in the economy of God's design of salvation. In them we recognize and respect
profound spiritual and ethical meanings and values. Over many centuries they have been the
treasuries of the religious experience of our ancestors, from which our contemporaries do not
cease to draw light and strength. They have been (and continue to be) the authentic expression
of the noblest longings of their hearts, and the home of their contemplation and prayer. They
have helped to give shape to the histories and cultures of our nations (FABC I, article 14).[122]

Only in dialogue with these religions can we discover in them the seeds of the Word of God
(Ad Gentes, chapter I, 9). This dialogue will allow us to touch the expression and the reality of
our peoples' deepest selves, and enable us to find authentic ways of living and expressing our
own Christian faith. It will reveal to us also many riches of our own faith which we perhaps would
not have perceived (FABC I, article 16).[123]

Elsewhere, the FABC has affirmed that "it is an inescapable truth that God's Spirit is at work in
all religious traditions" (BIRA IV/12, article 7)[124] because "it has been recognized since the time
of the apostolic Church, and stated clearly again by the Second Vatican Council, that the Spirit of
Christ is active ouside the bounds of the visible Church." (BIRA II article 12).[125] Hence,
interreligious dialogue "is based on the firm belief that the Holy Spirit is operative in other religions
as well" (BIRA IV/2, article 8.5),[126] because the religious traditions of Asia "are expressions of
the presence of God's Word and of the universal action of his Spirit in them" (Theological
Consultation, article 43).[127] In particular, the "great religions of Asia with their respective
creeds, cults and codes reveal to us diverse ways of responding to God whose Spirit is active in
all peoples and cultures" (BIRA IV/7, article 12).[128] For the FABC, it is "the same spirit, who has
been active in the incamation, life, death and resurrection of Jesus and in the Church, who was
active among all peoples before the Incarnation and is active among the nations, religions and
peoples of Asia today" (BIRA IV/3, article 6).[129]

Hence, "interreligious dialogue flows from the nature of the Church, a community in pilgrimage
journeying with peoples of other faiths towards the Kingdom that is to come" (BIRA IV/4, article
2).[130] In particular, " religious dialogue is not just a substitute for or a mere preliminary to the
proclamation of Christ, but should be the ideal form of evangelization, where in humility and
mutual support we seek together with our brothers and sisters that fullness of Christ which is
God's plan for the whole of creation, in its entirely [sic] and its great and wonderful diversity"
(BIMA I, article 10, emphasis added).[131] As the 1995 FABC Hindu-Christian Seminar explained
succinctly:

Beyond the extremes of inclusivism and exclusivism, pluralism is accepted in resonance with
the constitutive plurality of reality. Religions, as they are manifested in history, are
complementary perceptions of the inefffable divine mystery, the God-beyond-God. All religions
are visions of the divine mystery. No particular religion can raise the claim of being the norm for
all others. We religious believers are co-pilgrims, who share intimate spiritual experiences and
reflections with one another with concern and compassion, with genuine openness to truth and
the freedom of spiritual seekers (sadhakas). In this process we become increasingly sensitive to
human suffering and collaborate in promoting justice, peace and ecological wholeness... We walk
together on the path of dialogue and service towards harmony as sisters and brothers bound in
one Love and drawn by one Divine Truth (BIRA V/3, article 6).[132]

Dialogue with the Poor

The First FABC Plenary Assembly explained that the local churches have to participate in a
"dialogue of life" with the poor,[133] which involves a genuine experience and understanding of
the poverty, deprivation and oppression of many of the Asian peoples. (FABC I, article 20).[134]
This gives rise to a genuine commitment and effort to bring about social justice in the Asian
societies (FABC I, article 21). In so doing, the FABC affirmed the Statement of the 1971 Special
Synod of Bishops on Justice in the World[135] and pointed out that "evangelization and the
promotion of true human development and liberation, are not only opposed, but make up today
the integral preaching of the Gospel, especially in Asia" (FABC I, article 23).[136] Hence, the poor
is seen as "ultimately the privileged community and agents of salvation (as has always been the
case in the history of salvation)' (International Congress on Mission, article 4).[137] The Sixth
FABC Plenary Assembly explains succinctly:

Like Jesus, we 'have to pitch our tents' in the midst of all humanity building a better world, but
especially among the suffering and the poor, the marginalized and the downtrodden of Asia. In
profound 'solidarity with suffering humanity' led by the spirit of life, we need to immerse ourselves
in Asia's cultures of poverty and deprivation, from whose depths the aspirations for love and ife
are most poignant and compelling. Serving life demands communion with every woman and man
seeking and struggling for life, in the way of Jesus' solidarity with humanity (FABC VI, article
14.2).

Dialogue and the Task of Christian Mission in Asia

The FABC has emphasized that dialogue is "an integral part of evangelization" (BIMA II, article
14),[138] "intrinsic to the very life of the Church," (BIRA I, article 9),[139] an "essential mode of all
evangelization" (Message of the 1979 International Congress on Mission, article 19),[140] and "a
true expression of the Church's evangelization action" (BIMA II, article 14).[141] At the same time,
the FABC has also explained that dialogue does not preclude the need for the proclamation of the
Christian Gospel: in fact there could be a moment when "we shall not be timid when God opens
the door for us to proclaim explicitly the Lord Jesus Christ as the Savior and the answer to the
fundamental questions of human existence" (FABC V, article 4.3, italics in the original).[142]

However, a distinctively Asian approach of proclamation which is sensitive to the Asian sitz-im-
leben is needed:

Mission may find its greatest urgency in Asia; it also finds in our continent a distinctive mode.
We affirm, together with others, that "the proclamation of Jesus Christ is the center and primary
element of evangelization" (Statement of the FABC All-Asia Conference on Evangelization,
Suwon, South Korea, August 24-31, 1988).[143] But the proclamation of Jesus Christ in Asia
means, rirst of all, the witness of Christians and of Christian communities to the values of the
Kingdom of God, a proclamation through Christlike deeds. For Christians in Asia, to proclaim
Christ means above all to live like him, in the midst of our neighbors of other faiths and
persuasions, and to do his deeds by the power of his grace. Proclamation through dialogue and
deeds - this is the first call to the Churches in Asia" (FABC V, art 4. 1, italics in the original,
emphasis added).[144]

Clearly, the FABC does not exclude the explicit verbal proclamation of the Christian Gospel as
mission, but it recognizes that context plays a very important role in determining which is the best
approach to mission. Perhaps, one of the inherent dangers of proclamation is that it may result in
a condescending, triumphalistic and disrespectful unidirectional monologue which tramples on the
sensitivities of the non-Christians. In addition, proclamation comes across as being wordy, i.e.,
there is an abundance of words in preaching and proclamation which aims to prove or emphasize
particular truth claims. It has been pointed out that in the Asian mindset, "truth does not impose
itself, but rather attracts everyone and everything to itself by its beauty, splendour and
fascination"[145] - which is what dialogue is all about, In short, proclamation without dialogue runs
the risk of aggressive proselytism with its highly negative connotations.

Through dialogue, not only the Asian socio-religious realities may be enriched by Christianity,
in tum Christianity too may be enriched by the Asian socio-religious realities. Otherwise, a one-
way monologue opens Christianity to the charge of instrumentalization, i.e., appropriating the
soteriological elements in Asian socio-religious realities for Christian use, without respecting their
integrity within their Asian socio-religious matrix. Corollary to this view is the observation of the
Indian theologian, Felix Wilfred:

Any work of mission which does not recognize what God has been doing with a people, with a
country and continent and with their history, is simply and purely arrogance vis-à-vis God's own
bounteous gifts... Triumphalism and exclusivism of any kind are diametrically opposed to
spirituality. They fail to recognize and appreciate the thousand flowers God has let grow, flourish
and blossom in the garden of the world; they fail to acknowledge in practice the presence and
working of the Spirit in the life and history of peoples.[146]

As for the relationship between dialogue, proclamation and conversion, the FABC has pointed
out, rightfully, that "dialogue and proclamation are complementary. Sincere and authentic
dialogue does not have for its objective the conversion of the other. For conversion depends
solely on God's intemal call and the person's free decision" (BIRA III, article 4).[147] Elsewhere,
the FABC has reiterated that "dialogue aimed at 'converting' the other to one's own religious faith
and tradition is dishonest and unethical; it is not the way of harmony" (BIRA V/3, article 7).

(iv) Theology Of Harmony

Harmony, Cosmic Unity, Trinity and Communion (Koinonia)

The FABC's vision of harmony is derived from a finn belief that "there is an Asian approach to
reality, a world-view, wherein the whole is the sumtotal of the web of relationships and interaction
of the various parts with each other, in a word, harmony, a word which resonates with all Asian
cultures" (Asian Christian Perspectives on Harmony, art. 6).[148] In turn, such a vision of
harmony is rooted in the foundations of a cosmic harmony and unity within the Asian religio-
cultural traditions:

When we look into our traditional cultures and heritages, we note that they are inspired by a
vision of unity. The universe is perceived as an organic whole with the web of relations knitting
together each and every part of it. The nature and the human are not viewed as antagonistic to
each other, but as chords in a universal symphony. The whole reality is maintained in unity
through a universal rhyme (Rta; Tao). This unity of reality is reflected in the human person in that
his senses, consciousness and spirit are organically interlinked, one flowing into the other. When
this unity and harmony are manifested in inter-human relationship of justice, order and
righteousness, it is considered dharmic (dharma, dhamma). Sensitivity in human relationships,
close ties of love and cooperation in families are highly valued in our cultures. Furthermore,
traditionally, the various groups in Asian societies were held together harmoniously through
forces of syncretism, spirit of tolerance, mysticism and through messianic movements (BIRA
IV/11, article 6).[149]

In the rich diversity of ancient Asian cultures and faiths is a vision of unity in diversity, a
communion of life among diverse peoples... Ours is a vision of holistic life, life that is achieved
and entrusted to every person and every community of persons, regardless of gender, creed or
culture, class or color... At the heart of our vision of life is the Asian reverential sense of mystery
and of the sacred, a spirituality that regards life as sacred and discovers the Transcendent and its
gifts even in mundane affairs, in tragedy or victory, in brokennness or wholeness. This deep
interiorirty draws people to experience harmony and inner peace and infuses ethics into all of
creation (FABC VI, article 10).[150]

At the same time, such a vision of harmony is also divinely inspired, because "God is the
source and summit of all harmony. He is the foundation and the fulfillment of it" (Asian Christian
Perspectives on Harmony, article 5.1.1.4).[151] Therefore, the theology of harmony of the
FABC[152] draws its strength from the harmonious unity of the Trinity: "The marvelous mystery of
unity and communion of the Trinity is a model as well as a powerful challenge in our efforts to
create harmony in all areas of life" (BIRA IV/11, article 7).[153] The Trinitarian dimensions of
harmony was further elaborated by the FABC Office of Theological Concerns in the following
manner: "the harmony of the universe finds its origin in the one Creator God, and human
harmony should flow from the communion of Father and Son in the Spirit, and ought to be
continually nourished by the "circumincession" (perichoresis) in divine life" (Asian Christian
Perspectives on Harmony, article 4.11.3).[154]

In addition, Jesus Christ is also seen as "the person of harmony"[155] and the "sacrament of
the new harmony"[156] who "was sent to reconcile and reestablish harmony" through "the
proclamation of the values of the Reign of God and his Paschal Mystery of life through death"
(Asian Christian Perspectives on Harmony, article 5.2.5).[157] The divine plan of salvation calls
for the healing of the pain and division caused by sin and evil, and a return once more to the
universal harmony through the building of the Kingdom of God which embodies this unity and
harmony on earth (BIRA IV/11, articles 8-11).[158] In this respect, the Kingdom of God is viewed
as the expression of a theology of harmony: "the Kingdom of God is the core of Christ's
proclamation," which "provides the most action-oriented model for fostering harmony within
society" (BIRA IV/10, article 6).[159] Hence, the "values of the Kingdom - love, mercy,
forgiveness, justice, compassion, unity, peace, as proclaimed by Jesus Christ - are the seeds of
the new harmony inaugurated by him" (Asian Christian Perspectives on Harmony, article 5.2.6.).
[160]

Such Trinitarian and cosmic perspectives of harmony give rise to two important theological
implications. First, it leads to a vision of harmony which "acknowledges the sacredness of nature
and invites us to live in harmony with nature and to foster its growth" (BIRA IV/12, article 33).[161]
This vision of harmony is inspired by a global and universal concern which is "geared ultimately to
the well-being and peace of the universe and humankind" (BIRA IV/11, article 21). Such a vision
cries out for harmony in the created world among humans, as well as between humans and their
natural environment:

We envision a life with integrity and dignity, a life of compassion for the multitudes, especially
for the poor and the needy. It is a life of solidarity with every form of life and sensitive care for all
the earth. It is thus a life that unites us Asians among ourselves and with the whole of creation
into one community of life (FABC VI, article 10).

The ecological question or the harmony and balance of the natural environment in relation to
the life of man is a fundamental one. The destiny of humankind is inextricably bound up with the
way they cultivate the earth and share its resources. Harmony and peace call for respect for the
earth. She is the mother of whose dust we are made and to whose womb we shall all return.
The usurpation of the fruit of the earth by some and deprivation of others of the same results in
the rupture of harmony among peoples (BIRA IV/11, article 13).[162]

Believers of all faiths have an urgent responsibility to open themselves once again to the voice
of nature and its mystery, to return to their primordial attachment to and respect for nature, to
grow in a creation-centered spirituality. Believers in any place are called to come together in
silence and love before creation, to accept the God-given order and harmony of nature, to
counteract the forces of exploitation and ruin. Harinony with nature brings harmony of hearts and
harmony in human relationships (BIRA IV/12, article 34).[163]

In the same vein, the FABC Office of Theological Concems hit the nail squarely on its head
when it said that " [t]he ecological question or the harmony and balance of the natural
environment in relation to human life is a fundamental one" (Asian Christian Perspectives on
Harmony, article 4.9).[164]

Second, harmony has been equated with "communion" (koinonia).[165] On the point, the
FABC Office of Theological Concems has explained that "life is love, harmony and communion"
(Asian Christian Perspectives on Harmony, article 3.3.2.2).[166] It has also suggested that "the
Church as communion is the sacrament of harmony of the humankind" (Asian Christian
Perspectives on Harmony, article 3.3.3.1).[167] Accordingly,

the Church has to be at the service of the restoration of the whole creation in its original
harmony... Hence, the Church is the community of those who, transformed by the Holy Spirit, are
children of God, living in harmony with God and with one another, and are authentic servants of
God for the restoration of the whole creation in its original harmony" (Asian Christian Perspectives
on Harmony, article 3.3.3.2).[168]

Harmony and Dialogue

The fundamental essence of the FABC's theology of harmony arises out of a dialogical
encounter: "dialogue is the primary mode for the Church of Asia in the promotion of
harmony."[169] As early as 1979, dialogue has been perceived as a means "to promote mutual
understanding and harmony" (BIRA I, article 15).[170] Therefore, "a theology of harmony is not a
finished product; it is a process that must be carried on in dialogue with persons and groupings of
different faith persuasions."[171] Such a dialogical relationship is expressed as follows:

[P]eace and harmony in Asian societies, composed as they are of many cultural, ethnic and
linguistic groups, would require recognition of legitimate pluralism and respect for all the groups.
Unity, peace and harmony are to be realized in diversity. Diversity is not something to be
regretted and abolished, ut to be rejoiced over and promoted, since it represents richness and
strength. Harmony is not simply the absence of strife, described as "live and let live." The test of
true harmony lies in the acceptance of diversity as richness (BIRA IV/11, article 15, emphasis
added).[172]

Subsequently, the Fifth FABC Plenary Assembly held the local churches have "to discern, in
dialogue with Asian peoples and Asian realities, what deeds the Lord wills to be done so that all
humankind may be gathered together in harmony as his family" (FABC V, article 6.3).[173] In
addition, it has been observed that harmony "seems to constitute in a certain sense the
intellectual and affective, religious and artistic, personal and societal soul of both persons and
institutions in Asia," and this leads to "the imperative of a study in depth of the theology of
harmony in the Asian context, leading to interrelgious dialogue" (BIRA IV/1, article 13).[174] Such
an approach taps into the movement throughout all of Asia "among peoples of various faiths to
break down traditional barriers of division and hostility, and their initiative to reach out to
neighbors of other faiths in a spirit of love, friendship, harmony and collaboration," and they
"discern the hand of God" in "all these aspirations, movements and initiatives" (BIRA IV/11, article
5).[175] In short, the dialogical praxis of harmony calls for an acceptance of pluralism and
diversity in God's creation as a positive and rich expression of the mystery of the divine plan of
creation. In tum, such an acceptance:

is (rather) a tentative beginning and an invitation to all to work out a theology of harmony, and
a commitment to action in the context of their own national and local situations. At the same time
we realize that the promotion of harmony and commitment to action is not the preserve of the
small Christian community of Asia. It is a common task, and we invite our brothers and sisters of
all the different religious and cultural traditions of Asia to join us in this effort to bring human
society and the cosmos, with each of us men and women and all other beings, into the Ultimate
Hannony (Asian Christian Perspectives on Harmony, article 6).[176]

Michael Amaladoss sums it up succinctly when he said that the underlying the relationship
between harmony and dialogue is "a logic that does not operate on the principle of contradiction
and exclusion (eitherlor), but of identity and inclusion (both/and)."[177] For the Indian
ecclesiologist, Errol D'Lima, "harmony is built on the principle of complementarity and not on the
principle of contradiction. Such harmony brings about unity in plurality where an individual
partner recognizes that the mystery of God is revealed also through non-Christians."[178]

Interreligious Harmony

The theology of harmony of the FABC also calls for harmony between all the great religions of
Asia:
 [G]iven the fact that religions in Asia are a powerful force having a hold over the consciences of
people and penneating every realm of societal life, they can contribute to weld together peoples
and nations or cause division and fragmentation. Therefore a heavy responsibility is laid on all
religions to dialogue with each other. Peace, hartnony, fellowship and cooperation among
religions seem to be a sure way for peace and economy in our Asian societies (BIRA IV/11,
article 16).[179]

This issue was also explored at the 1994 FABC Hindu-Christian Dialogue Seminar (BIRA V/3):

Samanvaya (harmony) is the spiritual pursuit of the totality of reality in its infinite diversity and
radical unity. Since the ultimate ground of being is unity-in-plurality, the divergent forms of reality
are perceived in the convergent rhythm that harmonizes them. Harmony evolves by respecting
the othemess of the other and by acknowledging its significance in relation to the totality.
Consequently, the unique significance of every religion is gratefully and critically perceived within
the context of the universal spiritual evolution of humanity (BIRA V/3, article 6).[180]

The relationship between interreligious harmony, mission and dialogue was elaborated by the
Fifth FABC Plenary Assembly: "Mission in Asia will also seek through dialogue to serve the cause
of unity of the peoples of Asia marked by such a diversity of beliefs, cultures and sociopolitical
structures. In an Asia marked by diversity and torn by conflicts, the Church must in a special way
be a sacrament - a visible sign and instrument of unity and harmony" (FABC V, article 4.2, italics
in the originals).[181] This call is especially prophetic and poignant today, in view of the
occurrence of religious strife in many parts of Asia, e.g., the Hindu-Christian conflict in India and
the Muslim-Christian conflict in Indonesia.

C. From The FABC Documents

To An Asian Theology Of Liturgical Inculturation

The rich and deeply profound Asian contextual theology of the FABC portrays a vision of
Christianity which is at the same time catholic (i.e., it is faithful to its founding stories), and local
(i.e., these founding stories are being appropriated, contextualized and fused into the local Asia
milieu).

The tradition which is handed down within the founding stories of Christianity is viewed not as
fixity, i.e., ahistorical, normative, objective and absolute, but rather as a tradition which is first and
foremost the transmission of Christian living in the spirit of Jesus' ethics of the Kingdom of God as
recorded under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit in Christian Gospel.[182] Fidelity to this tradition
goes beyond the mere proclamation of the catholicity of the unique redemptive roles of Jesus
Christ and the Church Universal. It also calls for a fidelity to: (i) make present Jesus' radical
vision of the Kingdom of God in the kairos of the Asian Sitz-im-Leben, and (ii) the need to
appropriate effectively the evangelical tradition of the Kingdom of God into the wider picture of the
Asian human drama here and now.[183]

It is undeniable that the Christian Gospel with its message of the Kingdom of God has had a
marginal impact in the lives of many Asians, since Christians account for only approximately 2%
of the total population of Asia, with a disproportionate number of Christians living in the
Philippines. As the FABC Office of Theological Concems put it bluntly:

The Christian communities in this part of the world, taken together, do not make up more than
2% of the entire population of Asia. Except for the Philippines, of whose 60 million population
83% are Catholic and 89% Christian, Christians are minorities in every Asian nation. The Church
in Asia is truly a little flock, pusillus grex, an infinitesimal minority in an ocean of people who
profess other religious faiths or belong to other religious traditions.[184]

Because of this, the theological effort of the FABC is cantered mainly on the construction of a
local theology which is able to contextuealize the Christian Gospel within the Asian milieu, in
dialogue with the Asian religions, cultures and peoples, especially the poor. At the same time,
this effort is also a call for a hermeneutical appropriation of the soteriological message of the
Kingdom of God in new sociocultural circumstances and communities with their own traditions,
customs and needs. The 1991 FABC Theological Consultation did not mince their words when
they concluded: "We need a new henneneutic suitable for the Asian idiom" (article 13).[185]

In constructing its uniquely Asian contextual theology, the FABC has acknowledged that the
Asian continent comprises a rich and colorful mosaic of many of the world's ancient religious,
philosophical and socio-cultural traditions.[186] These traditions are still very much alive and
influential because they are able to nourish the present spiritual needs of millions of Asians. In
addition, they are very much interwinded within the socio-political and cultural lives of these
Asians. At the same time, the Asian contextual theology of the FABC also seeks to confront the
challenges of modernization, urbanization, globalization, post-modemism, secularization,
economic and environmental exploitation, poverty, social injustice, political oppression,
communalism, ethnic and caste discrimination, as well as other traumatic forms of social, cultural,
economic and political breakdowns in the Asian social fabric.[187] By emphasizing the need to
evangelize through a dialogical encounter with the three-fold Asian reality of diverse cultures,
religious traditions and the multitude of the poor, the FABC is seeking to appropriate and interpret
the message of the Kingdom of God in the Christian Gospel in a manner which retrieves and
contextualizes the founding stories of Christianity in the present Asian reality, and which
addresses the needs and issues of the here and now.

The contextual theology of the FABC is also well placed to respond to the socio-cultural flux
which is shaped by and shaping the Asian local churches in all their political, socio-economical
and religio-cultural complexities.[188] In particular, the local church in many parts of Asia has
been perceived as a corpus alienum planted by colonial-era missionaries in the local soil. As
article 13 of the 1991 FABC Theological Consultation put it in highly blunt terms:

Prejudices are very much alive in Asia. As a social institution the Church is perceived as a
foreign body in its colonial origins, while other world religions are not. The lingering colonial
image survives in its traditional ecclesiastical structures and economic dependence on the west.
This gives ground for suspicion. The Church is even sometimes seen as an obstacle or threat to
national integration and to religious and cultural identity... The Church remains foreign in its
lifestyle, in its institutional structures, in its worship, in its western-trained leadership and in its
theology. Christian rituals often remain formal, neither spontaneous nor particularly Asian
(emphasis added).[189]

In any attempt to redress such a negative perception, more attention should be given to the
importance of the liturgy as a principal public expression of these local churches. This public face
of the liturgy reveals its ecclesiological orientation, because liturgy is not "an abstract set of
prayers and rubrics which is etemally valid for all times and places, but rather the manner in
which people in specific historical, social and cultural circumstances express their faith through
symbolic ritual."[190] As the FABC Office of Theological Concerns has pointed out: "liturgy is the
expression and celebration of the faith and is at the same time also the fountain of faith in the
local Church"[191] In other words, it is "always an act of the Church's selfunderstanding and self-
expression,"[192] as well as the most fundamental expression of Christian living. Because it is at
the very core of human life, "it expresses life and shapes life."[193] In this regard, one is
reminded of the ancient axiom: ecclesia facit eucharistiam, eucharistia facit ecclesiam. (The
Church makes the eucharist; the eucharist makes the church.) Similarly, the Second Vatican
Council has also pointed out that liturgy is:

the outstanding means whereby the faithful may express in their lives and manifest to others
the mystery of Christ and the real nature of the true Church... [Liturgy] rnarvelously strengthens
their power to preach Christ and thus shows forth the Church to those who are outside as a sign
lifted up among the nations, under which the scattered children of God may gather together, until
there is one sheepfold and one shepherd (Sacrosanctum Concilium, article 2).[194] (Emphasis is
added.)

This is conciliar vision of liturgy reveals the ethical dimension of liturgy in which the local
church is challenged to live out its faith beyond the actual liturgical celebration, thereby reuniting
the "doing of liturgy" with daily Christian living.[195] In practical terms, the liturgy of the Asian
local churches faces a twofold challenge. First, it has to manoeuvre very carefully through
centuries of injustices, oppression and suffering, to avoid being an unwitting accomplice to the
painful reality of pervasive communalism, caste, ethnic, gender and other socioeconomic
divisions in many Asian countries.[196] Second, rightly or otherwise, the liturgy is one yardstick
by which others will come to judge the authenticity of the Asian local churches' desire to be truly
local and catholic, i.e., being a part of the local landscape while maintaining ties with other local
churches throughout the world.[197] The challenge which Aloysius Pieris posed to the Sri Lankan
Catholic Church is especially apt to the Asian local churches to take a hard look at their liturgies:
"Show me how you celebrate your Eucharist and I shall tell you what kind of church you
are."[198]

Hence, liturgical inculturation in Asia has far-reaching ecclesiological and, missiological

consequences which go beyond merely translating the editiones typicae (official texts) of the
various liturgical rites into the various vernacular languages.[199] It is also more than just an
anthropological issue, or a socio-pastoral response to sociocultural pluralism and diversity. It is
neither an archaeological exercise in retrieving archaisms, nor an excuse to impose the cultural
expression of one dominant ethnic community upon other communities. In addition, it is not an
excuse to instrumentalize the liturgy to promote a sociopolitical or religio-cultural agenda,
however laudable that may appear to be. In the Asian context, liturgical inculturation faces the
challenge of bringing about a greater awareness of the ethical dimension of the local church's
liturgy to recognize and respond to the rich diversity, current religio-cultural realities and socio-
cultural challenges of a multiethnic, multilingual, multireligious and pluricultural Asian niilieu, such
that the liturgy is able to be a source of harmony, unity and communion rather than the cause of
pain and division.

D. Shaping An Asian Theology of Liturgical Incultration

Although the FABC has not formulated any specific theology of liturgical inculturation, one
could perhaps say that its Asian contextual theology is well placed to undergird the construction
of an Asian theology of liturgical inculturation. There are several essential theological themes
from the contextual theology of the FABC which are particularly relevant to construct an Asian
theology of liturgical inculturation.[200]

(i) A Trinitarian Vision of Harmony in the Liturgy

First, the contextual approach of the FABC to theologizing and its emphasis on the universality
of divine grace and salvation provide the fundamental orientation for an Asian theology of
liturgical inculturation, viz., everything which is good, holy and harmonious in the social, cultural
and religious heritages of the Asian peoples reveal the Spirit at work in them.[201] Such an
approach is rooted in the vision of a unitive and creative harmony which, at the most fundamental
level, encompasses both the primeval vision of cosmic harmony and unity which holds together
the diversity and plurality of the Asian milieu,[202] as well as the marvellous vision of harmony
and unity in the Trinity.[203] If one accepts that: (i) "The Church is at its deepest level a
communion (koinonia) rooted in the life of the Trinity, and thus in its essential reality a sacrament
(mysterium et sacramentum) of the loving self-communication of God and the graced response of
redeemed mankind in faith, hope and love" (FABC III, article 7.1, italics in the original),[204] (ii)
"its eucharistic assembly is the paradigmatic realization of its inner life as participation in the
mystery of Christ, the people of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit: the Church from the
Trinity (Ecclesia de Trinitate)" (Theses on the Local Church, Thesis 4, article 4.02) ;[205] and (iii)
liturgy is "always an act of the Church's self-understanding and self-expression,"[206] therefore at
its deepest roots, liturgical worship is, or ought to be, trinitadan in orientation.[207]
 In addition, on the basis that "the harmony of the universe finds its origin in the one Creator
God, and human harmony should flow from the communion of Father and Son in the Spirit, and
ought to be continually nourished by the "circumincession" (perichoriesis) in divine life" (Asian
Christian Perspectives on Harmony, article 4.11.3),[208] the trinitarian image of perichoresis[209]
enables an Asian theology of liturgical inculturation to bring forth a perichoretic vision of harmony
which nourishes the dynamic, mutual, relational and revelatory communication of "God-for-
us"[210] in the liturgies of the Asian local churches. Such a perichoretic vision of harmony also
expresses beautifully the harmony and relationality between the universal ordo[211] of the
catholic liturgical tradition and the local Asian milieu in a manner of "an etemal movement of
reciprocal giving and receiving, giving again and receiving again"[212]which seeks to mirror the
"ecstatic, relational, dynamic, vital"[213] communion arising out of a "divine dance"[214] between
the three persons of the Trinity.

In other words, the trinitarian dimensions of an Asian theology of liturgical inculturation calls for
a critical, creative, unitive and perichoretic harmony which enables the received ordo of the
catholic liturgical tradition and the local Asian milieu to be "irresistibly drawn to the other, taking
[its] existence from the other, containing the other in [itself], while at the same time pouring self
out into the other."[215] This means that the received ordo of the catholic liturigical tradition and
the Asian context are related in a manner of " being-in-one another, " and " permeation without
confusion, " without any "blurring of the individuality," nor any separation of either, but "only the
communion of love."[216] When such a vision of hannony is realized, the liturgy of the Asian local
churches is able to be authentically Asian, yet remaining truly catholic, "distinguishing the two
aspects without separating them, uniting them without separating them, in the manner in which in
Christ the two natures are united without separation and are distinguished without
confusion."[217]

Descending from the summit of transcendental reflection to the valley of mundane pragmatism,
the foregoing vision of harmony in any Asian theology of liturgical inculturation calls for the
overcoming of liturgical xenophobia, because liturgical inculturation ought not to toss the baby out
of the bath water by ignoring completely the 2000-year heritage of catholic liturgical traditions.
Rather, this vision of harmony calls for a creative synthesis of the positive local elements with the
positive elements from the rich liturgical heritage of the ordo of the catholic liturgical tradition in a
spirit of creative harmony, careful discememt, fraternal critique, mutual conversion, friendly
sharing and critical borrowing.

(ii) Christological Foundations of Liturgical Inculturation:

the Incarnation and the Paschal Mystery

Second, the trinitarian dimensions of an Asian theology of liturgical inculturation also point to its
christological foundation in the mystery of the Incamation as well as the Paschal Mystery: " [t]he
mystery of the incarnation and the paschal mystery are at once the foundation and the model for
the deep insertion of local Churches in the surrounding cultures, in all aspects of their life,
celebration, witness and mission." (FABC Theological Consultation, article 35).[218] It draws its
inspiration and power from the example of the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, the Son of God,
who took human flesh "in a particular place at a particular time of history, two thousand years ago
in Palestine," and who was "deeply inserted in the culture of his people."[219] In the mystery of
the Incarnation, God assumed human condition in the person of Jesus and participated
concretely in the way of life, as well as the religious and cultural traditions of the Jewish people,
[220] thereby employing humankind's cultural forms and modes of expressions in spite of their
manifest inadequacy to reveal Godself.[221] At the same time, the paschal orientation of the
christological foundation of an Asian theology of liturgical inculturation invites both the received
ordo of the Catholic liturgical tradition and the Asian milieu of the local church to engage in a
process of a mutual conversion and transformation which involves an experience of death and
resurrection.[222] In other words, both the received ordo of the Catholic liturgical tradition and the
Asian milieu of the local church have to die to their prejudices and fears in respect of each other,
and rise from the ashes of such an experience of conversion to a new and transformed life of
mutual enrichment and sharing.

On a practical level, the incarnational and paschal orientations of the christological foundation
of an Asian theology of liturgical inculturation give rise to several important observations. Just as
the mystery of the Incarnation and the Paschal Mystery both reveal a dynamic and personal
encounter between the human reality and the divine in the person of Jesus Christ, an Asian
theology of liturgical inculturation also seeks to initiate and foster a dynamic and personal
encounter between the human reality and the liturgy of the local church. Following the example
of Jesus Christ, who neither repudiated his humanity nor his Jewishness,[223] the liturgy of the
local churches should avoid the temptation of repudiating the distinctive Asian milieu with its rich
myriad of ancient social, cultural, linguistic, ethnic and religious traditions. Rather, following the
footsteps of Jesus who grounded his message of the Kingdom of God in the context of Jewish life
experiences and the Jewish wisdom tradition, such a liturgy would be at home with local Asian life
experiences and the age-old Asian wisdom tradition. In this regard, the local churches could
learn how to contextualize their liturgies within their Sitz-im-Leben from the way in which Jesus
framed his Good News of the Kingdom of God using ideas and cultural elements whuch his
hearers were familiar, e.g., images of the Palestinian countryside (e.g., birds of the air and lilies of
the field), everyday activities (e.g., fishing, sowing, baking bread, sweeping the house and
tending sheep), social-cultural reality (e.g., Pharisee and Publican), proverbs and poetry (e.g., the
Beatitudes), as well as Jewish religious life (Temple, religious festivals and the Torah) as means
of proclaiming the Christian Gospel, thereby grounding the Christian Gospel within a particular
human culture, viz., the Jewish culture.[224]

At the same time, although Jesus was deeply conditioned by the cultural milieu of the Jewish
people, nevertheless he also challenged and at times broke away from that cultural milieu. For
instance, women travelled in the company of Jesus and his disciples, something which no
religious teacher of his day would have risked or tolerated (Luke 8:1-3).[225] Moreover, while
using positive elements of the Jewish culture to proclaim the Good News, Jesus also criticized
those negative elements and social-religious institutions, e.g., the rigid Sabbath observance. He
invited his hearers to embrace a new way of life with its transformed values, symbols and
realities. Hence, there is also a need for an element of prophetic critique and conversion in an
Asian theology of liturgical inculturation, such that it is not afraid to criticize negative socio-cultural
elements in particular Asian contexts, e.g., caste discrimination in liturgical worship.[226] This is
because Asian cultures are also similar to the Jewish culture which permeated the world in which
Jesus lived, "in the sense that, along with many lofty ideals, visions and values, they contain also
oppressive and anti-human elements, such as caste, which goes against the equality of all
human beings, discrimination towards women, etc." (Theses on the Local Church, Thesis 6,
article 6.08).[227]

(iii) Pneumatological Foundation of Liturgical Inculturation:

a New Pentecost

Third, the pneumatological foundation of an Asian theology of liturgical inculturation draws its
inspiration from the Pentecost event in shaping inculturated liturgies which are able to bring
together diverse ethnic, linguistic and cultural communities which constitute many of the Asian
local churches.[228] One of the many challenges which confront an Asian theology of liturgical
inculturation is the difficult task of ensuring that the inculturated liturgies of the Asian local
churches do not degenerate, unwittingly or otherwise, into "chaotic heterogeneity and
individualism" in an all too eager effort to avoid a "monolithic uniformity" which fails to respect the
multicultural, multiethnic and multilinguistic identity of these local churches.[229] In this regard, an
Asian theology of liturgical inculturation could look to the Pentecost event as the exemplar of unity
and harmony par excellence between the catholicity of the received ordo of the catholic liturgical
tradition and the immense diversity of the multiethnic, multilinguistic and pluricultural Asian milieu.
Indeed, the Pentecost event beautifully exemplifies the image of the many united into the one
body of Christ:
 Pentecost manifests the Church's unity in the midst of diversity which is Catholic fullness
(catholica unitas). It grounds the authentic catholicity of the Church in the creative power of the
Spirit. The Spirit alone enables the Church to be one amidst the diversity of peoples and races,
and amidst the multiplicity of human situations. For the mystery of the Church's catholicity, as it is
actualized in history, is ultimately rooted in the presence and action of the Spirit (Theses on the
Local Church, Thesis 10, article 10.10).[230]

In other words, both the Spirit and the Pentecost event inspire and empower a relationship of
authentic harmony and unity between elements of catholicity and local diversity in the inculturated
liturgies of the Asian local churches.

(iv) The Praxis of Dialogue in Liturgical Inculturation

Fourth, the praxis orientation of an Asian theology of liturgical inculturation calls for a
methodological conunitment to the triple dialogue of the FABC, i.e., dialogue with the local
cultures, religions, and the poor. Within an Asian theology of liturgical inculturation, this triple
dialogue invites every party to set aside their preconceived notions and other prejudices about
each other, so as to be able to listen to, leam from and share with each other their hopes,
dreams, challenges, strengths and weaknesses. In other words, this triple dialogue should be a
bidirectional encounter of mutual critique, enrichment and conversion for both the Asian local
church's liturgy, as well as its sitz-im-leben among the local peoples, with their religio-cultural
traditions, including their rich popular religiosity and devotions,[231] as well as their life
challenges and aspirations. In the absence of such a dialogue, an Asian theology of liturgical
inculturation runs the risk of ending up merely as a unidirectional process of selective purification,
fulfilment and instrumentalization of certain aspects of the local sitz-im-leben so as to appropriate
them for the liturgy.[232] Worse still, the absence of a dialogical encounter of mutual critique,
conversion and enrichment could result in the instrumentalization of the liturgy itself to serve the
sociocultural norms of the local sitz-im-leben, such that the prophetic voice of the ethical
dimension of the liturgy is lost.

The praxis of triple dialogue plays an essential role in an Asian theology of liturgical
inculturation, precisely because the hermeneutical task of liturgical inculturation is necessarily
perspectival. Paraphrasing the words of the sacramental theologian David Power, "it is done
within the preunderstandings of the interpreter, or the interpreting community, though it is ready to
let these preunderstanding be challenged."[233] Power also emphasized that being perspectival
does not mean that it is purely subjective:

Representations have their own power within them, to which people are invited to open
themselves. However, they do come with their preunderstandings, and these are bound up with
the conditions of their own being. There is thus an encounter between the world to which the
participant belongs culturally and historically, and the world being presented in the language of
the tradition.[234]

Transposing this to the present discussion, one could perhaps say that the dialogial
underpinnings of an Asian theology of liturgical inculturation is perspectival in that it respects the
"preunderstanding" of the Asian sitz-im-leben. The praxis of triple dialogue allows the received
ordo of the catholic liturgical tradition and the diverse and pluralistic Asian sitz-im-leben to enter
into a dialogical encounter in respect of their worldviews, with each other as equal partners.
Therefore, such an encounter should result in a desire to strive, not for the hegemonic imposition
of one worldview over another worldview, but for the perspectival interpretation and mutual
critique of each worldview in respect the other. The desired outcome is the promotion of
solidarity, relationality and communion, not only at the local level between the liturgy of the local
church and the world around it, but also at the catholic level between the liturgy of the local
church and the liturgies of other local churches throughout the world, in a marvellous vision of
unitive, relational and collaborative harmony.
(v) The Local Church as the Locus of Liturgical Inculturation

Finally, the task of constructing any Asian theology of liturgical inculturation is the task of the
local church which is rooted and immersed in the local reality of the Asian peoples with their
cultures, religious traditions, struggles and aspirations for a better future.[235] Just as each Asian
local church has to be truly Asian, while called at the same time to be also truly catholic, i.e., in
communion, harmony and unity with other Asian local churches, as well as the See of Peter in the
local church of Rome,[236] the liturgy of each Asian local church has also to be truly Asian, while
appropriating creatively at the same time the received ordo of the catholic liturgical tradition which
is at the root of the local church's catholicity and communion with other local churches throughout
the world. Just as each Asian local church has full autonomy in its missionary endeavors,[237]
therefore it should have full autonomy to carry out its progam of liturgical inculturation in dialogue
with the religions, cultures and the poor of its sitz-im-leben. This would enable it to shape its own
ordo of liturgical worship in partnership with its dialogue partners, and at the same time fulfilling
the vision of the FABC that "the Church is called to be a community of dialogue. This dialogical
model is in fact a new way of being Chuirch" (BIRA IV/12, article 48).[238]

Jonathan Yun-ka Tan

Department of Religion & Religious Education
The Catholic University of America
Washington, DC, USA
31 May 1999

FOOTNOTES:

[1] A brief overview of the history, impact and achievements of the FABC may be found in C.G.
Arévalo, "The Time of Heirs," in FABC Documents, xv-xxii; and Felix Wilfred, The Federation of
Asian Bishops' Conferences (FABC): Orientations, Challenges and Impact, FABC Papers No. 69
(Hong Kong: FABC, 1995), also found in FABC Documents, xxiii-xxx and Pro Mundi Vita Studies
(1989): 11-17.

[2] This was announced by Archbishop Leonardo Legaspi on 1 May 1998 at the Synod for Asia in
Rome. Cf. "Synod Hears That Five Central Asian Republics And Siberia Are To Join FABC,"
UCAN Press Report, identifier #AS9981.0974, 4 May 1998. Also available from
http://www.ucanews.com/~ucasian/ur/as9981.htm.

[3] As the Indian theologian, Felix Wilfred observed: "Never before had Asian bishops come
together to exchange experiences and to deliberate jointly on common questions and problems
facing the continent. The meeting marked the beginning of a new consciousness of the many
traditional links that united the various peoples of this region of the globe." Felix Wilfred, "The
Federation of Asian Bishops'Conferences (FABC): Orientation, Challenges and Impact," in FABC
Documents, xxiii.

[4] In addition to the Plenary Assembly, which is the FABC's highest governing body, there are: (i)
a Central Committee which comprises the presidents of bishops' conferences who meet every
two years; and (ii) a Standing Committee which comprises five bishops selected by the Central
Committee who meet once a year.

[5] Felix Wilfred, "The Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences (FABC): Orientations,
Challenges and Impact," in FABC Documents, xxix.

[6] Ibid., xxx.

[7] Many of the important documents of the FABC have been collected and published in a
convenient one-volume collection: Gaudencio B. Rosales and C.G. Arévalo, For All The Peoples
of Asia: Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences Documents From 1970-1991 (Maryknoll: Orbis
Books, 1992). Essays and other articles which summarize and evaluate the important theological
themes which are raised in these documents include the following (in chronological order): Peter
C. Phan, "Human Development and Evangelization (The first to the sixth plenary assembly of the
Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences)," Studia Missionalia 47 (1998): 205-227; Felix Wilfred,
et al, "Document: What the Spirit Says to the Churches. A Vademecum on the Pastoral and
Theological Orientations of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences (FABC)," VJTR 62 no.2
(1998): 124-133; Jacob Kavunkal, "Local Church in the FABC Statements," Jeevadhara 27
(1997): 260-271; Sebastian Painadath, "Theological Perspectives of FABC on Interreligious
Dialogue," Jeevadhara 27 (1997): 272-288; Stephen Bevans, "Inculturation of Theology in Asia
(The Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences, 1970-1995)," Studia Missionalia 45 (1996): 1-23;
Ladislav Nemet, "Inculturation in the FABC Documents," EAPR 31 (1994): 77-94; Petr-us Maria
Handoko, Lay Ministries in the Mission and Ministry of the Church in Asia: A Critical Study of the
FABC 1970-1991 (Rome: Gregorian University Press, 1993); Jacques Dupuis, FABC Focus on
the Church's Evangelising Mission in Asia Today, FABC Papers No. 64 (Hong Kong: FABC,
1992), reprinted in VJTR 56 (1992): 449-468; FABC Theological Advisory Commission, Theses
on the Local Church: A Theological Reflection in the Asian Context, FABC Papers No. 60 (Hong
Kong: FABC, 1991), Antonio B. Lambino, Dialogue, Discernment, Deeds: An Approach to Asian
Challenges Today, FABC Papers No. 56 (Hong Kong: FABC, 1990) and Felix Wilfred, "Fifth
Plenary Assembly of FABC: An Interpretation of its Theological Qfientation," VJTR 54 (1990):
583-592.

[8] This "service to life" draws its inspiration from the theme of the Sixth Plenary Assembly of the
FABC (Manila, 1995): "Christian Discipleship in Asia Today: Service to Life." A Report of the Sixth
Plenary Assembly of the FABC may be found in the FABC Papers No. 74: Christian Discipleship
in Asia Today: Service to Life. A Report of the Sixth Plenary Assembly of the Federation of Asian
Bishops' Conferences, 1995 (Hong Kong: FABC, 1995).

[9] Cf. Stephen Bevans, "Inculturation of Theology in Asia (The Federation of Asian Bishops'
Conferences 1970-1995)," Studia Missionalia 45 (1996): 4, 8 and 17.

[10] Ladislav Nemet, "Inculturation in the FABC Documents," EAPR 31 (1994): 94. Cf. Ladislav
Nemet, Inculturation in the Philippines: A Theological Study of the Question of Inculturation in the
Documents of CBCP and Selected Filipino Theologians in the Light of Vatican II and the
Documents of the FABC (Th. D. Dissertation, Pontificia Universitas Gregoriana, 1994).

[11] Nemet, "Inculturation in the FABC Documents," EAPR 31 (1994): 93.

[12] FABC Documents, 6.

[13] FABC Documents, 9.

[14] The unabridged Final Statement of FABC I is found in FABC Documents, 12-21. The
abridged Final Statement of FABC I is found in FABC Documents, 21-25.

[15] FABC Documents, 16.

[16] This language is remarkbly similar to article 17 of Lumen Gentium: "...whatever good is found
sown in the minds and hearts of men or in the rites and customs of peoples, these not only are
preserved from destruction, but are purified, raised up, and perfected for the glory of God..." In
Austin Flannery, ed., Vatican Council II: The Conciliar and Post Conciliar Documents
(Collegeville: Liturgical Press. 1984), Vol. 1, pp. 368-9.

[17] FABC Documents, 23.

[18] FABC Documents, 14.

[19] The complete Final Statement of FABC II is found in FABC Documents, 27-48.

[20] By "values," the FABC is referring to "spiritual values" such as "the discipline of ascetics, a
deep and innate religious sense, filial piety and attachment to the family, the primacy of things of
the spirit, an unrelenting search for God and hunger for the super-natural" (FABC II, article 7, in
FABC Documents, 30). According to the FABC, "the present troubled moment of the history of
our peoples, already referred to with some anxiety by our First Plenary Assembly, [cf. FABC 1,
arts. 4-6, 18-19] threatens precisely those meanings and values which form our precious spiritual
heritage" (FABC II, article 8, in FABC Documents, 30).

[21] FABC Documents, 31. Here, a reference is made to Ad Gentes, 18.

[22] FABC Documents, 35.

[23] The complete report of the International Congress on Mission is found in FABC Documents,
125-163.

[24] The complete report of the inculturation workshop is found in FABC Documents, 138-141.

[25] FABC Documents, 138-9.

[26] FABCDocuments, 140-141.

[27] The complete Message is found in FABC Documents, 165-173.

[28] The complete report of BIRA IV/I is found in FABC Documents, 247-250.

[29] FABC Documents, 249

[30] The complete text of the Conclusions of the FABC Theological Consultation is found in FABC
Documents, 335-347.

[31] FABC Documents, 343.

[32] FABC Papers No. 60 (Hong Kong: FABC, 1991), hereinafter referred to as Theses on the
Local Church. Unless otherwise stated, all references to this document refer to the pagination in
the monograph FABC Papers No. 60.

[33] Theses on the Local Church, 18.

[34] Theses on the Local Church, 18.

[35] Cf. article 5.02 of Thesis 5, in Theses on the Local Church, 19.

[36] Cf. article 5.04 of Thesis 5, in Theses on the Local Church, 20.

[37] Theses on the Local Church, 21.

[38] According to the FABC Office of Theological Concerns, "it is not enough to say that culture
conditions the shape of the local Church. In the same breath we should also add that the Gospel
too acts on culture" (Theses on the Local Church, Thesis 5, article 5.12, in p. 22).

[39] Theses on the Local Church, 25.

[40] Theses on the Local Church, 22.

[41] Theses on the Local Church, 28-9.

[42] Theses on the Local Church, 55-56.

[43] Theses on the Local Church, 33.

[44] Article 35 of the 1991 Theological Consultation states: "The mystery of the incarnation and
the paschal mystery are at once the foundation and the model for the deep insertion of local
Churches in the surrounding cultures, in all aspects of their life, celebration, witness and mission"
(in FABC Documents, 343).

[45] Theses on the Local Church, 35-6

[46] In contemporary ecelesiology, the designation "local church" is the most commonly accepted
translation of the designation ecclesia particulars. Cf. Robert Schreiter, Constructing Local
Theologies, (Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 1985), 6. However, Henri De Lubac has argued for a
distinction between these two terms, with "local church" being a designation in the socio-cultural
order and "particular church" being a designation in the theological order. Cf. discussion in Henri
de Lubac, Motherhood of the Church (San Francisco: lgnatius Press, 1989), 282 (Quoted in
Joseph Komonchak, "The Local Church and the Church Catholic: The Contemporary Theological
Problematic," Jurist 52 (1992): 435, fn. 47). Responding to this distinction, the FABC Office of
Theological Concems summarizes succinctly the preference of the FABC for the term "local
church" in the following statement:

Two reservations may be expressed regarding this explanation. First, the counterpoising of the
terms "theological" and "sociocultural" would suggest that sociocultural particularity is not
theologically significant -an assumption which has grave implications for ecclesiology, and which
can be called into question. Secondly, using regularly the tertn "particular Church" for the
diocese in contrast to "universal Church" might give the impression that the catholicity of the
particular Church is located outside of it. Similarly, the expression .'universal Church" as
contrasted with "particular Church" might suggest a false idea of the universality of the Church as
that of a multinational or intemational institution. In the light of the above, we have chosen to use
regularly the expression local Church in this document, specifying where necessary to what
particular realization we are referring" (Theses on the Local Church, 10-11).

[47] FABC Documents, 14.

[48] FABC Documents, 14.

[49] FABC Documents, 72-73.

[50] FABC Documents, 54, 56-57.

[51] Theses on the Local Church, 12.

[52] Theses on the Local Church, 21.

[53] FABC Documents, 281.

[54] FABC Documents, 56.

[55] FABC Documents, 191.

[56] FABC Documents, 287. The Sixth FABC Plenary Assembly also reiterated the need for the
Churches of Asia to move towards "a new way of being Church, a Church that is committed to
becoming 'a community of communities,' and a credible sign of liberation and salvation" (FABC
VI, article 3).

[57] It is a participatory Church where the gifts that the Holy Spirit gives to all the faithful - lay,
Religious, and cleric alike - are recognized and activated, so that the Church may be built up and
its mission realized" (FABC V, article 8.1.2, in FABC Documents, 287, italics in the original).

[58] "Built in the hearts of people, it is a Church that faithfully and lovingly witnesses to the Risen
Lord and reaches out to people of other faiths and persuasions in a dialogue of life towards the
integral liberation of all" (FABC V, article 8.1.3, in FABC Documents, 287-288, italics in the
original).

[59] It is a leaven of transformation in this world and serves as a prophetic sign daring to pont
beyond this world to the ineffable Kingdom that is yet fully to come" (FABC V, article 8.1.4, in
FABC Doucments, 288, italics in the original).

[60] FABC Documents, 130.

[61] FABC Documents, 131.

[62] Theses on the Local Church, 28.

[63] FABC Documents, 14.

[64] FABC Documents, 332.

[65] FABC Documents, 333.

[66] FABC Documents, 281.

[67] FABC Documents, 338.

[68] FABC Documents, 333.

[69] FABC Documents, 70.

[70] FABC Documents, 13.

[71] FABC Documents, 14. This position has been reiterated in BIRA III, article 2 (in FABC
Documents, 119).

[72] FABC Documents, 115.

[73] FABC Documents, 292.

[74] FABC Documents, 314.

[75] FABC Documents, 252.

[76] FABC Documents, 252. Similarly, article 30 of the 1991 Theological Consultation states:

[T]he Reign of God is a universal reality, extending far beyond the boundaries of the Church. It
is the reality of salvation in Jesus Christ, in which Christians and others share together. It is the
fundamental "mystery of unity" which unites us more deeply than differences in religious
allegiance are able to keep us apart. Seen in this manner, a "regnocentric" approach to mission
theology does not in any way threaten the Christo-centric perspective of our faith. On the
contrary, "regno-centrism" calls for "christo-centrism," and vice~versa, for it is in Jesus Christ and
through the Christ-event that God has established his Kingdom upon the earth and in human
history (FABC Documents, 342).

[77] FABC Documents, 60.

[78] FABC Documents, 57.

[79] FABC Documents, 342.

[80] FABC Documents, 279.

[81] FABC Documents, 275.

[82] FABC Documents, 344.

[83] Felix Wilfred, "Inculturation As A Hermeneutical Question," VJTR 52 (1988): 429. As the
Indian Catholic bishops explained succinctly in their Response to the Lineamenta for the 1998
Synod for Asia: "in union with the Father and the Spirit, Christ is indeed the source and cause of
salvation for all peoples, but this fact does not exclude the possibility of God mysteriously
employing other cooperating channels" (EAPR 35 no. 1 (1998): 121, article 5.1).

[84] Archbishop Angelo Fernandes, "Dialogue in the Context of Asian Realities," VJTR 55 (1991):
548.

[85] Ibid.

[86] FABC Documents, 15.

[87] FABC Documents, 261.

[88] FABC Documents, 311.

[89] These soteriological elements are the "seeds of the Word" [semina Verbi] which lie hidden in
other religious traditions (Ad Gentes, article 11, in Flannery, Vatican Council II, vol. 1, 825).
According to the Council Fathers, "[t]he Catholic Church rejects nothing of what is true and holy in
these religions. She has a high regard for the manner of life and conduct, the precepts and
doctrines which, although differing in many ways from her own teaching, nevertheless often
reflect a ray of the truth which enlightens all men." (Nostra Aetate, article 2, in Flannery, Vatican
Council II, vol. 1, 739).

[90] In this vein, the Council Fathers thought that all Christians "should be familiar with their
national and religious traditions and uncover with gladness and respect those seeds of the Word
which lie hidden among them" (Ad Gentes, article 11, in Flannery, Vatican Council II, vol. 1, 16).

[91] ln the words of the Council Fathers, Christians are called, among other things, "to illuminate
these riches with the light of the Gospel, set them free, and bring them once more under the
dominion of God the saviour" (Ad Gentes, article 11, in Flannery, Vatican Council II, vol. 1, 825).

[92] For the Council Fathers, "whatever good is found sown in the minds and hearts of men or in
the rites and customs of peoples, these not only are preserved from destruction, but are purified,
raised up and perfected for the glory of God..." (Lumen Gentium, article 17, in Flannery, Vatican
Council II, vol. 1, 368-9).

[93] Therefore it was not surprising that the bishops of Africa and Madagascar made the following
statement at their 1974 synod: "the bishops of Africa and Madagascar consider as being
completely out of date the so-called theology of adaptation. Instead they adopt the theology of
incarnation." In AFER 17 no. 1 (1975): 58.

[94] Cf., Felix Wilfred, "Inculturation as a Hermeneutical Question," VJTR 52 (1988): 423;
Aloysius Pieris, "Western Models of Inculturation: How Far Are They Applicable in Non-Semitic
Asia?" EAPR 22 (1985): 116-124; Aloysius Pieris, "Asia's non-semitic religions, and the mission
of the local churches," in T. Dayanandan Francis & F.J. Balkasundaram, eds., Asia Expressions
of Christian Commitment: A Reader in Asian Theology (Madras: Christian Literature Society,
1992), 35-57; John Mary Waliggo, "Making A Church That Is Truly Africa," in John Mary Waliggo,
et. al, Inculturation: Its Meaning and Urgency (Kampala, Uganda: St. Paul Publications, 1986),
11-30; and G. Arbuckle, "Inculturation, Not Adaptation: Time To Change Terminology," Worship
60 (1986): 511-20.

[95] Aloysius Pieris, S.J., "Asia's non-seniitic religions and the niission of the local Churches," in
T. Dayanandan Francis & F.J. Balasundaram, eds., Asia Expressions of Christian Commitment: A
Reader in Asian Theology, (Madras, India: Christian Literature Society, 1992), 43-44.

[96] Theses on the Local Church, 20

[97] Archbishop Angelo Fernandes, "Dialogue in the Context of Asian Realities," VJTR 55 (1991):
552.

[98] FABC Documents, 337.

[99] FABC Documents, 142.

[100] Ladislav Nemet, "Inculturation in the FABC Documents," EAPR 31 (1994): 86-87.

[101] FABC Documents, 9.

[102] FABC Documents, 14-15.

[103] FABC Documents, 280.

[104] FABC Documents, 111.

[105] FABC Documents, 345.

[106] FABC Documents, 14.

[107] FABC Documents, 14.

[108] FABC Documents, 31.

[109] Theses on the Local Church, 20-21.

[110] Theses on the Local Church, 28.

[111] FABC Documents, 120.

[112] For another discussion on this point, see also Ladislav Nemet, "Inculturation in the FABC
Documents," EAPR 31 (1194): 87-88.

[113] FABC Documents, 14.

[114] Theses on the Local Church, 9.

[115] Cf. discussion in Theses on the Local Church, 8-9.

[116] FABC Documents, 160.

[117] Theses on the Local Church, 27.

[118] Theses on the Local Church, 20.

[119] FABC Documents, 120.

[120] Felix Wilfred, "Inculturation As A Hermeneutical Question," VJTR 52 (1988): 428.

[121] FABC Documents, 14.

[122] FABC Documents, 14.

[123] FABC Documents, 14-15.

[124] FABC Documents, 326.

[125] FABC Documents, 115.

[126] FABC Documents, 253.

[127] FABC Documents, 344.

[128] FABC Documents, 310.

[129] FABC Documents, 259.

[130] FABC Documents, 300.

[131] FABC Documents, 94.

[132] Quoted in Jeevadhara 27 (1997): 288.

[133] Here, the term "poor" is understood in a dialectical sense:

Poor, not in human values, qualities, nor in human potential. But poor, in that they are
deprived of access to material goods and resources which they need to create a truly human life
for themselves. Deprived, because they live under oppression, that is, under social, economic
and political structures which have injustice built into them (FABC I, article 19, in FABC
Documents, 15).

[134] FABC Documents, 15.

[135] "Actions in behalf of justice and participation in the transformation of the world fully appear
to us as a constitutive dimension of preaching of the Gospel..., for we believe that this, in our
time, is part and parcel of 'preaching the Good News to the poor'" (FABC 1, article 22. In FABC
Documents, 15-16).

[136] FABC Documents, 16.

[137] FABC Documents, 144.

[138] FABC Documents, 100.

[139] FABC Documents, 111.

[140] FABC Documents, 131.

[141] FABC Documents, 101.

[142] FABC Documents, 282.

[143] The relevant paragraphs state: "While we are aware and sensitive of the fact that
evangelization is a complex reality and has many essential aspects, ... we affirm that there can
never be true evangelization without the proclamation of Jesus Christ" (BIMA IV, article 5, in
FABC Documents, 292). "The proclamation of Jesus Christ is the center and the primary element
of evangelization without which all other elements will lose their cohesion and validity. In the
same way, evangelization will gather together the believing community, the Church, through faith
and baptism" (BIMA IV, article 6, in FABC Documents, 292).

[144] FABC Documents, 281-282.

[145] Felix Wilfred, "Inculturation As A Hermeneutical Question," VJTR 52 (1988): 427.

[146] Felix Wilfred, "Fifth Plenary Assembly of FABC: An Interpretation of its Theological
Orientations," VJTR 54 (1990): 590.

[147] FABC Documents, 120.

[148] FABC Papers No. 75 (FABC: Hong Kong, 1996), 66. Hereinafter referred to as Asian
Christian Perspectives on Harmony. Unless otherwise stated, all references to this document
refer to the pagination in the monograph FABC Papers No. 75.

[149] FABC Documents, 319.

[150] This statement builds on the earlier statement by the Fourth FABC Plenary Assembly:
"Asian religious cultures see hurnan beings, society and the whole universe as intimately related
and interdependent. Fragmentation and division contradict this vision" (FABC IV, article 3.1.10, in
FABC Documents, 181).

[151] Asian Christian Perspectives on Harmony, 56.

[152] In any discussion of an Asian theology of harinony, one should bear in mind the following
caveat from the FABC Office of Theological Concerns:

A theology of harmony cannot be formed solely within the categories of a traditional Christian
theology, by reading Christian revelation and applying its principles to the conflictual situation in
Asia. It has to be a reading and reflection of the realities themselves, along with other religious
and cultural revelations... In short, a theology of harmony in Asia can only be a contextual
theology, done from within the context of Asia, and either from within such contexts or in deep
solidarity with the conflictual situations of Asia. At the same time, it has to be done only in
communion with the rich religious and cultural resources of the people experiencing those
situations (Asian Christian Perspectives on Harmony, article 5.2, p.60, emphasis added).

[153] FABC Documents, 319.

[154] Asian Christian Perspectives on Harmony, 53.

[155] Being Church in Asia: Journeying with the Spirit into Fuller Life, Final Statement of theFirst
FABC International Theological Coloquium, article 28. In VJTR 58 (1994): 384.

[156] Asian Christian Perspectives on Harmony, article 5.2.5, p. 62.

[157] Asian Christian Perspectives on Harmony, 62.

[158] FABC Documents, 319-320.

[159] FABC Documents, 314.

[160] Asian Christian Perspectives on Harmony, 63.

[161] FABC Documents, 330.

[162] FABC Documents, 320.

[163] FABC Documents, 330-1.

[164] Asian Christian Perspectives on Harmony, 50-1.

[165] Michael Amaladoss, "The Call to Communion: Symbol of a New World," VJTR 61
(1997):455.

[166] Asian Christian Perspectives on Harmony, 41.

[167] Asian Christian Perspectives on Harmony, 42.

[168] Asian Christian Perspectives on Harmony, 42-3.

[169] Being Church in Asia: JouA-neying with the Spirit into Fuller Life, (= Final Statement of the
First FABC International Theological Colloquium, 1994), article 43. Reprinted in VJTR 58 (1994):
386.

[170] FABC Documents, 111.

[171] Errol D'Lima, "The Church's Mission of Love and Service in the Context of Asia's Socio-
Economic and Political Realities," Jeevadhara 27 (1997): 298.

[172] FABC Documents, 321.

[173] FABC Documents, 283.

[174] FABC Documents, 249.

[175] FABC Documents, 318-319.

[176] Asian Christian Perspectives on Harmony, 66. For further comments, cf. Michael
Amaladoss, "The Call to Communion: Symbol of a New World," VJTR 61 (1997): 455; and Errol
D'Lima, "The Church's Mission of Love and Service in the Context of Asia's Socio-Economic and
Political Realities," Jeevadhara 27 (1997): 298.

[177] Michael Amaladoss, The Church and Pluralism in the Asia of the 1990s FABC Papers No.
57e (Hong Kong: FABC, 1990), 9. Quoted in Errol D'Lima, "The Church's Mission of Love and
Service in the Context of Asia's Socio-Economic and Politicall Realities," Jeevadhara 27 (1997):
297.
[178] Errol D'Lima, "Being Church in India in a New Way," VJTR 62 (1998): 821.

[179] FABC Documents, 321.

[180] Quoted in Jeevadhara 27 (1997): 287-288. This text is also published in Working for
Harmony in the Contemporary World: A Hindu-Christian Dialogue - A Statement, FABC Papers
No. 76 (Hong Kong: FABC, 1996).

[181] FABC Documents, 282.

[182] In a similar vein, the FABC Office of Theological Concerns has pointed out: "the Gospel is
always found in an inculturated form. Gospel is not an abstraction. It exists in the concrete as
the faith of a people appropriated and expressed in their cultural context." (Theses on the Local
Church, Thesis 5, article 5.10, in pp. 21-2).

[183] Cf. arts. 1.7 & 2.3.9 of FABC V (in FABC Documents, 275, 279), art. 5 of BIMA IV (in FABC
Documents, 292), art. 8.1-8.2 of BIRA IV/2 (in FABC Documents, 252-3), arts. 69 BIRA IV/10 (in
FABC Documents, 314), and arts. 29-33 and 39 of 1991 FABC Theological Consultation (in
FABC Documents, 341-342, 344).

[184] Theses on the Local Church, 4.

[185] FABC Documents, 337.

[186] Cf. art. 7 of FABC II (in FABC Documents, 30).

[187] Cf. Asian Christian Perspectives on Harmony, 6-13; Theses on the Local Church, Thesis 6,
arts. 6.03-6.04, 6.08 (in pp. 23-24, 25); and Felix Wilfred, "The Federation of Asian Bishops'
Conferences (FABC): Orientations, Challenges and Impact," in FABC Documents, xxv-xxix.

[188] Cf. arts. 4 and 12 of FABC I (in FABC Documents, 13-14).

[189] FABC Documents, 337.

[190] John F. Baldovin, Liturgy in Ancient Jerusalem, Aleuin/GROW Liturgical Study vol. 9, Grove
Liturgical Study, vol. 57 (Bramcote, Nottingham: Grove Books, 1989), 5. As the Consilium
pointed out: "The prayer of the Church is always the prayer of some actual community,
assembled here and now. It is not sufficient that a formula handed down from some other time or
region be translated verbatim, even if accurately, for liturgical use" (Consilium, Instruction Comme
le prévoit: On the Translation of Liturgical Texts for Celebrations with a Congregation, 25 January
1969, art. 20, in DOL 123:857).

[191] Theses on the Local Church, 25.

[192] Kelvin Irwin, Context and Text: Method in Liturgical Theology (Collegeville: Liturgical Press,
1994), 48.

[193] Subhash Anand, "The Inculturation of the Eucharistic Liturgy," VJTR 57 (1993): 271.

[194] DOL, 1:4.

[195] Cf., Irwin, Context and Text, 56, 311, 331, 345-6 and Subhash Anand, "Inculturation in
India: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow," Indian Missiological Review 6 (Mar 1997): 30-32. This
issue has been posed by a prominent liturgical theologian as follows: "What kind of (moral)
activity is characteristic of people of faith, people who have been formed by liturgical worship? If
no notable difference can be discerned on the level of Christian living, then one must ask if there
is any significance at all to what goes on in worship or in the faith life of the church." Cf. John F.
Baldovin, "Liturgical Renewal after Vatican ll: Pastoral Reflections on a Survey," in John F.
Baldovin, ed., Worship: City, Church and Renewal (Washington, DC: Pastoral Press, 1991), 195.

[196] For an overview of the caste controversy and its social and ritual implications in the Indian
liturgy, especially of the Syro-Malabar Church, cf., Subhash Anand, "lnculturation in India:
Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow," Indian Missiological Review 6 (Mar 1997): 22-23 and E.J.
Thomas, "Caste and the Syrian Rite in Keralam," Jeevadhara 23 (May 1993): 227-233. A
discussion of the position and role of Chinese women in the local churches of East and North-
East Asia may be found in Kwok Pui Lan, "Mothers and Dauhters, Writers and Fighters," in R.S.
Sugirtharajah, ed., Frontiers in Asian Christian Theology (Maryknoll: Orbis, 1994), 147-155; and
Kwok Pui Lan, "The Image of the 'White Lady': Gender and Race in Christian Mission," Concilium
6 (1991): 19-27. For a discussion of the issue of ethnic communalism and its implications for
liturgical inculturation in Malaysia, cf. Jonathan Y. Tan, Towards A Theology of "Muhibbah" as the
Basisfor Cross-Cultural Liturgical Inculturation in the Malaysian Catholic Church, (MA Thesis,
Graduate Theological Union, 1997), 117-119, 134-145.

[197] For an example of such a discussion, cf. Jojo M. Fung, Shoes-Off Barefoot We Walk: A
Theology of Shoes-Off (Theologi Buka Kasut) (Kuala Lumpur: Longman Malaysia, 1992), 42-44.

[198] Aloysius Pieris, "Inculturation: Some Critical Reflections," VJTR 57 (1993): 645.

[199] It has been pointed out as early as 1969 that "texts translated from another language are
clearly not sufficient for the celebration of a fully renewed liturgy. The creation of new texts will be
necessary" (Consilium, "Instruction Comme le prévoit: On the Translation of Liturgical Texts for
Celebrations with a Congregation," 25 January 1969, art. 43, in DOL 123:880).

[200] The focus of the discussion which follows is the development of a broad approach to the
construction of an Asian theology of liturgical inculturation, using the foundational themes of the
Asian contextual theology of the FABC. The articulation of its detailed methodology is beyond the
scope and intent of this essay.

[201] Cf. art. 11 of FABC II (in FABC Documents, 31), art. 8.2 of FABC III (in FABC Documents,
57) and art. 12 of BIRA II (in FABC Documents, 115).

[202] art.3.1.10 of FABC IV (in FABC Documents, 181), art. 10 of FABC VI, art. 6 of BIRA IV/11
(in FABC Documents, 319); art. 4.3 of Asian Christian Perspectives on Harmony (p. 46).

[203] art. 7 of BIRA IV/11 (in FABC Documents, 319).

[204] FABC Documents, 56.

[205] Theses on the Local Church, 16-7.

[206] Irwin, Context and Text, 48.

[207] For a comprehensive discussion on the trinitarian dimensions of Christian worship, cf. Jean
Corbon, The Wellspring of Worship (New York: Paulist Press, 1988), in particular, pages 1-74. A
briefer discussion may be found in Catherine M. LaCugna, "Trinity and Liturgy," in Peter E. Fink,
ed., The New Dictionary of Sacramental Worship (Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 1990), 1293-
1296.

[208] Asian Christian Perspectives on Harmony, 53.

[209] Catherine LaCugna had articulated an excellent definition of perichórésis:

 Perichórésis means being-in-one-another, permeation without confusion. No person exists by
him/herself or is referred to him/herself; this would produce number and therefore division within
God. Rather, to be a divine person is to be by nature in relation to other persons. Each divine
person is irresistibly drawn to the other, taking his/her existence from the other, containing the
other in him/herself, while at the same time pouring self out into the other. Cyril of Alexandria
called this movement a "reciprocal irruption." While there is no blurring of the individuality of each
person, there is also no separation. There is only the communion of love in which each person
comes to be (in the sense of hyparxeós) what he/she is, entirely with reference to the other.
Each person expresses both what he/she is (and, by implication, what the other two are), and at
the same time expresses what God is: ecstatic, relational, dynamic, vital. Perichórésis provides a
dynamic model of persons in communion based on mutuality and interdependence. The model of
perichórésis avoids the pitfalls of locating the divine unity either in the divine substance (Latin) or
exclusively in the person of the Father (Greek), and locates unity instead in diversity, in a true
communion of persons (italics in the original). Catherine M. LaCugna, God For Us: Trinity and
Christian Life (San Francisco: Harper San Francisco, 1991), 271.

[210] It was LaCugna who pointed out that the trinitarian image of perichórésis is all about how
the Trinity is "God-for-us." Cf. LaCugna's extensive discussion in ibid., 270-278.

[211] In this discussion, the term "ordo" refers to the fundamental ritual pattems and elements
which constitute and shape the liturgy as a public and communal human activity which enables
the local assembly of worshippers of all ages and places to experience the presence of the Risen
Christ and the Kingdom of God in the here and now through the incarnational and transformative
power of proclamation and ritual action, which are juxtaposed with the human experiences of
familiar and domestic elements such as festive food and drink, perfumed oil and running water,
eating and bathing. For an indepth discussion of the term "ordo," cf. Gordon Lathrop, Holy
Things: A Liturgical Theology (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1993), 33-83.

[212] LaCugna, God For Us, 272.

[213] These images are taken from LaCugna, God For Us, 271.

[214] According to LaCugna, "the image of "the divine dance" has been used to translate
perichórésis" (cf. God For Us, 271). She gives the following beautiful description of this "divine
dance:"

Choreography suggests the partnership of movement, symmetrical but not redundant, as each
dancer expresses and at the same time fulfills him/herself towards the other. In interaction and
intercourse, the dancers (and the observers) experience one fluid motion of encircling,
encompassing, permeating, enveloping, outstretching. There are neither leaders nor followers in
the divine dance, only an eternal movement of reciprocal giving and receiving, giving again and
receiving again. To shift metaphors for a moment, God is eternally begetting and being begotten,
spirating and being spirated. The divine dance is fully personal and interpersonal, expressing the
essence and unity of God. The image of the dance forbids us to think of God as solitary. The
idea of trinitarian perichórésis provides a marvelous point of entry into contemplating what it
means to say that God is alive from all etemity as love (cf. God For Us, 272).

[215] LaCugna, God For Us, 271.

[216] Ibid.

[217] Mariasusai Dhavainony, Christian Theology of Inculturation (Rome: Editrice Pontificia

UniversitA Gregoriana, 1997), 169.

[218] FABC Documents, 343.

[219] Ibid.

[220] Theses on the Local Church, Thesis 10, art. 10.05, p. 34.

[221] Joseph Fitzpatrick, One Church Many Cultures (Kansas: Sheed & Ward, 1987), 115.

[222] Cf. art. 9 of CPW II, in FABC Documents, 139, and Thesis 10, arts. 10.06-10.09 of the
Theses on the Local Church, in pp. 34-35.

[223] Jesus was historically, geographically, religiously and culturally a first-century devout
Jewish male, who was born to a Jewish woman in first century C.E. in Palestine. He spoke the
languages of the Jewish people (Hebrew and Aramaic), and adopted the lifestyle which was that
of an itinerant Jewish teacher. He also celebrated Jewish festivals (e.g., going to the Temple to
celebrate the annual Passover festival, cf., John 2:13), observed Jewish traditions, customs,
rituals and worshipped in the Temple and synagogues. As Anscar Chupungco explained:

[Jesus], in assuming the condition of man, except sin, bound himself to the history, culture,
traditions and religion of his own people... [Jesus] assumed what not only what pertained to the
human race, but also what was proper to the human race. He inherited its natural traits, its
genius, its spiritual endowments and its peculiar mode of self-expression. He was a Jew in every
way, except in sin. The historicity of the incarnation demanded that he identify himself with bias
own people in heart and mind, in flesh and blood (Cf. Anscar Chupungco, Cultural Adaptation of
the Liturgy (New York: Paulist Press, 1982), 58-9).

[224] Donald Senior & Carroll Stuhlmueller, The Biblical Foundationsfor Mission (Maryknoll: Orbis
Books, 1984), 147-8; and Joseph Osei-Bounsu, "Biblical/Theologically Based Inculturation,"
AFER 32, no. 6 (1990): 346. Eugene Hillman explained it as follows:

Jesus of Nazareth, God's good news, was not presented through alien linguistic and religious
systems brought down from heaven. The message came through the flesh of a particular ethnic
group; it was verbalized in a provincial dialect intelligible to the people on the spot. It was
expounded in metaphors fashioned from the experiences of shepherds and fishermen against a
background of preconceptions and assumptions that were hardly universal (cf. Eugene Hillman,
Many Paths: A Catholic Approach to Religious Pluralism (Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 1989), 47).

[225] Gerald O'Collins, Interpreting Jesus (Ramsey, N.J.: Paulist Press, 1983), 70.

[226] Cf. Subhash Anand, "Inculturation in India: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow," Indian
Missiological Review 6 (Mar 1997): 22-23; and E.J. Thomas, "Caste and the Syrian Rite in
Keralam," Jeevadhara 23 (May 1993): 227-233.

[227] Theses on the Local Church, 25.

[228] Cf. Theses on the Local Church, Thesis 5, article 5.11, p. 22.

[229] Cf. Theses on the Local Church, Thesis 10, article 10.10, pp. 35-6.

[230] Theses on the Local Church, 35-36.

[231] At this point, one would do well to remember that many communities of Asian Catholics also
have a rich tradition of popular religiosity and devotions which often fall in the margins of the
forrnal liturgical framework (e.g., the cult of Our Lady of Velankanni in India, St. Anne in Malaysia,
Our Lady of Perpetual Succour in South-East Asia and Santo Nino in the Philippines). Any
dialogue with Asian religions and cultures has to also involve and engage the diverse traditions of
popular religiosity and devotions of these communities of Asian Catholics. The relationship
between popular religiosity and liturgical inculturation is complex and lies beyond the scope and
intent of this essay. For an in-depth discussion of this relationship and biliographical references,
cf., the chapter tilted "Popular Religiosity and Liturgical Inculturation" in Anscar J. Chupungco,
Liturgical Inculturation: Sacramentals, Religiosity, and Catechesis (Collegeville: Liturgical Press,
1992), 95-133.

[232] E.g., the Thai Buddhists were highly critical of the callous use of Thai-Buddhist symbols by
the Thai Catholics in their liturgical worship under the guise of inculturation. Cf. Aloysius Pieris,
"Westem Models of Inculturation: How far are they applicable in nonSemitic Asia?" EAPR 22
(1985): 118.

[233] David Power, Sacrament: The Language of God's Giving (typescript), Chapter 1, 33. This
book is scheduled to be published by Crossroad in late 1999.

[234] Ibid.

[235] Cf. art. 12 of FABC I, in FABC Documents, 14.

[236] Cf. art. 10 and 11 of FABC I, in FABC Documents, 14.

[237] Theses on the Local Church, Thesis 8, art. 8.02, in p. 28.

[238] FABC Documents, 332.

Published December, 1999

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