Archbishop: FABC has great relevance for Asian Churches

August 4, 2009 IE07700.1561 1436 words Text size -->

UCAN Interview

GUWAHATI, India (UCAN) -- The Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences (FABC) has helped bring Churches in Asia together, but it has more work to do, says Archbishop Thomas Menamparampil of Guwahati, who has been associated with the forum for the past 25 years.
The Salesian prelate in northeastern India says FABC members have become more realistic as they continue to confront challenges that have put their energies under severe strain.
Archbishop Thomas Menamparampil, chairman of the FABC’s Office of Evangelization
The prelate, who is chairman of the FABC's Office of Evangelization, plans to present a paper at the 9th FABC plenary assembly, scheduled to take place in Manila Aug. 10-16. About 120 participants are expected for the meeting, which has the theme, "Living the Eucharist in Asia."
The FABC, a voluntary association of episcopal conferences, was established in the 1970s to foster solidarity and co-responsibility for the welfare of Church and society in Asia. It holds its plenary assemblies once every four years.
In the following interview, Archbishop Menamparampil shares his vision for Asian Churches and reflects on his favorite subject, evangelization.

UCA NEWS: You have often spoken of "whispering the Gospel to the soul of Asia." What prompted you to suggest this way of evangelization?
ARCHBISHOP THOMAS MENAMPARAMPIL: It is just an Asian way of expressing a very deep thought. Announcing the Gospel is important, but there is an Asian way of going about it. I did not suggest "whispering" as in being apologetic about the message. We "whisper" because in Asia the most sacred words are whispered, the most precious secrets are whispered, an exchange in a context of intimacy is whispered.
However, a whisper can be effective only if we are close to the person with whom we are sharing a precious message. We have to come close to the soul of Asia. It is here that we fail. We have to go beyond ideologies and superficial programs of action and touch the inner genius of a people. It is not easy, but it is not impossible.
Persons such as Mahatma Gandhi, the Dalai Lama and Mother Teresa seemed to have interpreted the Asian genius better than many of our social activists. We can learn from them. For example, in Asia what people admire more in a religious person is renunciation rather than efficiency, moral authority rather than mobilizing skill, God-experience rather than political correctness. Such values are always relevant. Some missioners perceived this by their sheer genius. We seek to walk in their footsteps. Great days are ahead.

Do you expect the upcoming FABC plenary assembly to stress this more?
I have a feeling the FABC members are becoming more and more realistic, having continuously to confront challenges that have put their energies under severe strain.
We begin to notice that we are only micro-minorities, that we need to have an attitude of humility, that we need to keep learning, that we need to fall back on our own civilizational resources, that we need to become deeper persons based on our faith.
We need to be more personal, pastoral, flexible, creative, and never lose hope. That is what this assembly seeks to do -- hold out hope to everyone, especially those in difficulties, and look beyond the present horizons.

Will you stress this in the paper you plan to present at the assembly?
The main thrust of my paper is about a "presence" that challenges and strengthens. Jesus is present to us in the "word" he announces and the "bread" he gives.
This is a presence that motivates and chastens, urges and strengthens. As the "word" penetrates every heart, culture and society, Jesus makes his way into the deeper dimensions of everyone's life -- to challenge, "to uproot and to pull down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant" (Jeremiah 1:10). He makes all things new. A presence that corrects and humbles is also the presence that sustains.
Jesus' presence is a life-giving presence. It offers a message of "life" in the present context of war, ethnic conflicts, genocide, communal clashes, urban violence, state-sponsored violence, domestic violence, euthanasia and exploitation of the environment. It invites us to go beyond mere utilitarian values and avoid the risk of becoming inwardly superficial and shallow, of slipping toward consumerism and becoming blind to the transcendent.
My paper suggests that we keep our Christian vision clear amid various contradictory ideologies and social philosophies, and respond to the needs of each local community in an existentially realistic manner, paying attention to local cultures, situations, and compulsions, and not be excessively influenced by alien ideologies, values and strategies. Finally my paper argues that such challenges can only be taken up by persons who are deep, which means, persons who are convinced and committed.

How long have you been associated with the FABC?
I came into the FABC as a member of the Office of Evangelization in 1984. The very next year they surprised me by asking me to be chairman of the office.
I took up the challenge and completed two terms. I was happy to hand over responsibility to (Philippine) Bishop Cirilo Almario. I was surprised again after 15 years when I was invited to the same office and the same post. Though reluctant, I accepted the responsibility. For me evangelization is life. I would do anything in order to take this work forward.
Aside from conducting several seminars, consultations, and reflections on creative forms of evangelization in different parts of Asia, we brought together persons laboring in difficult situations at that time, for example those under communist regimes. We studied indigenous communities of Asia and reflected over our work among them.
We had an Asian Missionary Congress on Evangelization in Manila (1992) that many people unfortunately have forgotten. Many other things have been done; and more can still be done.

According to you, how relevant is the FABC now?
The relevance of the FABC has only grown. It stands for the Church in Asia. It brought together the leadership of the national Churches of the continent that had hardly any interaction before the FABC came into existence. Now we can say it has come of age. Serious works are still ahead, to be built on the collective consciousness of an Asian identity and common heritage. There is much more theological thinking that needs to be done. But what is most important is that we offer the message in a convincing and meaningful manner to fellow Asians.

How can FABC become more effective?
We have to strike a balance among various interests -- national, regional, ideological, theological, cultural, and put them in relation with what is genuinely continental, what belongs to our collective patrimony. We must take the triple dialogue (with the poor, cultures, religions) more seriously. I would emphasize the need for dialogue with cultures more specially. I have a feeling that we have given too little attention to that. We still have to develop the needed skills.
It is important that going beyond the dominant culture in each country, we pay attention to the little traditions as well. We need to pay more attention to the smaller Christian communities, to the smaller countries, to those who have had less chance to emerge onto the Asian stage. We should not limit interreligious dialogue to a ritual, but make it meaningful in relationship with the tensions we have with dominant religions, with dominant communities.
Our eagerness to dialogue with the dominant groups should not weaken our commitment to minority communities, to the poor and the marginalized. Our skills for persuasion must grow, and our skills for self-righteous denunciation should be kept in abeyance for a while.
This is the Year for Priests. Why did you decide to become a priest? What have been the challenges over the years?
From what I can remember, I always longed to be a missioner. I would have liked to carry the message of Jesus over the Himalayas to distant lands. When Buddhism crossed these mighty mountains centuries ago, it became a world religion. It is wonderful to take the Christian message to the heart of Asia. Even in the hardest times, I never regretted having chosen the less trodden path.
Though difficulties abounded all along the way, I never met with real opposition. I always met with people who came out to help. I am eternally grateful to everyone. In recent years when conflicts began to erupt among various ethnic groups in our region, I was compelled to help out. Our ecumenical peace team has intervened helpfully at least in five different ethnic conflicts in which hundreds had died. Despite troubles, the Church in northeastern India is vibrant. It has a great future.