Pope Francis urged the Catholic bishops of Asia, who are presently meeting in Thailand, on Wednesday to listen to what the Holy Spirit is saying.
More than 150 bishops from 20 different countries in the area will be gathering in Bangkok from October 12 to October 30 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC) establishment.
Pope Francis expressed his desire to “in some way join you in the work of brotherhood and interchange of ideas that you will carry out” in his video address.
The bishops of Asia were instructed by the pope to respond to the query of what the Holy Spirit is saying to the Asian churches.
In a statement posted on the event’s official website, FABC President Cardinal Charles Maung Bo said: “The baton of translating Christ to the contemporary man and woman, I believe, goes on to Asia. I do think that this is the Asian Millennium, indeed.
Bo, the archbishop of Yangon, is the first cardinal from Burma and one of several Asian clergymen who are seen to personify the Church’s rising stature in Asia.
During Pope Paul VI’s visit to Manila in 1970, when he met 180 Catholic bishops from all across Asia, the FABC was created.
Pope Francis said on October 12 that bishops at the time “noted that the people were waking from fatalism to a life worthy of man… A real community of peoples was emerging in culturally varied countries.
The pope continued, “This meant that the Asian Church was called to be more truly the Church of the Poor, the Church of the Young, and a Church in interaction with Asian Brothers and Sisters of Other Confessions.
Today, the majority of Asian nations are part of the FABC, which is currently meeting in Thailand, with the significant exception of the People’s Republic of China. In doing so, the Church was “developing; it is strengthening on the road,” according to Pope Francis on Wednesday.
The COVID-19 epidemic forced the postponement of the federation’s anniversary festivities, which were originally scheduled for the year 2020.
“FABC 50: Journeying together as peoples of Asia ‘…and they went a different road’” is the theme of the current meeting. (2:12 in Matthew).
Pope Francis said that this issue was “particularly suitable” within the overall framework of the impending Synod on Synodality in a previous letter to Cardinal Bo.
The general conference’s discussions, the pope prayed, would help local churches find “creatively different ways” to share the joy of the gospel, raise up new generations of missionary disciples, and work to advance Christ’s kingdom of all-encompassing holiness, justice, and peace within the polyhedric unity of the People of God.
On Wednesday, Pope Francis blessed all present in Thailand as he wrapped off his sermon.
On October 30, the final Mass will be presided over by Filipino Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, a prominent member of the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Evangelization of Peoples.