Use Mass to spread Christianity, local priests told

MANILA, Philippines - Asian bishops yesterday called on local priests to use the Mass to spread Christianity, which is a minority faith in the region.

The Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC) yesterday concluded a six-day conference with a call to the clergy for an “effective proclamation of the Word of God.”

In a statement, the FABC said that in a continent where Christianity is a very small minority, the celebration of the Eucharist is the “most effective missionary act” that the Ecclesial community can perform for its flocks.

FABC secretary-general Cotabato Archbishop Orlando Quevedo said only around three percent of the total Asian population - estimated at 3,780,819,792 as of 2008 or about 56.3 percent of the world population – are Catholics.

Quevedo was one of the seven cardinals, 70 archbishops and bishops from 22 countries who attended the six-day 9th FABC Plenary Assembly held at the Pius XII Center along United Nations Avenue in Manila with the theme “Living the Eucharist in Asia.”

However, in the Philippines, a majority or about 81 percent of the 90 million people (2009 estimate) are Catholic or approximately 72.9 million.

According to research, the Philippines holds the distinction of being the third largest Catholic nation in the world after Brazil and Mexico, as well as the only other predominantly Catholic nation in Asia aside from East Timor.

The Asian prelates also reminded the priests that the Eucharist should be used to “transform” Catholics.

“We remind all those who are entrusted with the ministry of animating the Eucharistic communities, especially priests, that they have a great responsibility to make the Eucharist a transforming event, by adequate preparation, and effective celebration, and in particular by relevant and nourishing homilies,” the bishops said.

The bishops said there should always be “devout listening” to the Word at home as a family, especially on Sundays to prepare for the Eucharist.

Such a practice, they said, would certainly “bear fruits of renewal” of Christian life and would bring about a “culture of listening” to the Word in the parishes and communities.

“To celebrate Eucharist is to live in faith, a faith planted, nurtured and nourished by the Word. It demands that we become contemplative and ponderers of the Word,” the bishops said.

The weeklong meeting brought to Manila prominent figures of the Roman Catholic Church not just in Asia but also from the Vatican.

Francisco Cardinal Arinze, the current Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments represented Pope Benedict XVI.

Cardinal Arinze was one of the principal advisors to Pope John Paul II, and was considered “papable” before the 2004 papal conclave, which elected Benedict XVI.

Hong Kong’s Joseph Cardinal Zen was also one of the seven cardinals who attended the meeting.

Cardinal Zen, who just retired last April as the head of Hong Kong’s Catholic Church for reasons of age, is an outspoken advocate of democracy and religious freedom in China.

Catholics in China are split between a state-sanctioned church and an underground church that opposes government ties and follows only the Pope.

Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales and Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal were among the Filipino prelates who participated in the meeting.

The other cardinals were Telesphore Toppo and Oswald Gracias, both from India, and John Baptist Cardinal Phan Min Manh from Vietnam.

According to the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), the FABC would issue the results of the meeting in two weeks’ time.

The final document on the assembly would contain recommendations from the different bishops’ conferences and how living the Eucharist would make a difference in the social, political, ecology situation in Asia, it said.