by Gianni Valente
Penang – A “consoling” pilgrimage. Cardinal Luis Antonio Gokim Tagle chose the adjective “consoling” when asked to describe in one word the “Great Pilgrimage of Hope,” the ecclesial gathering held in Penang, Malaysia, from November 27 to 30. An experience of prayer, music, catechesis, and fellowship, which, according to the Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization, offered comfort to individuals and communities and showed the Churches in Asia that Christ walks with his people amidst uncertainties, conflicts, and times of change.
More than 900 delegates from Catholic communities in 32 countries participated in the major ecclesial event in Penang, a gathering that had its precursor in the Asian Missionary Congress, held in Chiang Mai in 2006.
Speeches, homilies, and press conferences characterized the days, which were summarized in the comprehensive reports by Radio Veritas Asia: contributions full of new impetus for the next stage of the Churches’ journey in Asia, from the Jubilee of Hope to the next Jubilee in 2033, which will celebrate 2000 years since the death and resurrection of Christ.
“Remember the Future”
Confidence in the future of Catholic communities in Asia is not based on human strategies or ecclesiastical management. What matters is the fact that the entire journey of the Church in world history takes place in the light of the Resurrection of Christ, which the upcoming Jubilee also commemorates. It is essential to continually experience—as the Pro-Prefect of the Missionary Dicastery emphasized during the Eucharist he celebrated on November 29 in the Minor Basilica of St. Anne—that the Resurrection of Christ is not merely an event of the past, but a promised destiny. One must always “remember the future,” Cardinal Tagle added, quoting the Orthodox theologian Ioannis Zizioulas, Metropolitan of Pergamon. “The year 2033,” he added, “is designated as the Jubilee Year, but in reality, we are moving toward God’s future. And Jesus awaits us there.” The journey is marked by uncertainties and human limitations, for “we are a community of confused, unknowing people.” But like the prophet Daniel, “we ask God to shed light. And God responded. Jesus walks with us in our confusion, opens the Scriptures, and breaks the bread for us.” And “Jesus is not only our companion, but He is also our destination.” Therefore, “When someone asks you, ‘Where are you going?’ tell them, ‘I’m going to God the Father.’ And if they are shocked, invite them to come along.”
The Cardinal concluded his homily with a touching story about a woman whose husband was nearing death. She stepped out of the room at his final moment so that, in her words, “Jesus and my husband could enjoy that intimate moment.” “This,” Cardinal Tagle said, “is what Christian hope looks like: trusting the Lord who waits to welcome each one of us.”
The Mission of the Asian Churches: recounting the humanity of Christ
The proclamation of Christian hope to the people of our time is entrusted to the apostolic work of the Church. And even now—as was reiterated in many contributions during the “Great Pilgrimage of Hope”—the Catholic communities that have flourished in Asia can offer the world, as a precious gift, their ability “to narrate the humanity of Christ.” “When we profess our faith in Jesus, the Lord, the Christ,” said Cardinal Pablo Virgilio Siongco David, “we sometimes place him on a pedestal and distance him from us, even though he has, in reality, become one of us.” And since then, “there is no other way to reach the divinity of Jesus than through his humanity.”
Thus, “by telling the stories of how Asian communities encounter Jesus, through family life, suffering, solidarity, and joy, believers can help the world” to rediscover Jesus. Since Asia, Cardinal David reiterated on October 29, understands the power of storytelling more deeply than most other cultures. “In Asia,” the Filipino Cardinal added, “truth doesn’t reach us primarily as a concept,” but “as a story we enter into.” And “sharing the Good News in Asia means telling stories, not conquering.” This, he continued, “is also our mission for 2033: to make Jesus reappear in our words, our gestures, our communities, and our Asian way of telling the Good News.”
Cardinal Tagle also spoke about his personal experiences at the press conference on Saturday, November 29th, to reaffirm that simply telling the story is not enough. The Cardinal believes that storytelling remains an essential way to proclaim the Gospel and fulfill the apostolic work entrusted to the Church. He himself—the Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization—proposed “storytelling” as a missionary method in his contribution to the 2006 Asian Missionary Congress, thereby sparking interest among academics in missiology. “At the time,” the Cardinal recalled, “some scholars thought that storytelling avoided proclamation or reduced the doctrinal element.” However, it has become clear that “this was the way of Jesus, the greatest missionary sent by the Father, and that narrative fits the Asian context.”
This passage, Cardinal Tagle added, revealed the quiet but steady way Asia’s missionary experience is influencing the wider Church, as the “narrative method” has since “spread from Asia to other regions.”
Acknowledging one’s failures, accepting one’s weaknesses
The days of ecclesial communion shared in Peniang did not, however, hide or ignore the weaknesses of ecclesial communities and the burdens that hinder the apostolic work. At a press conference on November 29 at the Light Hotel in Penang, the Archbishop of Tokyo, Cardinal Tarcisius Isco Kikuchi, and Cardinal Sebastian Francis, Bishop of the host diocese, spoke openly about the psychological weaknesses of diocesan priests. “Many of them have no one to talk to,” partly because “other priests might consider them weak or unsuitable if they were to share their difficulties.”
Cardinal Kikuchi also emphasized that many priests are often harshly judged by laypeople and outsiders, especially in sensitive cases such as allegations of sexual abuse. Cardinal Sebastian Francis, in this context, referred to “various institutions, particularly in the Philippines and India, that have been established to help clergy with mental health problems.”
Cardinal David of the Philippines stressed at a press conference on Saturday, November 29, that the path to the 2023 Jubilee could offer an opportunity “to acknowledge where we have failed” and to free ourselves of the remnants of “triumphalism” that still burden the Catholic Church’s path and presence in various Asian contexts. “There is still a strong tendency among many Christian groups to be very triumphalistic,” he said, “and that is not helpful at all.” Referring to his homeland, the Philippine Cardinal admitted that he was “frankly not very proud to say that we are a predominantly Catholic society,” given the intolerable level of widespread corruption. “That means,” David said, “that we haven’t had much influence.”
On November 28, Malaysian Archbishop Simon Peter Poh Hoon Seng reaffirmed that a dialogue-based and inclusive approach toward all is a priority for church communities on the Asian continent, the birthplace of world religions, characterized by great cultural diversity and widespread poverty.
The Archbishop of Kuching acknowledged the proposal by the Federation of Catholic Bishops of Asia to use the term “neighboring religions” instead of “non-Christians” or “other religions.”
The light and dark sides of the Digital Universe
The “Great Pilgrimage of Hope,” in which the Catholic Churches of Asia participated in Malaysia, also addressed the potential connections between apostolic work and the pervasive digital transformation of global communication.
“What we are currently experiencing in the digital world is a gift. But like any gift, it must be received appropriately,” Cardinal Tagle said at the press conference on Saturday, October 29. The Pro-Prefect of the Missionary Dicastery, thus followed in the footsteps of the Second Vatican Council, urged us to praise God “for the manifestations of creativity, the creativity of God in the human mind.” He also pointed to the negative phenomena associated with the proliferation of technological means of communication, from identity theft to the manipulation of the minds and masses of digital “surfers.” He recounted—with a touch of humor—that he had discovered four Facebook accounts using his name and posting fake videos to promote the sale of arthritis creams, portable air conditioners, and even “papal blessings.” But “the dangers,” he added, “do not cancel the opportunities.” The Pro-Prefect of the Missionary Dicastery recounted the testimony of a Catholic “influencer” who, on his platform, said he had received two million requests for information in recent months regarding, in one way or another, faith in Christ and the work of the Church. “The harvest is rich,” and “Jesus continues to walk with us,” he said.
The young and poor: the beloved
Cardinal Charles Maung Bo, Archbishop of Yangon, presided over the Eucharist on November 28 in the Ballroom of the Light in Penang as part of the “Great Pilgrimage of Hope.” In his homily, he expressed his hope that the developments he described as “emerging tendencies toward authoritarianism in both society and Church structures” could be halted and countered. For the Salesian Cardinal, the Church’s priority is “to reach out to young people and not wait for them to come to us.” A Church “that walks with young people,” Bo said, “never grows old.” And currently, 60% of the world’s young people live in Asia.
There are also many poor, suffering, and refugees on the Asian continent. “When we walk with the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, and the prisoners,” Cardinal Tagle emphasized in his homily at the Minor Basilica of St. Anne, “Jesus is already leading us to the Kingdom of the Father in them. Jesus, who was born among the poor, is the same Jesus who will welcome us.”
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