NEWS ARCHIVES 

BIBA III & 15th Asia-Oceania Bible Congress

The FABC-Office of Evangelization will hold the 3rd Bishops’ Institute for Bible Apostolate (BIBA) and the 15th Asia-Oceania Bible Congress in November 4-8, 2010 at the Redemptorist Centre, Pattaya, Thailand. The theme will be “Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church.” For inquiries, contact FABC-Office of Evangelization of FABC. 230810

Latest Communication INFO

The latest editions of the FABC-OSC Communication INFO (July) is now available.  230810

FABC-OE seminar on Secularization and Evangelization Postponed

The upcoming meeting on Secularization and Evangelization organized by FABC –Office of Evangelization to be held on September 1-5, 2010 has been postponed and moved to February 20-24, 2011. The meeting will be held in Bangkok, Thailand. For inquiries, contact FABC-Office of Evangelization . 230810

FABC Plenary Final Statement

The Final Statement and interventions at the 9th Plenary Assembly of FABC held in Manila, Philippines on the theme “Living the Eucharist in Asia” is now available as FABC Paper No. 129. 130810

FABC Central Secretariat New Office

The FABC-Central Secretariat moves to a spacious new office after 30 years, thanks to the Bishop of Hong Kong. 130810

Latest Communication INFO

The latest editions of the FABC-OSC Communication INFO (April-June) are now available.  180610

Final Statement of BILA II on Women East Asia Released

The Women’s Desk of the FABC Office of Laity and Family has published the Final Document of the Second BILA on Women for East Asia. The meeting themed, “Mary: Trutly A Woman of Our Times” was held at St. Therese Activity Center, Taoyuan, Taiwan.

The Keynote address was delivered by Bishop Luis Antonio Tagle, Imus, Philippines. The participants reflected on the situations of Women in East Asia. For details, refer to the Final Document. 081610

Latest Communication INFO

The latest editions of the FABC-OSC Communication INFO are now available.  The February edition features the Holy Father's Message for World Communication Day 2010; while the March edition will carry the commentary and Liturgical texts for the celebration.160410

Inculturation in Missionary Formation

A doctoral thesis on Inculturation according to FABC Documents was published by the Urbaniana University in Rome. Father Dominic Tran Ngoc Dang has authored the dissertation on "Inculturation in Missionary Formation according to the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences documents (1970-2006) with Special Reference to the Mission in Vietnam." With this thesis, the number of academic studies related to the FABC is now 32 (28 doctoral theses, 4 masteral theses). 250310

New FABC Offices Executive Secretaries

Four of the nine offices of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences (FABC) will have new executive secretaries each for a first four-year term. They are Father Nithiya, ofm cap from India for the Office of Human Development (OHD) succeeding Bro. Anthony Rogers, fsc; Ms. Wendy Louis from Singapore for the Office of Laity and Family (OLF) succeeding Ms. Virginia Saldanha from India; Father Rod Salazar, svd from the Philippines for the Office of Education and Faith Formation (OEFF) succeeding Father Vicente Cajilig, op from the Philippines; and Father Raymond Ambroise from India for the Office of Social Communication (OSC) succeeding Manila-based Father Franz-Josef Eilers, svd. 050310

Communication Bishop is new head of CBCI

Oswald Cardinal Gracias, the archbishop of Mumbai and member of the executive board of the FABC-Office of Social communication, was elected on March 1, 2010 as the new president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI). The election is for the next two years. Cardinal Gracias is concurrently the president of the Latin-Rite of the "Conference of Catholic Bishops' of India" (CCBI). The Cardinal is a member of the FABC-OSC board since 2004. 030310

Joint FABC-CCA Staff Meeting

A joint meeting between the staff of the nine FABC offices and the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA) took place on February 20, 2010 at the FABC Documentation Centre in Bangkok.
The gathering reviewed existing and planned joint programs of the Churches in Asia and considered possibilities for a more committed collaboration between the FABC and the CCA. It was proposed to have similar joint meetings every year.

The last of such joint meetings took place August 2001 in Hong Kong, from where the CCA moved in 2006 to its new headquarters in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

CCA is a body of mainstream Protestant Churches in Asia and thus, in a certain way the Protestant counterpart of the FABC. The tradition of joint meetings between CCA and FABC dates back to 1993 when the first of such gatherings took place.
The nine-member CCA delegation who met with FABC offices in Bangkok this year was led by their General Secretary, Prawate Khid-arn with heads of departments for, e.g., Faith & Mission, Justice, International Affairs, Formation and Youth.
The FABC offices were represented by their respective executive secretaries with the FABC General Secretary, Archbishop Orlando Quevedo, omi. 260210

Laity Newsletter 4/09

The December issue of Laity newsletter is now available, featuring the Final Statement of the 5th AsIPA General Assembly held in Davao, Philippines from October 20-28, 2009, and the Message of the 5th Asian Youth Day (2009).
Click to view 220210

Paradigm Shift in Ministry of the Priest

An international seminar for priests on "The Paradigm Shift in the Mission and Ministry of the Priest in Asia" will be organized by the FABC-Office of Clergy on May 10-15, 2010 in Bangkok. The meeting takes up the various challenges faced by priests in Asia today. The purpose of the seminar is to develop a better appreciation of priesthood and ministry, in view of a deeper renewal and commitment, to help understand the ministry as a means of sanctification, and to help enhance the priests' spiritual life as true leaders of their people. Topics of the seminar will include "The Priest as a 'Servant-Leader'," "Models of Priestly Spirituality," and the "Presbyterium as the Source of Sacramental Brotherhood." 120210

Mary as Model of our Time and Discipleship

"Mary, Truly a Woman of our Time" will be the theme of the second BILA ("Bishops' Institute for Lay Apostolate") on Women in East Asia. The conference will be exclusive for East Asia participants (Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan). It will take place May 3-7, 2010 at St. Theresa Activity Center, Taoyuan, Taiwan. The meeting intends to produce some modules to help the participants to continue the BILA process in their respective countries. 120210

Women Living the Eucharist in South Asia

The third South Asia Meeting on Women took place in Dhaka, Bangladesh from January 20 to 24, 2010 with the theme "Women Living the Eucharist in South Asia." It was locally organized by the Women's Desk of the Laity Commission of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Bangladesh (CBCB). The gathering of 25 women with four bishops and two priests shared women's stories "from the rich depth of the inner well of women's experiences," as the Final Statement says. The participants committed themselves, beside others, to "continue to work for the empowerment of women" and to contribute to a "meaningful encounter with Christ in the Scriptures." They want to "promote the Mary of the Gospels in theology and devotion as a powerful and prophetic paradigm for discipleship."

Report
Final Statement
050210

IX FABC Plenary Statement Released

The "Final Document" on "Living the Eucharist in Asia" of the 9th Plenary Assembly of the FABC held in Manila August 10-16, 2009 was released on January 27, 2010. The document was prepared by a team of the FABC-Office of Theological Concerns, discussed at the Plenary in 2009, and finally completed for publication in January 2010.

The statement's considerations follow the structure of a Eucharistic celebration proceeding from Introductory Rites, the Liturgy of the Word, to the Eucharistic Prayer, the Rite of Communion and Conclusion. Every section presents "Contextualized Pastoral Implications." Some pastoral recommendations on Formation towards Eucharistic Life, the Celebration and Adoration of the Word, Living the Eucharist and Missionary Orientation conclude the document.<

In an acompanying letter to the 25-page document, Archbishop Quevedo, omi, the general secretary of the FABC, proposes to the FABC-member bishops' conferences and associate members to present the document in the light of the prevailing situation of the respective conference or diocese, to use it in retreats, recollections and assemblies as well as in houses of formation, seminaries and even on the parish level.

"Living the Eucharist in Asia," Final Statement of the IX FABC Plenary Assembly
280110

FABC Offices Meet

The nine offices of the FABC are going to meet for a joint planning session February 17-20, 2010 at the FABC Documentation Centre in Bangkok. The planning will be guided by the experiences and proposals of the XI Plenary Assembly August, 2009 in Manila whose theme was "Living the Eucharist in Asia." 260110

FABC Paper No. 128: Social Communication in Catholic Universities of Asia

A new edition of "FABC Papers" has been published by the Central Secretariat in Hong Kong. The 128th Paper contains selected considerations and reflections of the seventh "Bishops' Institute for Social Communication" (BISCOM VII) on "Social Communication in Catholic Universities of Asia." Some 34 universities from 13 different countries of Asia participated in the meeting held at Assumption University in Bangkok May 6-13, 2009. It was a follow up of a similar world meeting organized by the Pontifical Council for Social Communications in Rome May 2008.

FABC Paper No. 128 contains presentations on the "Identity and Mission of a Faculty of Communication in a Catholic University," "Role of Catholic Universities on Social Communication in Theological Perspective," and contributions of a panel of scholars on "Teaching Social Communication in Catholic Universities." The "Final Statement" lists orientations and recommendations, and completes the 98-page publication. For inquiries, email to fabc@hkdavc.com or fabcsecretariat@yahoo.com 150110

Doctoral Dissertation on Laity in FABC Perspective

A doctoral dissertation on the role of the laity in contextual theology of the FABC was concluded in 2009 at the Australian Catholic University. The study was made and successfully defended by Peter N. V. Hai from Vietnam. The full title of the thesis is "Lay People in the Asian Church: A Critical Study on the Role of the Laity in Contextual Theology of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences (1970-2001) with Special Reference to John Paul II's Apostolic Exhortations Christifidelis Laici (1989) and Ecclesia in Asia (1999), and the Pastoral Letters of the Vietnamese Episcopal Conference." This is the 27th doctoral dissertation written about or based on FABC thinking. There are further several MA and Licentiate theses written to-date. The Australian Catholic University operates from six different campuses in the country. 060110