Dr. (Fr) Alfred Maraviglia: The
principles of missio inter gentes are the gift
which the Church in East Asia offers to the
Universal Church!
ROME
10
May 2013--
Fr Alfred Maraviglia, long-time missionary from the
Philippines to the
PNG-SI Delegation and currently a key member of the Missions
Department
of the Congregation in Rome, has successfully defended his
doctoral
thesis on an Asian theological method in missio inter gentes,
based on the thinking developed through the activities and
documentation of the Federation of Asian Bishops Conferecnes
(FABC).
The question: How can
the
Gospel be proclaimed in a context where Christians make up the
"little
flock in Asia" today? The FABC has continuously sought to
respond to
this question during its more than forty years of existence.
This
thesis draws out theological principles from FABC documents in
order to
develop an Asian theological method with a particular focus on
East
Asia. It systematically constructs a missio inter gentes
theology which "will reckon with the Asian way of life and the
Asian
way of thinking" hence, authentically Asian and profoundly
Catholic.
The FABC insists that any theologising in Asia must start from
the
context of a diversity of cultures, religions and poor
multitudes of
Asia and consider this threefold context as the locus theologicus
which offers positive resources and potentials for theology.
Thus, this
thesis starts with a situation analysis of East Asian context
using
especially the historical-narrative approach.
The originality, relevance and value of this thesis lies in Fr
Maraviglia's proposal to use the Yinyang Taoist symbol as the
conceptual framework underlying the theological method for missio inter gentes which
he draws out from the FABC documents.
Missio ad Gentes and Missio
inter Gentes
The fact is that dialogue with Asia’s great religions, rich
cultures
and massive poverty has led the FABC to draw out from its
faith
expressions a new thinking even if it is initially hidden in
some vague
formulation. This process is underpinned by a dynamic fidelity
and
adherence to the one deposit of faith and a conscious concern
to
present this same faith in Asian context. As this dialogue
deepened, in
time, new terms were developed by the Asian Church, the one
and the
same subject of the journeying people of God, to express the
one and
the same faith in Asia.
Fr Maraviglia suggests that missio
ad gentes and missio
inter gentes
are neither mutually exclusive nor diametrically opposed. They
are,
rather, complimentary approaches of the one mission of the
Church of
Christ which both sustain and preserve each other because both
are
intimately inter connected and oriented towards each other. Missio inter gentes,
then, is the Asian application of missio ad gentes which is attentive to the
Asian milieu by sharing the faith in Christ among peoples
using a step by step pedagogy.
There are many interesting aspects of this approach. Key
amongst them are:
Storytelling as Initial
Proclamation
Asians prefer to use imaginative metaphors especially through
storytelling. The sincere listening to the faith-stories of
peoples
from different religions and cultures also enables Christians
to
communicate their faith that originates from their living the
story of
Jesus by telling and retelling it both in words and deeds of
service,
by forming community, showing compassion, befriending the
‘other’,
carrying the cross, witnessing to the living person of Jesus.
Initial Proclamation: the
Missing Link
The key that would reconcile missio ad gentes and missio inter gentes,
the complete truth of Jesus Christ and how to lead others to
that
truth, which are, apparently, two opposite underpinning
frameworks, is
the deeper understanding of initial proclamation which would
unveil it
as being the missing link between proclamation and witness of
life
which the FABC continues to insist as essential elements of
its mission
of active integral evangelisation in Asia.
Christianity as a Way of
Life
Ordinary daily life
among
peoples is the arena of dialogue of life and action and the
foundation
on which to build theological and spiritual dialogues.
Dialogue with Cultures
For the FABC "dialogue is the primary means and way for
inculturation."
This process of mutual enrichment and mutual transformation is
an
almost natural process that is not forced and, consequently,
easily
welcomed.
Dialogue with Religions
It is of great importance that dialogue with followers of
other
religions be based not solely on revealed Christian truths but
most
especially on the common ground of philosophically compelling
arguments
in order to arrive to shared values that transcends religious,
cultural
and social differences.
Dialogue with the Poor
Multitudes
The Spirit is calling the Church to grow in its Asianness
through the
recognition and appreciation the richness of its traditions,
cultures
and values as well as through a wholehearted commitment to
work for
social, economic and political justice by prophetically
denouncing and
opposing injustice and working for integral human development
as a
deliberate and conscious choice of being a Church of the poor.
The principles of missio inter gentes
are the gift which the Church in East Asia offers to the
Universal
Church! This thesis could also serve as an eye opener of
the need for
the Church in Rome to be openly receptive to contextual
theologies. The
Church in East Asia is awaiting the Universal Church to accept
this
gift and make it available to the whole Church so that it
could be
transformed and enriched and, ultimately, become truly
catholic!