ASIA/PHILIPPINES - Evangelization, faith, dialogue: the Church of Manila in assembly

Manila (Agenzia Fides) - Between "religious devotion" and "authentic faith" there can be great distance. Attendance at Sunday mass and the sacraments can only be considered "an optional" by many baptized. For this reason, the diocese of Manila has been promoting and proposing a special "Philippine Conference on the new evangelization" to the people of God for seven years, a large assembly organized this year on 28 and 29 January 2020 at the Araneta Coliseum, covered arena in Quezon city, in the metropolitan city of Manila. The gathering was attended by about 9,000 faithful, including young people, lay people, religious and priests of the archdiocese, gathered in a moment of study, exchange, awareness of their faith.
"The conference was born thanks to an intuition of Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, who wanted to encourage a reflection and awareness of the whole community of Manila - priests, religious, lay people, young people, families - on the new evangelization. We started from the awareness that we ourselves need to be evangelized. In a country like ours, there are many expressions of popular devotion but, for example, the percentage of people who attend Sunday mass, in the people of God, does not exceed 20%", explains to Agenzia Fides Father Esteban Lo, religious of the Society of Lorenzo Ruiz, and national Director of the Pontifical Mission Societies in the Southeast Asian nation. "Often when we think about mission, we refer to the sending of missionaries to distant countries, where Christians are minorities or where it is not easy to live. But, 500 years after the first baptism, which took place in the Philippines in 1521, we are called to question ourselves on the the need to re-evangelize our people, the baptized who have become 'lukewarm' or who have put aside their faith".
Each year the Conference is dedicated to a specific theme and, if last year the event focused on the world of young people, this year dialogue is the center of attention. Luke's Gospel passage, in which he asks "Who is my neighbor" inspired the 2020 edition which, at first, was meant for the summer. The need to anticipate the times was dictated by the need to allow Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle to be present, who is about to leave Manila to take office as Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, in the Vatican.
"Dialogue means being open to others, recognizing their goodness and dignity and putting into practice the commandment of Jesus: Love your neighbor as yourself. In this sense, dialogue, founded on the love of God, is a way of witness and proclamation of the Gospel", explains Fr. Sebastiano D'Ambra, PIME missionary and engaged in the Islamic-Christian dialogue in the Philippines, called to offer a testimony during the works of the assembly. (PA) (Agenzia Fides, 29/1/2020)

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