Lay Leadership and Empowerment for the 21st Century in Asia
Hong Kong, May 27 to 31, 1999
ICMICA Asia has organized three regional programs:
These initiatives have been successful in that dynamism was revitalized amongst Catholic professionals and intellectuals as well as amongst other like-minded lay organizations at the regional level. Furthermore, despite some limitations and shortcomings, they were very much appreciated by many people inside and outside Asia as they were a timely response to the emerging challenges in the region. On the other hand, the need to critically assess the impact of the programs and their follow-up has been increasingly felt in order to make future programs more relevant to the changing reality. Thus, the Hong Kong Forum was organized with the following objectives, in combination with the bi-annual Asian Youth International Catholic Organizations' (AYICO) consultation meeting (May 27 to 29, 1999).
The consultation meeting of ICMICA-Asia/Pacific under the theme "Lay Leadership and Empowerment for the 21st Century in Asia" took place in Hong Kong from 31 May to 1 June 1999. It was held in combination with the bi-annual consultation meeting of Asian Youth International Catholic Organisations (AYICOs), which took place three days before the ICMICA meeting. The AYICOs are composed of four international Catholic organisations, namely IMCS, IYCS, International Young Christian Workers (IYCW) and ICMICA. About ten participants from Australia, Hong Kong, India, Korea, Malaysia and Thailand attended both the AYICO and Forum meetings.
During the consultation meeting, participants reviewed critically the impact of the three regional meetings recently organised by ICMICA Asia - Bangkok Asian Human Rights Workshop (August, 1997), Manila Forum on Asian Synod (March, 1998) and Seoul Forum on Asian Economic Crisis (August, 1998).
Most of the participants valued the meetings in that they were a timely response to the emerging challenges of that time, and helped ICMICA Asia to be recognised and appreciated more by the civil society as well as the Church in Asia. However, it was pointed out that there should be more systematic follow-up at the local and national level. There was also a suggestion that reflections made at those meetings be brought to the various international fora such as the United Nations Commission and Sub-Commission on Human Rights. Some proposals were made to enhance the effectiveness of regional coordination on the basis of the review of the situation of the national federations.
Mary Yuen, Secretary of the Justice and Peace Commission of Hong Kong Diocese and Anne Lam, journalist were invited to discuss the human rights issues in Hong Kong and the situation of the Church in China.
After the meeting, participants visited some local NGOs including the Asian Secretariat of IYCW, the Asian Center for the Progress of Peoples (ACPP) Hot-line, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), the Regional Secretariat of Amnesty International, etc. A few members also met with Fr Malone, Assistant Secretary-General of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences (FABC) to discuss collaboration for the forthcoming Plenary Assembly of FABC in Thailand in January 2000.
Korea
Thailand
Malaysia
As a result of the discussions about the current situation in Asia, a decision was made to send a delegation from ICMICA and IMCS to East Timor to monitor the East Timor Referendum, held on August 30, 1999. Members of the Asia/Pacific region incorporated this decision into the following working calendar for their international action and participation.
1999
| August 3-27 | Geneva, UN Sub-Commission on Human Rights |
| August 30 | East Timor Referendum Monitoring |
| October 4-9 | Beirut, Lebanon, ICOs General Assembly |
| October 11-16 | Seoul, NGO Conference |
| November 11-15 | Mexico exposure program |
| November 16-20 | Washington DC, USA, International Colloquium |
| November 21-23 | Washington DC, ICMICA International Council meeting |
2000
| January 3-10 | Thailand, FABC 7th Plenary Assembly |
| March/April | Geneva, UN Commission on Human Rights |
| August | Geneva, UN Sub-Commission on Human Rights |
| September | Paris, 28th Plenary Assembly ICMICA |
| October | Seoul, ASEM III/ AYICO |
The IMCG has been inactive as member organization of ICMICA in Australia. However, there are several potential groups of young professionals in different cities such as Perth, Sydney, etc who are former member of IMCS and IYCS. There are also several Asian migrants who are interested to set up a group. There is an urgent need to visit and establish formal links with those potential groups.
Some informal contact with those who worked at IMCS and IYCS Asian secretariat.
There is no direct contact with any group in the country presently. However, we have been invited to visit some dioceses by bishops who are interested in developing lay professional groups.
An association of lay professionals in Shanghai was identified in 1991 but no follow-up since then. Politically still sensitive but it is high time to develop a group among the existing lay associations in China. Fr John Zhang, who attended Manila Forum on Asian Synod can facilitate our extension work in China.
There are many individuals who are former members of the Federation of Catholic Students (FCS), but there is no formal group affiliated to ICMICA. Ex-IMCS Asian members from Hong Kong can play a role in creating an ICMICA group.
The Newman Association was a founding member of ICMICA India. Newman and AICUF were very closely linked. Newman is still existing as an organization but not functioning in many parts of India. There is an urgent need to restructure and revitalize ICMICA in India.
Presently there are two affiliated organizations; Ikatan Sarjana Katolik Indonesia (ISKA) - Association of Catholic Graduates and Intellectuals of Indonesia - and Yayasan Rakyat Indonesia - People's Foundation in Indonesia. Both are actively involved in socio-political issues in Indonesia. However, their participation in the life of the international movement is rather passive and limited.
Recently after the May Riots in 1998, the Jakarta Social Institute (ISJ) has been collaborating with ICMICA in raising human rights violations in Indonesia at the UN Commission and Sub-Commission in Geneva. ISJ has also sent a few human rights defenders to Pax Romana Human Rights Internship Program.
There is one contact group and several individuals who have been corresponding for the last few years. A visit to Japan is very much needed to explore further collaboration, and identify more potential groups.
The world is undergoing rapid and global changes, and humankind is facing the most critical turning point in history. Korea, a divided country, is not an exception. The changes occurring under the umbrella of 'globalization' or the 'information age', have been creating a new pastoral environment where the Church is working for the salvation of all peoples. The Catholic Church in Korea, in the face of the evangelical task for the year 2000, has been recently facing internal crises such as an increased number of inactive lay people and a slowdown of the growth rate.
First of all, a reflection and discernment on the signs of times need to be made in the light of faith in advance, and research activities should be made to develop action models based on faith. WTI as a member of the Church strives to develop "Our Theology," which people and history require, through research and action. In this context the WTI, after a few years' preparation, was formally founded on January 17, 1994.
WTI was founded with the purpose of, according to the gospel spirit of Christ, developing "Our Theology" with an analysis of and reflection on our social reality and to contribute to the renewal and unity of the church as well as to the evangelization of the nation.
a. Education and Training
b. Solidarity Activities
c. Pastoral Consulting
d. Research Activities
e. Pastoral Information and Research
The Korean Catholic Women's Community for a New World (KCWC) is a voluntary lay women's group set up in April 1993 to improve the situation of women both in the Church and in society. It has greatly contributed to disseminating information about the comfort women's issue (women forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese military during World War II). It also published a book entitled 'Why Do You Speak With Her?' for use in workshops studying the Bible from a feminist perspective.
The goals of KCWC are to create solidarity among Catholic women, to take an interest in women's issues both within and outside of the Church, to promote the personal growth of women, to contribute to reform in the Church and to build a just and peaceful society.
About 130 members belong to the KCWC; most are women although there are a few men, the age and occupations of members vary greatly.
CAN was formed 6 years ago. It has 9 members who meets weekly It comprises of people who work in corporate jobs as well as NGO. Our main work is working with a squatter community with children's education and a service center for the other issues of the village. We work to promote human rights awareness within the church. Presently organizing sessions for parishes for political awareness in preparation for the election.
Headlines of the Catholic newspapers hail the Synod as: "historic moment", "the gathering of the Church as one family", "There is hope as we see the signs of the time", "The Church is listening". Apart from rhetoric very little was generated among the local church about the synod process. There is no more discussion about the synod anymore. This whole process of the synod is highly questionable, as it did not get the whole church involved in putting in its input in the lineamenta or commenting on the instrumentum laboris.
No groups have been identified groups in New Zealand and other Pacific islands.
There are a few individuals such as Dominic Moghal from the Christian Study Center who attended the Bangkok Human Rights Workshop (August 1997) and the Manila Forum on the Asian Synod (March 1998). Also Peter Jacob from the National Office for Justice and Peace Commission who attended the UN Commission on Human Rights in March and April 1999 showed interest in starting an ICMICA group but it seems to take time. More support from outside is needed.
Since the dissolution of Agency for Community Educational Services, there
have been no formal ICMICA groups. This reflects peculiar Church situation
in the Philippines.
There are several potential groups who may be interested in joining ICMICA
but more efforts are needed.
No group exists now. However, there are a few individuals who are former IMCS members.
The Xaverians still exist but not as active as before. There is a group of young professionals who are former IMCS members. A few of them were invited to ICMCIA meetings such as Bangkok Human Rights Workshop (August 1997) and Manila Forum on Asian Synod (March 1998). A follow-up visit is very much needed to develop further collaboration.
Melody Lu, former IMCS Asian team member has been trying to form a group but without much success. The Christian Life Community (CLC) run by the Jesuits can be a potential group for ICMICA as a starting point.
The Newman Club has dissolved. The former members are more into the Charismatic movement. The new group that was formed is the Catholic Professional Society (CPS) which is now applying to be a member of ICMICA to replace the defunct Newman Club.
CPS has just completed surveying and finding out what topics to focus on. So far they have been working to establish their mission, vision and structure. Some people have been invited to join. They are looking for committed people. A woman from the Lay Council of Xavier Hall has been invited to be the coordinator.
The Regional Superior of the Jesuits is in support of CPS and will help in membership fees to ICMICA. The process of setting-up CPS is completed and agreed upon by all members, so now it is submitting its membership to ICMICA.
There are presently about 15-20 members and they have a monthly meeting. They are working closely with the Justice and Peace Commission. Some ex-IMCS people are involved but they don't have contact with IYCS/IMCS presently. At present there is another group that has been formed by ex-IMCS members.
Contact is maintained with only a few individuals who attended ICMICA meeting. A follow-up visit is very much needed. Pax Romana International Secretariat, Geneva, December 1999
Supee Nutchanart, Regional Coordinator
The years 1997 and 1998 were marked as another challenging and exciting time for ICMICA Asia/Pacific. Despite limitations and constraints in terms of human and financial resources, we have continued to grow with regard to perspectives, dynamics, organizational capacity building and networking at the regional level.
The following two meetings were the follow-up of the Bangkok Human Rights Workshop held in Thailand, from August 2-9, 1997. The Bangkok Workshop was the first regional meeting of ICMICA Asia after several years' hibernation. A lot of current and historical issues were discussed during the Workshop and the Asian Synod and the financial/economic crisis were identified as two key issues and challenges to ICMICA Asia/Pacific. The two Forums show how ICMICA Asia/Pacific tried to read the signs of the times and put into practice its vision and mission within the Church and society in the regional context.
The Manila Forum was the main program of the Asian Synod Watch project. It was born out of the initial reflection on the lineamenta or preparatory document of the Asian Synod among the Asians living and working in Europe in June 1997. Further discussion during the Bangkok Workshop added momentum, and gave birth to the Manila Forum.
The Manila Forum was initiated by ICMICA Asia/Pacific as a joint organizational response to the challenge and opportunity of the Asian Synod as a lay movement in Asia together with the IYCS, IMCS, IYCW, WMCW (MMTC), etc. and some of the offices of Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences (FABC). It was also an unique collective process to identify key issues and challenges facing the Church in Asia from a lay perspective, and to present an analysis with perspectives which was believed to be relevant to the Asian reality for the deliberation of the Asian Synod.
As a concrete follow-up of the Forum, it was decided that a Working Group on the Asian Synod be formed and a group of selected participants be sent to Rome to monitor the Synodal process and to assist and lobby the Synod participants. Joseph Rajkumar, former ICMICA Secretary General from India played a leading and crucial role in implementing this difficult task with much success. The group also included delegates from IYCS and IMCS Asia.
The Seoul Forum was a major follow-up of the Asian Synod Watch project, and at the same time, a new attempt to tackle the huge challenges of the economic crisis which has badly affected the lives of millions of the poor people as well as professionals. This meeting aimed to provide a space for lay organizations and movements to share and study the root causes of the economic crisis with a critical and global perspective. It was also aimed at providing appropriate pastoral policies for the Church hierarchy at both the regional and global level, who were not well prepared or willing to tackle the crisis. This project, under the leadership of ICMICA, brought together various social action groups and organizations including Justice and Peace Commissions, Caritas, etc. in the region as well as experts from Europe and Mexico. The follow-up to this Forum is under discussion, and some are in the process of implementation.
Despite some shortcomings, the organization of those meetings were organized with many fruits and it helped raise the profile and credibility of ICMICA in the lay movement and the Church in the Asia region. The following are the perspectives, strategies and lessons learnt in the process which we want to share with other Council members.
In organizing the regional meetings, our strategic approach was to develop our network through coalition building with the existing lay groups and like-minded organizations concerning common challenges. It has worked very well until now, and is still important when taking into account the Asian reality that Catholics are a real minority (less than 2% of the total population). Moreover, the intellectuals and professionals of ICMICA who have critical socio-political awareness are an even smaller minority in the Church. In this situation, ICMICA has been expected to take a leadership role in the lay community and movement in Asia.
Organization of such regional meetings required a lot of human and financial resources. A substantial amount of financial resources was mobilized mainly through the donor agencies in Europe with which ICMICA Asia and the International Secretariat have already established links. New funding sources were also exploited in the process. It is also important to note that email communication and the internet contributed to the cost-effective way of organizing the programs without any physical infrastructure for coordination in the region. (Like other regional coordinators, the Asian coordinator has been working on a voluntary basis, and therefore the Secretary General was deeply involved in the organization fully utilizing the facilities of the International Secretariat)
The global character of the ICMICA network was also crucial, as the nature of the projects required both a regional and global perspective and participation. This aspect should not be underestimated, as ICMICA is one of the few lay organizations in Asia that has a global network and structure with an organic relation with and access to the United Nations, UNESCO, the Holy See, etc. This made ICMICA Asia/Pacific more 'competitive' in being able to serve the Church and people in need. Last but not least, the capacity of bringing together different generations in the process is worthy of being noted and appreciated. This inter-generational characteristic of ICMICA Asia/Pacific made it possible to provide not only cross-professional and inter-disciplinary expertise but also historical perspectives based on the life-long experiences of members in the region (e.g. Joseph Rajkumar and Bill Neville).
The basic perspective underlining the programs was that ICMICA should represent 'civil society' in the Church where lay people can express and organize themselves freely and responsibly according to the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the signs of the times. This perspective obliged ICMICA to be a 'critical and prophetic' voice for and of the majority of 'silent' or 'voiceless' lay people within the Church hierarchy in 'secular' matters as well as in faith-related issues in the Church (e.g. the case of Fr. Tissa Balasuriya). This perspective also helped ICMICA to be able to play a bridging role between civil society and the institutional Church through the exchange of knowledge and experiences.
At present, there are six member federations in five countries under the ICMICA Asia/Pacific coordination structure; the Xaverians in Sri Lanka, the Newman Association of India, Newman Club of Thailand, ISKA and Yayasan Rakyat (People's Foundation) in Indonesia and the International Movement of Catholic Graduates in Australia. (Please note that Australasia was merged with Asia under the single regional coordination structure in 1997)
The number of federations has gradually continued to decrease from 12 to 6 since the late 70s. The Australian federation ceased to function a few years ago while others seem to have faced various challenges for survival (Thailand) and stagnation (India, Indonesia and Sri Lanka) to sustainable growth. Despite the positive signs of revival of regional dynamism as described above, this gloomy picture of the reality does not look likely to change or to improve dramatically in the years to come. It is more necessary than ever to re-create inspiration and energy to renew our own vision, sense of mission and structure collectively in order to enter into the new Millennium.
In the process of organizing two regional meetings, several groups and individuals were identified as potential members to be affiliated to ICMICA. They include the Woori Theology Institute (WTI) in Korea, the Korean Catholic Women's Community for a New World (KCWC), the Jakarta Social Institute in Indonesia, the Community Action Network (CAN) in Malaysia, the Society for Christian Reflection (SCR) in Malaysia, the Movement for Catholic Graduates and Professionals in Sri Lanka and the Christian Study Center in Pakistan. The two groups from Korea were able to present their application for membership to the Council this year while others are still in the process. A number of individuals who do not have ICMICA member federations in their own countries are expected to join ICMICA as individual members in the course of our journey towards the ICMICA Jubilee Assembly 2000. Hopefully these new groups are expected to bring new life and spirit into ICMICA.
Fr Tissa Balasuriya, former Asian chaplain of Pax Romana IMCS Asia in the late 60s and early 70s, was excommunicated from the Church in January 1997. After discussion on the issue during the Bangkok Workshop in 1997, some of the ICMICA members set up a group called the 'Task-force for Justice in the Church' (TJC) formed in order to launch a global campaign to help resolve the case. A strong legal argument was presented in Convergence (No. 7, July 1997) by Stefan Gigacz, individual member of ICMICA. Thanks to the mediation between the Holy See and Fr. Tissa by his religious congregation O.M.I. and the prayer of many people around the world, the campaign finally bore a fruit, and his excommunication was lifted in January 1998 (more details can be found in the Newsletter No. 1, March 1998).
One of the urgent needs is to form core groups composed of intellectuals in various fields of ICMICA's concerns to deepen our analysis of the changing situation. In this way we seek to provide relevant perspectives and alternative policies in particular in the fields of the social pastoral and international affairs of the Church. This group should and can be entrusted with the task of articulating a vision, mission and strategy of ICMICA Asia/Pacific that is more relevant to the present and future.
Networking through coalition building is important, but it can be fragile and less effective without consolidating the organizational base at the grassroots level. As mentioned above, it is urgent and necessary to integrate the newly identified groups to be an organic part of ICMICA. It will strengthen our organizational capacity to implement the vision and mission of ICMICA and our representation work at the international level.
Considering the ever-increasing amount of work, the need to have a sustainable coordination structure - both in terms of human resources and secretariat facilities - in Asia is being increasingly felt. The coordination work still very much depends on individuals rather than on teamwork and/or systems. The appointment of Fr. Manuel Alphonse, SJ, former national chaplain of AICUF, IMCS India, as regional chaplain is an important step forward in this regard. This question obviously has a financial implication, which is not an easy problem to solve at present. A joint secretariat with other ICOs or shared secretariat facilities and services could be one of the possible options to consider.
Despite the repeated emphasis on the importance of ecumenism and inter/intra-religious dialogue and cooperation, this has been far from satisfactory. Although attempts to address this issue were made at the Manila Forum and Seoul Forum, there should be more sustainable and systematic efforts to work on this dimension.
The Asian economic crisis has become a global one. Global networking is becoming more and more important and necessary in order to tackle the issue properly. The proposed Working Group can take up some of the proposals on the GEHD. Economists are particularly expected to join this process.