Report on the Situation of ICMICA Asia/Pacific in 1997 and 1998
Supee Nutchanart, Regional Coordinator
1. Introduction
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.
2. Regional Events and Programs
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.
2.1. Manila Forum on the Asian Synod (March 1998)
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.
2.2. The Seoul Forum on the Asian Economic Crisis
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.
3. Evaluation: Perspectives and Strategies
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.
3.1. Strategic Networking through Coalition Building
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.
3.2. Effective Mobilization of the Resources
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)
3.3. ICMICA as a Global, Inter-professional and Inter-generational Network
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).
3.4. The Perspective of 'Civil Society' in the Church
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.
4. Situation of ICMICA Asia/Pacific Coordination
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.
5. Membership Building and Extension
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.
6. Lifting of the Excommunication of Fr. Tissa Balasuriya
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).
7. Challenges and Tasks ahead
7.1. Formation of the Core Group of 'Public Intellectuals' - Think-Tank
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.
7.2. Consolidating the Organizational Base at the grassroots level
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.
7.3. Sustainable Coordination and Implementation Structure
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.
7.4. Ecumenical and Inter/intra-religious Dialogue
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.
7.5. Mechanism for Follow-up Actions: the Working Group on Global Economy and Human Development
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.
