The Catholic Asian Plan
The Catholic scheme to evangelize Asia is less
confrontational and more diplomatic than the Baptists', but no less sweeping.
Excerpts:
"Just as in the first millennium the Cross was
planted on the soil of Europe, and in the second on that of the Americas and
Africa, we can pray that in the Third Christian Millennium a great harvest of
faith will be reaped in this vast and vital continent [of Asia]."
"If the Church in Asia is to fulfill its
providential destiny, evangelization must be your absolute priority."
"Christ is the one Mediator between God and man
and the sole Redeemer of the world, to be clearly distinguished from the
founders of other great religions."
"The Bishops and participants bore witness to the
character, spiritual fire and zeal which will assuredly make Asia the land of a
bountiful harvest in the coming millennium."
"The Church has the deepest respect for these
traditions [in Asia] and seeks to engage in sincere dialogue with their
followers. The religious values they teach await their fulfillment in Jesus
Christ."
"I [the pope] pray to the Lord to send many more
committed laborers to reap the harvest of souls which I see as ready and
plentiful [in Asia]."
"The universal presence of the Holy Spirit cannot
serve as an excuse for a failure to proclaim Jesus Christ explicitly as the one
and only Saviour."
"Some of the followers of the great religions of
Asia have no problem in accepting Jesus as a manifestation of the Divine or the
Absolute, or as an 'enlightened one'. But it is difficult for them to see Him as
the only manifestation of the Divine".
"Vatican II taught clearly that the entire Church
is missionary, and that the work of evangelization is the duty of the whole
People of God."
"Jesus Christ [is] the fulfillment of the
yearnings expressed in the mythologies and folklore of the Asian peoples."
"The Synod therefore renewed the commitment of the
Church in Asia to the task of improving both ecumenical relations and
interreligious dialogue [as] essential to the Church's evangelizing mission on
the continent."
"From the Christian point of view, interreligious
dialogue is more than a way of fostering mutual knowledge and enrichment; it is
a part of the Church's evangelizing mission."
"In many countries, Catholic schools play an
important role in evangelization."
"Asia is thirsting for the living water that Jesus
alone can give."
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