In 2018 and early 2019, the world has witnessed and experienced paramount and perennial problems fueled by unpredictable, incompetent and even fanatic political leaders in many countries in Asia and the world. Among the problems are political turmoil, the endlessly extreme gap between the rich and the poor in “Global North” and “Global South”, oppressive cultures, illegal loggings/deforestation and mining, unbearable ecological destruction and climate change which lead to unpredictable and sudden attacks to humanity especially the poor, corruptions pursuing money and power in nearly every corner of society and religions in the world, and sexual abuse/cover-ups especially in Catholic churches. All the ugly faces mentioned above would be applicable to Asia too. In the case of the Philippines, some 15,000 people have lost their lives by “extrajudicial killings” in the name of “the War on Drugs” having been pushed by their own leader Duterte. He has killed the poor, powerless and weak people and even innocent children whereas the fanatic dictator hasn’t touched the main forces for the matter including central figures of police and politicians. Similar would be case of the political game between India and Pakistan around the recent Kashmir conflicts in which India’s Modi provoked it this time for political gains in the upcoming general election by using the conflict. Ever since 2014 when BJP came into power the prime minister has driven peoples into Hindu nationalism while ignoring and neglecting people’s security in many ways. And those military junta and armed forces and the governments under their influence in most countries in Indochina Peninsula have ruled and controlled nearly everything in the countries. Myanmar is definitely the case. Despite the fact that the military force handed finally over its power to the civilian government, it has no power over the armed forces symbolized in the Rohingya minority case. They have been killed by the military but the civilian government has kept silence as of March, 2019.

Under the circumstance, the 2019 AYA/ATF will be similar to the previous ones but not without difference in focus: the attention should be focused on Ecological Sustainability with Pan Amazonian Synod in mind in Oct, 2019. The theme will be explored and examined in spirituality and theology in the light of Laudato Si and Gaudete et Exultate, the recent papal exhortation of Pope Francis published in 2018, which stresses much on ‘Holyness’ or Call to Holyness leading us ”where and how to go” when we face such problems mentioned above. Also we will learn from the updates of the dam problems around Mekong liver as well as the megadam projects locacted in Sarawak, Borneo region in Malaysia where the government has tried to resum the 12 dam project amid strong protest of Ips in recent years. ALL Forum also will make a connection between the ecological sustainability and ”Agrarian Crisis” which shows both ”the cry of the earth and the poor” well.

One of important themes for AYA/ATF has been ”Gender and Justice” which will be dealt this time again. Disappointed with the result of the bishops’ synod on sexual abuse in Rome last Feb., 2019 women panels from different religions will speak out in the one of two round tables with the theme of ‘How women could get an equal right and practice their leaderships in each religion in Asia’. ALL Forum will ask them not only to discuss on the situation of each religion but also to come up with how could they do to solve the die hard problem. Another one is about Synodality which we make a connection to youth issue here. In this case, becoming Synodal church looks not complicated. The Catholic church should open up its door to the world and to young laypeople. 

In Asia young lay leaders who graduated from a seminary or educational institutions for theology, spirituality and pastoral works look for a job but fail even in church institutions run by parishes and dioceses. Hiring them to work not as assistant but as someone in important post is crucial in the light of making Synodality realized in concrete context. It is not impossible at all, rather it is possible right now and right here in every country in Asia. We can’t hire all the young people but can accept them at least small number of persons equipped well with such specialities through whom the church could be revitalized. 

It is not exaggerated to say that nearly all the church hierarchy in Asia are not poor but rich. By “rich” it means in a way that most people in Philippines are one of the poorest in the world whereas Manila archdiocese is the second richest dioceses in the world. Rotten, bureaucratic, no transparent, and kept in secreracy all the time the hierarchy seems to hide and even cover up ceaseless accumulation of wealth and luxurious life of the clergy by using a close relationship with political power witnessed in the church hierarchies in Asia. By saying so it has not come from a theory or books but my personal experiences for the last 20 years in Asia. It is why church reform agenda has often been in ALL Forum’s programs so far. It has very much to do with “recovery of historicity of the church” which should make the church reflect on the relics of ‘post-colonialism’ and ‘de-colonialism’ about which the church hierarchy has had no ideas and little interst. That is the one of saddest realities facing the Catholic churches in Asia as well as what we call “third world”.

As mentioned above one of emphasis in the 2019 program will be on “synodality” and more diverse types of development community model based on the teachings of Pope Francis. For this ALL Forum will invite specialists from IPs communities many of whom will be women and some 70 participants with gender balance in mind. For the program we will invite Voice of Faith (VOF) to the program this time whose mission is to empower women to be a leader of all levels of church and its institutions fits the goal of ALL Forum in many ways including networking ‘like-minded people or organization’ in the name of solidarity.*