FABC Communication INFO

Federation of Asian ’ Conferences – Office of Social Communication OSC 1916 CTM Bldg. Oroquieta Street Sta. Cruz, Manila 1003 Tel: (632) 7327170, 3138577 Fax: 7327171 Email: [email protected]

PHILIPPINES: THEOLOGY PROGRAM IN ASIAN RESEARCH CENTER FOR RELIGION AND COMMUNICATION GRADUATES SIX IN A/Y 2013-14 SOCIAL COMMUNICATION (ARC) HOLDS 7TH The Master’s in Theology major in Social/Pastoral INTERNATIONAL ROUNDTABLE IN OCTOBER Communication (MAT-SPC) program of the Pontifical The ARC will hold its seventh international roundtable of University of Santo Tomas graduated four priests, a and a invited scholars from 20 to 23 October this year at Saengtham religious in the academic year 2013-14, bringing its total College, Samphran, west of Bangkok in Nakhon Pathom number of graduates to 36 since the program launch in 2001. province. The theme of this year’s meeting is “Social This year’s graduates hail from Vietnam, Indonesia, and Communication Dimensions of Religions in Asian Cultures: An mainland China. They are expected to take administrative posts Exploration.” Since its inception in 1999, ARC promotes in social communication in their respective dioceses/ research in religion and social communication. It publishes a bi- communities. Current enrollees in the program include priests, annual journal Religion and Social Communication featuring religious and lay people from India, Vietnam, Thailand, China, scholarly articles from different religious traditions examining Indonesia, Myanmar, and Philippines. Former FABC-OSC the topic from the perspective of theology, psychology and executive secretary, Fr. Franz-Josef Eilers, svd, whose books in sociology. (OSC) social communication are used in formation houses in the Philippines and elsewhere, guides and coordinates the program. MALAYSIA: JAIS RAID PROMPTS BIBLE SOCIETY (OSC) TO MOVE OUT OF SELANGOR INDIA: CHURCH CALLS FOR FREEDOM OF The Bible Society of Malaysia (BSM) will move its EXPRESSION FOR ALL operations out of Selangor to Kuala Lumpur, a federal territory, The Church in India has come out in favor of the principal of following the raid by the state’s Islamic Religious Department a Catholic school in Mumbai, saying that “everyone has the (Jais) on January 2, 2014. BSM president Lee Min Choon said right to express their opinion.” This follows a controversy that the move was needed as the federal administrative centre, caused by Fr Frazer Mascarenhas SJ, principal at St Xavier’s Putrajaya, offered better protection to religious minorities. He College, who posted his reflections on India’s current election also said that Putrajaya upheld the Cabinet’s 10-point solution on the school’s website. Reacting to the post, the Hindu to the Allah row by not disrupting the distribution of Bible nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) asked the Election shipments. Last January’s raid saw the seizure of some 300 Commission to have the post deleted. For Card , Bahasa Malaysia and Iban-language Bibles from its premises in of Mumbai, “Fr Frazer gave an objective analysis. Selangor’s Damansara, just meters away from the state’s border An educator educates his students to examine situations in an with Kuala Lumpur. Lee said that the move was inevitable as objective manner. It is a shame that the issue has been there was no assurance from the Selangor authorities that politicized.” “In a democracy everyone has a right to state his or similar incidents will not happen again. (UCANEWS) her opinion,” said Fr Errol Fernandes SJ, principal of the Commerce Section at the same college. “This must always be done with dignity and without any attempt to malign the name Good communication helps us to grow closer, to know one of another.” “Fr Frazer has not imposed his view on anyone,” Fr another better, and ultimately, to grow in unity. Fernandes explained. “Those who have read him are welcome – (Message for World Communication Day 2014) to have their own point of view and even to differ.” (ASIANEWS) MYANMAR: ARCHBISHOP SEES FREEDOM OF INDIA: PRIEST WINS NATIONAL LITERARY AWARD OPINION AND EXPRESSION AS ‘SIGNS OF Fr. Francis D’Britto’s Bible translation was among 23 books RESURRECTION’ India’s top literary committee selected for its prestigious annual Archbishop Charles Maung Bo of Yangon in his Easter awards. This is the first time a Bible translation gets a national message invited Christians and all men of good will in award in India in modern times. Father Francis D’Britto Myanmar to be promoters of reconciliation. “In Christ, God was received the award for his Subodh Bible–Nava Karar (The reconciling the world to himself, and He gave us the ministry of Bible: New Testament). The priest of Vasai diocese edits reconciliation. God was in Christ and through Him embraced Suvartha (good news), a Church monthly magazine in Marathi the whole world.” Archbishop Bo pointed out the new language. The 71-year-old priest also writes for local daily democratic season, the new freedom of opinion and expression newspapers and magazines on God´s love, religious harmony and the new openness to civil society as reasons for hope, and tolerance, social justice, forgiveness and brotherhood. calling them “signs of the resurrection.” “We hope and pray that (CBCI) it is not an illusory dawn,” the prelate added. (UCANEWS)

FABC-OSC Communication INFO April 2014 Vol. 29 No. 4 JAPAN: MISSAL TRANSLATION SUBMITTED ANEW PHILIPPINES: ST. JOSEPH FREINADEMETZ Masahiro Umemura of Yokohama, president of the COMMUNICATION CENTER (JFCC) LAUNCHES Japan bishops’ Committee for Liturgy visited the Congregation ONLINE LIBRARY SYSTEM for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments on St. Joseph Freinademetz Communication Center (JFCC) has March 18 with fellow committee member Fr Franco recently launched its updated library information system which Sottocornola of the Xaverian Missionary Fathers and committee allows online searches for book titles, complete with cover secretary Toshimitsu Miyakoshi to submit revised editions of image, but also for abstracts of articles published in top liturgical documents including “The Order of the Mass and professional journals in America and Europe. JFCC was Eucharistic Prayers 1-4” and “The General Instruction of the established in 2009 as a formation and training center for .” They also gave a report on the current state of communication. Its library of books and journals contains more affairs in Japan. (CBCPNEWS) than 4,000 titles on human, social and pastoral communication. PHILIPPINES: FAITHFUL HOLDS MARATHON Visit JFCC online at www.freinademetzcenter.org. (OSC) ‘PABASA’ During Lent this year, a lay group decided to hold a “marathon praying” Sunday, using the traditional Pabasa (ritual reading) at the Santa Monica Sub-Parish in Barangay Don Galo. The group, mostly composed of elderly women, started the Pabasa at four in the morning, lasting until six in evening with . more participants joining each hour. Pabasa is the ritual reading SINGAPORE: YOUNG PEOPLE TRAINED TO of the , an epic poem in stanzas of five lines of eight EVANGELIZE VIA MIME, DRAMA syllables, each interwoven with a dramatic theme recounting the A creativity workshop for young people held on February 23 Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Christ. at the Catholic Archdiocesan Youth Centre by theatre (CBCPNEWS) practitioner and mime artist Krysztof Najdowski taught VIETNAM: YOUTH, LAITY COMMUNICATE participants to share Jesus with others through mime and drama. CHARITY FOR THE POOR ON LENT Najdowski taught participants aged 17 to late 40s on the power During Lent, youth groups and students of Bui Chu diocese of non-verbal communication, visuals, props and storytelling for organized prayers and fasting in preparation for Easter as well evangelization. Through drama activities and practical as special gatherings and spiritual retreats for the less fortunate exercises, participants learnt how to use gestures, body postures, and social activities for marginalized people. The activities facial expressions and eye contact to convey Gospel messages. included meetings on missionary activity aimed at catechumens They also learnt the art of storytelling. (CBCPNEWS) who were baptized on Easter Sunday. Bui Chu diocese is in INDIA: CHURCH ATTENDANCE IS PROPORTIONAL Nam Dinh province, northern Vietnam, which has 13 districts TO PRIEST’S CREDIBILITY – STUDY REPORTS and 700 parishes and is home to about 400,000 Catholics, A research by a priest from Pilar, Goa reveals that a priest’s representing 21 per cent of the area’s population. (ASIANEWS) credibility has a direct bearing on Church attendance among INDIA: NEW BOOK EXPLORES MODELS FOR LAY parishioners. The study published in “Journal of CATECHESIS Communication and Religion” says that perception of priest’s “Called to be a Catechist” is the title of a book released by credibility affects parishioners’ responsiveness in terms of the Indian Catechetical Association. It discusses the role of church attendance. The research titled “Priest as Teacher I: laity in faith education in the country. The book collects the Understanding Source Credibility” also states that when priests talks delivered at the association’s 17th annual conference, held convey competence, trustworthiness, goodwill, closeness, and last year in Patna, and is edited by Fr. Gilbert Choondal, a are both responsive and assertive, parishioners are more Salesian priest. (CNA) engaged in church service. It recommends training programs for KOREA: POPE’S UPCOMING VISIT BOOSTS priests to train in communicating credibility, non-verbal ‘EVANGELII GAUDIUM’ SALES immediacy during services, and responsive behaviors. (CBCI) The announcement of the pastoral visit of Pope Francis to PHILIPPINES: CEBUANOS CELEBRATE 450TH South Korea has sparked the curiosity of non-Christian Koreans ANNIVERSARY OF ST. NINO’S IMAGE to choose Evangelii Gaudium as a tool to better understand the Cebuanos celebrated Holy Mass on April 28 to mark the start Pope and the . The publication of the first of a year-long celebration of the 450th anniversary of Kaplag or apostolic exhortation of Francis in Korean took place in March the historic finding of the image of Sto. Niño (Infant Jesus) de and since then has sold a record number of 25,000 copies. Cebu. Upon their arrival in 1521 in the Philippines, Ferdinand Usually papal documents, local Catholic publishing sources Magellan and Fr. Valderrama gave the Sto. Niño image as a gift explain, do not exceed 4 thousand copies. According to a to the wife of King Humabon of Cebu. History has it that the Catholic newspaper, the publishing success of Evangelii image of the Child Jesus was later on found in 1565 in a Gaudium is based on two factors: the Pope’s “easy and reader- scorched hut. The discoverers were from the Order of St. friendly” language; and, his strong criticism of social inequality, Augustine, the first religious congregation in the country. a very topical issue in the country. (ASIANEWS) (CBCPNEWS)

FABC-OSC Communication INFO April 2014 Vol. 29 No. 4