Emmanuel
FROM THE EDITOR
In the last half of 2017, I had the pleasure of traveling to two Asian
countries where our Congregation is experiencing phenomenal
growth. The Philippines and Vietnam, along with India and Sri Lanka,
are generating a very high proportion of our vocations worldwide.
I came away from these trips filled with a profound sense of the
vibrancy of the Church in these lands. The Philippines, of course, is
in a category all by itself, being the only majority-Christian (Catholic)
nation in all of Asia.
The Catholic Church in Vietnam is growing steadily: estimates are
as high as ten-million Catholics. Seminaries and religious houses of
formation are full and the number of parishes is growing. Having
been to both countries, I can testify that the churches are packed with
committed, joyful followers of Jesus Christ who love Catholicism’s
history, tradition, liturgy, and engagement. Don’t we all. . . .
It is commonly acknowledged that Western and Eastern peoples view
history and life quite differently. I describe it in this way. Those of us in
the West approach history episodically, as a series of discrete moments
and experiences. And so we pass from one event to the next to the
next with little or no apprehension of how they might be related.
Moreover, anything out of our immediate “world” and experience
holds little interest for us.
Those in the East, on the other hand, see the whole picture. Their cultures
are generally older and often have a semi-continuous history dating
back millennia. Instead of fixating on an event, they have the capacity
to look at history in terms of epochs, trends, and trajectories.
How does this relate to the Church? And what does the Church have
to say to both East and West?
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