Journal articles on the topic 'Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences'

One of the central themes discussed both internationally and nationally is about humanity which is identified with human rights. Religiosity is no less talked about it, including the Church of Asia through the Asian Bishops' Conference which in 2020 celebrated its presence for fifty years. Two declarations from the United Nations and the ASEAN declaration provide directions for upholding humanity and the Asian Bishops Conference document provides the basis for humanity to be more honored and respected. To arrive at the aim of discussing the contribution of the Asian Bishops' Conference to respect and honor humanity, the discussion will begin with an overview of humanity from religious and philosophical dimensions. The two United Nations declarations and the ASEAN declaration provide directions for humanity that serve as guidelines for respecting it. The document of the Asian Bishops' Conference, while respecting the declarations issued by various agencies, illuminates the implications for respecting and respecting humanity. This study uses many sources of documents and humanitarian movements in Asia and Indonesia as well and this paper concludes with a conclusion that gives the reason for Asia being the highest violator of humanity in the world.

The present article has as its premise that the objectives of Receptive Ecumenism, a method of engagement recently promoted in western churches, is already well captured by the Asian Church’s method of triple dialogue. Both emphasize the Christian community’s willingness to learn from rather than to teach their partners-in-dialogue. The contextual realities which gave rise to the Asian Church’s theology of dialogue with the poor, the religions and the cultures of Asia will be discussed, especially with reference to the teachings and experiences of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences.

For the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC), the Holy Spirit appears to serve as a key in understanding and interpreting other religious traditions and how the Church is to relate with their followers. The Asian bishops consistently affirm that the Holy Spirit is actively present in other religions and that these religions contain expressions and practices that are inspired and prompted by the Spirit. This is why these manifestations of the Spirit’s presence demands critical discernment and that these must be in dialogue with the Spirit’s activity in the Church. In and through this the Spirit’s manifold works within and outside the Church, the Church is not only enriched but is enabled to understand more fully the reality of religious pluralism as God’s gift to the Church and the world.

AbstractThis essay seeks to investigate the mission theology of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences (FABC) as presented in its official documents during the past three decades of its existence and evaluate its implications. In its official documents, the FABC has proceeded on the basis that the Asian milieu, with its rich diversity and plurality of religions, cultures and philosophical worldviews require a distinctively Asian approach to the proclamation of the Gospel that is sensitive to such diversity and pluralism. To this end, this essay surveys and examines the principal aspects and foundational principles of the FABC's theology of mission. It also explores the implications of the FABC's missiological approach for meeting the challenges of the task of carrying out the Christian mission in the diverse and pluralistic Asian Sitz-im-Leben, especially the FABC's consistent insistence that the Christian mission in Asia is best carried out through a threefold dialogue with the myriad of Asian religious traditions, Asian cultures and the teeming masses of Asian poor and marginalized. It then suggests that the FABC's missiological approach is best described as missio inter gentes (mission among the nations) rather than the traditional missio ad gentes (mission to the nations), because of how the FABC perceives the issue of religious pluralism in Asia and its preferred non-confrontational dialogical approach for dealing with it.

This article presents Pope Francis’s ecological theology, especially as presented in his Laudato Si’ and Querida Amazonia, and places it in dialogue with the ecological thought in Buddhism and Daoism. It begins by placing Pope Francis’s teaching in the environmental context of Asia. It then compares it with the statements on ecology by the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences, especially regarding what Francis terms “the globalization of the technocratic paradigm” and the “excessive anthropocentrism.” The article then relates these two critiques to the Buddhist concept of interdependent origination, especially as presented by the Vietnamese Buddhist Thich Nhat Hanh, and the Daoist concepts of de, dao, wuwei, and ziran. It ends by showing where Pope Francis’s ecological theology could be expanded by addressing the population issue, the theology of the “Cosmic Christ,” and an evolution-based theology of creation. The substance of this article was presented during the twenty-second Louis Luzbetak Lecture on Mission and Culture at Catholic Theological Union, Chicago, on October 18, 2021 (watch the video at https://learn.ctu.edu/2021-luzbetak-lecture ). The author is grateful to its organizers for the opportunity to discuss Laudato Si’.

Abstract This paper seeks to explore an emerging theology of migration and its missiological implications in the official documents of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC). The FABC asserts that migration cannot be separated from the complex interplay of social, economic, class, religious, and political factors that interact to displace people from their homelands. Its emerging theology of migration is rooted in its threefold theological vision of (i) commitment and service to life, (ii) triple dialogue with Asian cultures, religions and the poor, and (iii) with the aim of advancing the Reign of God in Asia. In practical terms, the FABC’s theology of migration begins with social analysis that questions the poverty, economic marginalization, racial, political and religious tensions, environmental degradation, as well as many Asian nations’ heavy dependence on the remittances of their nationals as economic migrants, which lie at the heart of the ever growing numbers of migrants. However, the FABC goes beyond mere social analysis of the dehumanizing conditions that are endured by migrants when it seeks to undergird its migration theology within its broader theological threefold dialogue with the quintessentially Asian realities of diverse cultures, religions, and the immense poverty. Finally, the FABC is convinced that its theology of migration needs to take seriously the intercultural and interreligious implications of migration and integrate the intercultural and interreligious dimensions in its pastoral care of migrants.

The author proposes a development of the Federation of Asian Bishops Conference’s theology of church as a sacrament of harmony, drawing in particular from the East Asian concept of yin-yang unity and integration. In Daoist beliefs, yin and yang are the generative forces of the cosmos whose blending and balancing result in harmony or the unimpeded flow of Qi-Ch’i. Yin and yang are opposite, complementary, non-dualistic, and fluid qualities of beings/things relative to particular contexts. The yin-yang symbolism can be fruitful for reimagining man–woman, cleric–lay, and other dualities in the church as fluid polarities.

This article attempts to answer the following question: how to elaborate an Indonesian social mariology that is based on the experience of the faithful? In answering this question, this article uses the critical reading method on four main themes, namely: (1) social mariology according to Clodovis M. Boff; (2) Contextual theology according to the FABC (Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences); (3) The methods of contextual theology according to Stephen B. Bevans; (4) Gadamer's philosophical hermeneutics. The results of this critical reading have been synthesized in the following 3 subjects: (1) social mariology, (2) social mariology within the context of the FABC’s contextual theology; (3) a plan of Indonesian social mariology based on the experience of the faithful. An authentic contribution of this article is found in number 3: it offers a way to be applied in heeding the context, namely by processing the experience of the faithful. This approach is based on the way of Asian contextual theologizing according to the FABC and Gadamer's philosophical hermeneutics. Besides to social mariology, this method can be applied to other themes of contextual theological studies.

The purpose of this article is to provide a new perspective in building theology that is appropriate to the Indonesian context. In an effort to build a distinctive Indonesian theology, the author explores the Syria-Iraq and Palestinian contexts that live in the midst of all situations and challenges in maintaining faith. John Damascus, al-Kindy al-Hasyimi, and Mitri Raheb developed a theology that fits the Syria-Iraq and Palestinian contexts. In their explanations, they present familiar terminology for the Syria-Iraq and Palestine situations, making it easier for Christians to explain the content of the Christian faith. In this way, Indonesian Christians can learn from Syrian-Iraqi and Palestinian Christians in building a Liberation theology that is uniquely Indonesian. To build a Liberation theology in Indonesia, it is necessary to pay attention to the challenges in Indonesia, namely the many cultures and religious traditions and more importantly to the issue of sectarianism or intolerance that results in violence. If the starting point for theology departs from the explanation of Jesus, there will be a clash. The Federation of Asian Bishops Conference (FABC) suggests doing theology in Asia, specifically in Indonesia, not starting with Christology but starting with Pneumatology.

Abstrak: Dalam tulisan ini penulis berusaha mencermati karya-karya dari almarhum Pater Robertus Hardawiryana, SJ (1926-2009), salah satu teolog Indonesia yang terkemuka segera seusai Konsili Vatikan II. Berdasarkan karya-karya beliau terakhir yang sudah diterbitkan, yakni Pentalogi, tetapi juga memanfaatkan beberapa manuskrip yang belum diterbitkan, penulis memusatkan diri pada pandangan Hardawiryana tentang metode berteologi sejauh tercermin dalam tulisan-tulisannya. Pada umumnya, pandangan Hardawiryana tentang metode bisa dilihat pada awal karangan-karangannya, di mana tampak bahwa dia sangat sadar akan pentingnya metode dalam berteologi. Dalam hal ini Hardawiryana sejalan dengan arah-arah baru yang dibuka oleh Federasi Konferensi-konferensi Uskup Asia dalam pelbagai dokumennya. Meskipun demikian, sulit diharapkan suatu paparan teoretis yang menyeluruh dan sistematis tentang metode berteologi dari teolog ini, mengingat bahwa minat utamanya lebih tertuju pada pengupayaan suatu arah pastoral yang kuat pada tulisan-tulisan teologi, dan sebaliknya juga, pada pemberian dasar teologis yang kuat pada kebijakan-kebijakan pastoral. Selain itu, penulis juga memandang perlu untuk menilik sejenak pembentukan intelektual Hardawiryana agar lebih menolong untuk memahami kecenderungan-kecenderungannya kelak dalam berteologi. Kata-kata Kunci: Teologi, metode berteologi, pembinaan teologi, orientasi pastoral, inkulturasi, FABC. Abstract: In this essay the author attempts to explore the works of the late Fr. Robert Hardawiryana, S.J., (1926-2009), one of prominent Indonesian theologians in the wake of the Second Vatican Council. Based on this theologian’s latest published works, the Pentalogi, but also making use of some yet unpublished manuscripts, the author focuses on Hardawiryana’s view of theological method as reflected in his writings. In most cases, his view on method can be seen from the introduction he provides at the beginning of his articles, as he is highly aware of the importance of method in doing theology. In this way he concurs with the new trends opened up by the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conference in its various documents. However, one can hardly expect a thorough and systematic theoretical exposition on theological method from this theologian, as his main interest lies elsewhere, namely, to bring a truly responsible pastoral thrust to theological writings, and vice versa, to provide sound theological foundation to pastoral policies. The author also considers that a glimpse at his intellectual formation would be of considerable help to understand Hardawiryana’s future leanings in theology. Keywords: Theology, method of theology, theological formation, pastoral orientation, inculturation, FABC.

At the same time as the sense of solidarity among Asian Churches is growing through Federation of Asian Bishop Conference (FABC), the effort to understand what it means to be a Church in Asia becomes more profound. We can mention several theological approaches which trying to reconstruct a distinctive face of the Asian Church, for example Choan-Seng Song who develops contextual theology with a transpositional mode. Starting from his critical position against the tendency of Western-centered nature of Christian theology, Song raised four important elements in a reorientation towards contextual theological exploration, namely vision, community, passion, and "imagi-nation". Besides him, it is also appropriate for us to review the efforts of South Korean theologians, especially Ahn Byung-Mu, in proposing Minjung Theology. For Ahn, a contextual theology should also be liberative. The two theological ideas of contextual-liberative Church above are prompting us to continuously imagine and strive for an Asian ecclesiology, especially in Indonesia.

This article provides a detailed analysis of the development of the business tourism industry as the fastest growing economy in the world. Currently, about 65% of events with the participation of entrepreneurs are held in Europe, approximately 22% – in Asia. The share of Asian countries in this business is expected to grow at a faster pace. The business tourism sector will grow accordingly. The article considers the competitive advantages of the Russian Federation as a center for the development of the international business tourism industry. It is noted that traditionally the most popular venue for events is Moscow, where the infrastructure for business tourism is most developed. Business trips to St. Petersburg are in demand. High business activity are distinguished by Samara and Yekaterinburg, the Volga region, primarily Kazan.In the course of the analysis, it was revealed that 165 cities of the Russian Federation have the ability to hold major events, congresses and conferences. Modern congress venues are now actively developing in Kazan, Yekaterinburg, Krasnoyarsk, Novosibirsk. It was noted that according to official estimates, Russia’s share in the world market of international congress events is less than 1%. This is very small, given that we occupy a share of approximately 3% in world trade. As a result, it was concluded that the presence of the Russian Federation in the international business tourism market is insufficient, as well as the need for certain decisions in this area.

O artigo visa apresentar um breve panorama da reflexão teológica asiática em curso no continente sobre as religiões e o pluralismo religioso. Darse-á um destaque especial à incidência dessa reflexão nos diversos documentos da Federação das Conferências Episcopais da Ásia (FABC) em seu papel singular e pioneiro na abordagem dessa questão. Parte-se de uma reflexão sobre a pluralidade religiosa na ˘sia e a busca teológica de uma sintonia com tal realidade, com ênfase na acolhida teológica de um pluralismo de princípio. Em seguida, abordam-se alguns traços específicos da reflexão teológica nos campos da cristologia, eclesiologia, missiologia e diálogo inter-religioso.ABSTRACT: The article aims to present a brief panorama of the current Asian theological reflection on the religions and religious pluralism on the continent. A special prominence is given to the incidence of this reflection in diverse documents of the Federation of the Episcopal Conferences of Asia (FABC) in its singular and pioneering role of exploring this question. It begins with a reflection on the religious plurality in Asia and the theological search of a convergence with such reality, with emphasis on the theological reception of a pluralism of principle. After that, some specific traces of the theological reflection in the fields of the cristology, eclesiology, missiology and Inter-religious dialogue are approached.

The article is devoted to the analysis of the current level of development of oriental studies in a regional university on the example of the Lobachevsky State University of Nizhny Novgorod. The expansion of the international relations of the Russian Federation with the countries of the East in various fields in the context of globalization, the development of the tourism business has significantly increased the demand for specialists with knowledge of oriental languages, history and culture of Asian and African countries in the labor market. In this regard, in recent years, the interest of applicants to those universities that can offer relevant and promising areas of study has sharply increased. The area of training orientalists is expanding significantly at the expense of regional universities that respond to the challenges of the time, actively participating in the process of training specialists in the field of oriental studies. The purpose of this study is the formation and development of oriental studies at UNN, identifying the features of teaching and scientific work, problems and prospects facing university teachers. The methods of scientific research were general philosophical — analysis, synthesis, as well as comparative historical and comparative genetic methods. As a result of the study, the authors note that theoretical and practical oriental studies at the Institute of International Relations have now achieved certain success, which finds expression in the preparation of generalized collective works and monographs, scientific articles in domestic and foreign publications, collections of articles and conference proceedings by the staff of the UNN; the release of educational and methodological literature that provides the educational process; regular defense of candidate and doctoral dissertations on oriental studies; initiating and holding international and all-Russian scientific conferences. Special attention is paid to the linguistic training of orientalists, which includes the possibility of studying Chinese, Arabic, Turkish, Armenian and Korean languages. Teaching is carried out using a variety of formats and teaching methods, taking into account the characteristics of the modern generation of students, which allows to achieve high quality training of specialists, develop creative and communication skills, and form the originality of thinking of graduates. An important means of popularizing and deepening knowledge about the East are student clubs that are successfully functioning at IMOMI. UNN has created all the necessary conditions for the training of graduates-orientalists who are competitive in the labor market.

The Church in Asia received first the gift of the Christian faith through missionary activity, starting with the Apostles and then later through the colonial expansion. For a long time, the good news has been spread through various means – conversion, persuasion and sometimes compulsion, primarily when most of Asia was colonized by the ‘Christian West’. The post-colonial era (in Asia) has seen a revival in the Christian faith and many other Asian traditions and religions. Does this now call for a reimagining of what it means to be a ‘Church in Asia’? The Church in Asia has to “redefine” her mission in the light of the changing socio-economic-political landscape, and for this to happen, there is a need also to look at the merging theology that brings ‘uniqueness’ to the Church in Asia. Here I propose to look at emerging theology as put forward by the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC) and discover the changing landscape of doing theology from theocentric towards the direction of being theopraxis.

Inculturation emerged as a result of paradigm shifts in the missionary outlook of the Church necessitated by a heightened sense of culture, especially the plurality of cultures. This outlook saw culture as a tool for the transmission of the Gospel message to different frontiers. In view of this, dialogue with culture has passed from being an exception to the rule to becoming normative. Inculturation is a complex process, which must be undertaken gradually and critically. Overall, it aims to incarnate the Gospel in every culture by maintaining a healthy balance between tradition and progress. In this paper, the method of inculturation that is highlighted is the one developed by Charles Kraft and Anscar Chupungco known as “dynamic equivalence,” which seeks to build a “communicational bridge” between the Gospel message and human experience. This paper, therefore, embarks upon the discussion of faith-culture dialogue, keeping in mind Church’s efforts to proclaim the message of the Gospel: first, by first tracing the historical development of Inculturation, highlighting the Church’s disposition towards faith culture dialogue; second, by discussing the nature and dynamics of inculturation, focusing on its essential characteristics; and lastly, delineating the process of inculturation, which underscores dynamic equivalence as method. References Acevedo, Marcelo S.J., Inculturation and the Challenge of Modernity. Rome: Pontifical Gregorian University, 1982. Alberigo, Giuseppe “The Announcement of the Council: From Security of the Fortress to the Lure of Quest,” in History of Vatican II, 1 Announcing and Preparing Vatican II: Toward a New Era in Catholicism, ed. Giuseppe Alberigo and Joseph A. Komonchak. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis. 1-54. Aleaz, K.P. “The Theology of Inculturation Re-Examined,” Asia Journal of Theology 25, 2 (2011):232. Amalorpavadass, D.S. “Indian Culture. Integrating Cultural Elements into Spirituality” in Indian Christian Spirituality ed. By D.S. Amalorpvadass, Bangalore: NBCLC, 1982, 100. Arbuckle, Gerard A. “Christianity, Identity, and Cultures: A Case Study” The Australasian Catholic Report (January, 2013): 41-43. Arbuckle, Gerard Earthing the Gospel: An Inculturation Handbook for the Pastoral Worker. Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books, 1990. Arevalo, Catalino “Inculturation in the Church: The Asian Context,” Landas 25 (2011): 83-134. Arrupe, P. 1978, “Letter to the Whole Society on Inculturation” Aixala (ed.) 3, 172-181. Barnes, Michael SJ, Theology and the Dialogue of Religions. Cambridge: Cambridge Unviersity Press, 2002. Bevans, Stephen SVD. “Revisiting Mission as Vatican II: Theology and Practice for Today’s Mission Church” Theological Studies 74 (2013): 26. Chupungco, Anscar. “Two Methods of Liturgical Inculturation: Creative Assimilation and Dynamic Equivalence” in Liturgy for the Filipino Church: A Collection of Talks of Anscar J. Chupungco, OSB given at the National Meeting of Diocesan Directors of Liturgy (1986-2004), ed. Josefina M. Manabat, SLD. Mendiola. Manila: San Beda College, Graduate School of Liturgy, 2004. 18-33. Chupungco, Anscar Liturgies of the Future: the Process and Methods of Inculturation. Collegeville Minnesota: A Pueblo Book, 1989. Chupungco, Anscar. “Liturgy and Inculturation,” East Asian Pastoral Review 18 (1981): 264. Costa R.O. (ed.) One Faith, Many Cultures: Inculturation, Indigenization, and Contextualization. Maryknoll: NY Orbis, 1988. Chupungco, Anscar in “Liturgy and Inculturation,” East Asian Pastoral Review 18 (1981): 264. De la Rosa, Rolando V. Beginnings of the Filipino Dominicans: History of the Filipinization of the Religious Orders in the Philippines, Revised Edition. Manila: UST Publishing House, 1990. De Mesa, Jose M. Why Theology is Never Far from Home. Manila: De La Salle University Press, Inc., 2003. Eilers, Franz-Josef. Communicating Between Cultures: An Introduction to Intercultural Communication. Fourth Updated Edition. Manila: Logos, Divine Word Publication, 2012. Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences, Resource Manual for Catholics in Asia: Dialogue. Thailand: FABC-OEIA, 2001. Follo, Francesco “Inculturation and Interculturality in John Paul II and Benedict XVI.” Retrieved 5 February 2014 from http://www.oasiscenter.eu/articles/interreligious-dialogue/2010/03/29/inculturation-and-interculturality-in-john-paul-ii-and-benedict-xvi quoting Ratzinger’s speech during the 25th anniversary of the John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family, 11 May 2006. Genero, Bartolome. ed. Inculturazione della fede: Sagi Interdisciplinarii. Naple: Edizioni ehoniane, 1981. Gorski, John F. M.M., “Christology, Inculturation, and Their Missiological Implications: A Latin American Perspective,” International Bulletin of Missionary Research 28, 2 (2004): 61, Javier, Edgar G. SVD, Dialogue: Our Mission Today. Quezon City: Claretian Publication and ICLA Publications, 2006. Jeremiah, Anderson “Inculturation: A Sub-Altern Critique of K.P. Aleaz’ ‘Indian Christian Vedanta,’ The Asia Journal of Theology 21, 2. (October 2007): 398-411. Kraft, Charles H. Christianity in Culture: A Study in Biblical Theologizing in Cross-Cultural Perspective. New York: Orbis Books, 1980. Kroeger, James, H., “The Faith-Culture Dialogue in Asia: Ten FABC Insights on Inculturation,” oletin Eclesiastico de Filipinas 85, 870 (2009): 7-28. Masson, Joseph ‘L Église ouverte ser le monde’in NRT, 84 (1962) 1038. Mercado, Leonardo N. Inculturation and Filipino Theology, Asia Pacific Missiological Series 2. Manila: Divine Word Publication, 1992. Mercado, Leonardo N. Elements of Filipino Theology. Tacloban City, Philippines: Divine Word University, 1975. Mitchell, Nathan “Culture, Inculturation, and Sacrosanctum Concilium,” Worship 77, 2 (March 2003): 171-181. Pietrzak, Daniel Interculturality and Internationality: A Utopia or a Constructive Tension for a Franciscan Missiology? Retrieved September 9, 2014 from http://www2.ofmconv.pcn.net/docs/en/general/miscon06_india/Interculturality%20and%20Internationality%20%20a%20utopia%20or%20a%20constructive%20tension%20for%20a%20Franciscan%20Missiology.pdf Radcliffe, Timothy. “Inculturation,” Review for Religious (Sept – Oct 1994): 646-657. Schreiter, Robert. “The Legacy of St. Francis Xavier: Inculturation of the Gospel Then and Now” East Asian Pastoral Review 44 (2007): 17-31. Schreiter, Robert J. Constructing Local Theologies. Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books, 1993. Shorter, Aylward Toward a Theology of Inculturation. Eugene, Oregon: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 1999. 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Summary Informed by the almost unimaginable unmet need for cardiac surgery in the developing regions of the world, leading surgeons, cardiologists, editors in chief of the major cardiothoracic journals as well as representatives of medical industry and government convened in December 2017 to address this unacceptable disparity in access to care. The ensuing “Cape Town Declaration” constituted a clarion call to cardiac surgical societies to jointly advocate the strengthening of sustainable, local cardiac surgical capacity in the developing world. The Cardiac Surgery Intersociety Alliance (CSIA) was thus created, comprising The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS), the American Association for Thoracic Surgery (AATS), the Asian Society for Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery (ASCVTS), the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery (EACTS) and the World Heart Federation (WHF). The guiding principle was advocacy for sustainable cardiac surgical capacity in low-income countries. As a first step, a global needs assessment confirmed rheumatic heart disease as the overwhelming pathology requiring cardiac surgery in these regions. Subsequently, CSIA published a request for proposals to support fledgling programmes that could demonstrate the backing by their governments and health care institution. Out of 11 applicants, and following an evaluation of the sites, including site visits to the 3 finalists, Mozambique and Rwanda were selected as the first Pilot Sites. Subsequently, a mentorship and training agreement was completed between Mozambique and the University of Cape Town, a middle-income country with a comparable burden of rheumatic heart disease. The agreement entails regular video calls between the heart teams, targeted training across all aspects of cardiac surgery, as well as on-site presence of mentoring teams for complex cases with the strict observance of ‘assisting only’. In Rwanda, Team Heart, a US and Rwanda-based non-governmental organization (NGO) that has been performing cardiac surgery in Rwanda and helping to train the cardiac surgery workforce since 2008, has agreed to continue providing mentorship for the local team and to assist in the establishment of independent cardiac surgery with all that entails. This involves intermittent virtual conferences between Rwandan and US cardiologists for surgical case selection. Five years after CSIA was founded, its ‘Seal of Approval’ for the sustainability of endorsed programmes in Mozambique and Rwanda has resulted in higher case numbers, a stronger government commitment, significant upgrades of infrastructure, the nurturing of generous consumable donations by industry and the commencement of negotiations with global donors for major grants. Extending the CSIA Seal to additional deserving programmes could further align the international cardiac surgical community with the principle of local cardiac surgery capacity-building in developing countries.

Previous studies contend that Philippines is still a ‘collectivist’ society (Cf. Hofstede Center; Cukur et al. 2004:613-634). In this collectivist or community-oriented society, individualism is not something that is highly valued. Being ‘individualistic’ is often associated to being narcissistic, loner, asocial, selfish, etc. However, one may ask whether the youth in the Philippines are not spared from this insidious culture of individualism, notwithstanding the seemingly dominant collective and communitarian character of the society. Although the overwhelming poverty is still the main problem in the Philippines, where according to Wostyn (2010:26) “only the wonderland of movies gives some respite to their consciousness of suffering and oppression”, the Filipino youth of today are also exposed to the consumeristic values of the ‘city’ and are not spared from the contradictions and insecurities posed by the pluralistic society. They are citizens of an increasing social and cultural pluralism characteristic of many liberal societies. Is it possible that individualism may also exist within this culture, especially among the younger generation? Is individualism slowly creeping in as caused by their exposure and easy access to modern technology, to higher education, mobility, interactions with other cultures, etc. Would this individualistic tendency have any influence on their religious beliefs, especially their belief on salvation? What would be the implications and challenges of these findings to the families in the Philippines? These are the questions we wish to answer in this study. This paper is structured in four parts: first, we will discuss the theoretical framework of individualism and salvation; second, we will examine the empirical attitudes on individualism and salvation; third, we will explore the relationship between individualism and salvation; and finally, we will draw some pastoral implication especially in relation to the document “Lineamenta - The Vocation and Mission of the Family in the church and Contemporary Word” (henceforth, Lineamenta). References Atkins, P. (2004). Memory and Liturgy. The Place of Memory in the Composition and Practice of Liturgy. Hampshire: Ashgate Publishing. Bauman, Z. (1993). Postmodern Ethics. Oxford/Cambridge, MA: Blackwell. Beck, U. (1992). Risk society. London: Sage Publications. Bellah, R. N. , Madsen, R., Sullivan, W., Swidler, A., Tipton, S. (1985). Habits of the Heart: Individualism and Commitment in American Life. Berkeley/Los Angeles/London: University of California Press. Berger, P. (1970). 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