CONGRESS OF ASIAN THEOLOGIANS [CATS]

A Short Background

“The time is ripe and propitious, the ground is fertile, the issues are challenging and urgent in order for Asian theologians to come together to share life and work, project together concerns for the future, and help in the renewal and reinvigoration of the life and mission of the Church and of the ecumenical movement in Asia.”
(A Call for a Congress of Asian Theologians, CTC Bulletin Vol. 1, November 1997)

In 1996, over several months, leaders of some Christian and ecumenical institutions and individual theologians from various Asian countries met and shared their dream to call and organize a Congress of Asian Theologians. They hoped that such a gathering could help strengthen the koinonia of Asian theologians, consolidate theological work already done in Asia, share ongoing work on Asian theological issues, develop an Asian theological agenda towards the 21st century, and set up a structure of continuing Asian theological reflection and formation.

The founding organizations are the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA), South Asia Theological Research Institute of the Board of Theological Education of Senate of Serampore College (SATHRI BTE-SSC), Association of Theological Education in South East Asia (ATESEA), and the Program for Theologies and Cultures in Asia (PTCA). They continue to provide support for CATS and they are represented in the CATS Continuation Committee. Coordinating the planning and organizing of each Congress has been done by the CCA programme area on Faith, Mission and Unity.

The first and founding congress was held in Suwon, Korea, in 1997, with the theme, “Asian Theology in a Changing Asia: Asian Theological Agenda Towards the 21st Century.” This was attended by 96 participants.

The second congress was held in Bangalore, India, in 1999, with the theme, “Celebrating Life Together.” It was attended by 104 participants.

The third congress was held in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, in 2001, with the theme, “Visioning New Life Together among Asian Religions.” It brought together 120 theologians from 18 countries of Asia and Asians living abroad. It also brought some representatives of the major religions of Asia – Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and Christianity.

The fourth congress was held in Chiang Mai, Thailand, in 2003, with the theme, “Building Communities of Peace: Asian Theologians in Search of New Pedagogies of Encounter.” It gathered about 100 people.

Other church and ecumenical groups have come on board to join and support CATS. Since the founding meeting in Korea, the Federation of Asian Bishops Conferences (FABC) has been sending representatives to CATS. In the CATS I, the Asian Christian Art Association (ACAA) was also a sponsoring body. Since CATS III, the World Council of Churches Ecumenical Theological Education (WCC-ETE) desk has also given support, including for the Women’s Forum and the South-to-South Exchange. This year, the Asian Christian Higher Education Institute (ACHEI) has also joined and provided support for both the Women’s Forum and CATS proper.

Following are the aims and purposes of CATS as spelled out by the convenors’ group in 1996:

Aims & Purposes:

• To clarify, promote and enhance the cooperative process of theological studies and reflection among committed Asian theologians who are prepared to deal with critical Asian issues as part of the Asian theological agenda.

• To vitalize, facilitate and foster a cross-fertilization of theological insights and studies among Asian theologians from various Asian contexts.

• To serve and assist Asian Christian communities and people through articulation and engagement.

• To witness to the Gospel among intellectual and religious communities through academic studies and existential reflection of theological issues in the Asian context.

• To help in deepening the theological foundations of the ecumenical movement in Asia and in developing a new Asian ecumenical vision.

• To assist in locating present and future ecumenically committed leaders for Asian Churches and in providing ways and means to equip and to nurture them.

• To participate in the ongoing studies and discussion of the wider international ecumenical theological community and make a distinctive Asian contribution to them.

• To consider and develop a continuing structure for collective and common work among Asian theologians and assist in advancing and consolidating regional infra structures for theological studies and education.

Former general secretary of CCA, Dr. Feliciano V. Carino, during whose time CATS was founded, described the Congress as a three-tier program. The first tier is the thematic discussions on critical themes. The second tier is the disciplinary and inter-disciplinary groups which deal with contributions by participants in their respective fields of discipline. The third tier is the loose organizational/operational structure of continuing work, which is done through the Continuation Committee. Speaking on behalf of the convenors, Fely said:

We were, in this sense, not only wanting to set up or propose an agenda; we were also wanting to know what the agendas were of people in the various fields of theological work and to see in what way these could be mutually enriched by the sharing and exchange of interest, experience and research. We were not only going to plant ‘seeds’ for new theological work; we also wanted to let ‘flowers bloom,’ to see the ‘buds’ that may already be in the branches, or to discover and harvest the fruit that may already be on the ground. (CTC Bulletin 1997, 3)

Compiled by Hope S. Antone