Bangkok: The third and fourth day of the 12th Continental Conference of the Christian Family Movements (CFM) of Asia was focused on “Judge”.
The day began with a panel presentation: “Religious Worship and Interreligious Dialogue as lived by Three Major Religions in Asia”. Through the discussions, all agreed that the common thread for all religions was the spirit of harmony, respect, and acceptance as well as a right obligation to God and people.
The conference also brought to the forefront the everyday joys and challenges in the lives of three interreligious families, where genuine love and mutual respect were the shared values for maintaining harmony in these families.
Another area explored was the mystical dimension of Christianity, through the insights shared by Rev. Fr. Lawrence, CSsR, CFM Chaplain, on the topic: “Meditation, the essence of all religious worship and the path to spiritual harmony”. The key message was to understand the non-dualistic dimension of spirituality, as quoted in the Gospel of St.John (Jn4:23), “…the hour is coming when true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth”. All humanity carries the breath or ‘Ruah’ of God and we must remember that each one is a reflection of the Divine.
Rev. Fr. Joseph Phuwanart, Director, Catholic Commission of Thailand for the Laity, Desk of the Family, presented the mission of the Catholic Church in Thailand, through the keynote, “Interreligious Dialogue in Action: Family Evangelisation Services of the Bishops Conference of Thailand Open to All Religions”. The church in Thailand reiterates that the family is the seat of the domestic church. As stated by the Bishops at the recently concluded FABC, all basic ecclesial communities must aim to “reach out to the peripheries”.
Under this umbrella, Rev. Fr. Arulraj Gali, CFM/CFSM Asia Chaplain, delivered the final keynote, “Fostering Interreligious Dialogue to Advance the Mission Of Christian Family Movements in Asia”. In his address, he underlined the importance of a pluralistic society, irrespective of our religion, we are all the children of God and we are all united through the love and mercy of Jesus. The Catholic Church is a movement penetrating the heart and conscience of every person; in every endeavor, we are called to remember that ‘No one is useless and No one is expendabl’ (Fratelli Tutti, 215)”.
Being a part of the CFM, the delegates were asked to reflect on how their unique religious experiences allow them to cooperate with the mission of the Church to build an empathetic, pastoral and caring church. In a society where differences coexist, complementing, enriching, and reciprocally illuminating one another, even amid disagreements and reservations, we are called to bear in mind that God took the initiative to love us first, and the Grace of God offers salvation to all people. He attributed a quoted of Pope Francis, “I invite you not to build walls, but bridges, to conquer evil with good, offense with forgiveness, to live in peace with everyone.”
The conference concluded with the CFM countries presenting the country reports, reporting on areas of success and areas of growth. The new countries acknowledged their desire to continue work within their respective basic ecclesial communities and initiate the process to formally establish the CFM. The ICCFM Chaplain, His Excellency Bishop Gerardo Alminaza administered the oath to the newly appointed CFM/CFSM Asia Presidents, Anita Lukose and Lukose Vallatharai, who presented the conference resolutions and delivered the vote of thanks.