A Fragile Church, the Paschal Journey, and Synodality: A Theological Portrait of the Church in Asia After COVID-19
A Fragile Church, the Paschal Journey, and Synodality: A Theological Portrait of the Church in Asia After COVID-19
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54855/csl.25548Keywords:
Asian Church; COVID-19; bodily fragility; Paschal mystery; synodalityAbstract
This article offers a theological portrait of the post–COVID-19 Church in Asia, grounded in the Church’s shared experience of accompanying Asian peoples through the pandemic. Drawing on Hebrews 10:5 and the saving meaning of Christ’s “body” as a fragile, vulnerable human existence, the author proposes three key lenses for interpreting the Church after the pandemic: (1) bodily fragility, highlighting the Church’s visible–institutional dimension, its solidarity with the poor, and its moral responsibility that calls for repentance and conversion; (2) a Paschal journey from suffering to healing, emphasizing renewal so the Church can respond to changing human needs and mediate holistic healing; and (3) synodality as a fruit of the Spirit, marked by presence, outward orientation, and missionary urgency—especially in pastoral care for families and youth, interreligious openness, and ecological commitment.
References
Albert Vanhoye, L' Epistola agli Ebrei – "Un Sacerdote Diverso", trans. Carlo Valentino (Bologna: Centro Editoriale Dehoniano, EDB, 2010), 25-27, 220-221.
FABC-OTC, The Body of Christ in the Pandemic: Theological Reflection from Asian PerspectivesI, Part 1, B; tài liệu có thể được tải về từ https://fabc.org/document/fabc-papers-168/ và https://fabc.org/document/fabc-papers-169/
FABC-OTC, The Body of Christ in the Pandemic, Part 2, A, II, 1; C, II.
Hans Urs von Balthasar, Mysterium Paschale: The Mystery of Easter, trans. Aidan Nichols, O.P. (Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1993), 11-48.
Karl Rahner, "Death" in Encyclopedia of Theology – The Concise Sacramentum Mundi, ed. K. Rahner (New York: Burns & Oates, 1975), 330.
Raymond Brown, Josephy Fitzmyer and Roland Murphy, eds., The New Jerome Biblical Commentary (New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1990), 938.
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