By Rock Ronald Rozario
PENANG — Evangelization in Asia is “storytelling, not conquering,” a leading Asian cardinal told a major international Catholic gathering on Nov. 29, urging Christians to share the story of Jesus through lived experience rather than through force or proselytism.
Cardinal Pablo Virgilio S. David, vice president of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC), said Asian Catholics must learn to recognize Jesus in the way the two disciples did on the road to Emmaus — through encounter, memory and shared humanity.
Speaking at the Great Pilgrimage of Hope in Penang, the Filipino prelate said Jesus “walked with [the disciples] as a stranger, and walks with us today,” adding that the story of redemption “continues in our lives and through our witness.”
The Nov. 27–30 gathering, organized by the FABC Office of Evangelization, has drawn about 800 delegates from 32 countries. It is considered a follow-up to the first Asian Mission Congress held in Chiang Mai, Thailand, in 2006.
David, who heads the Diocese of Kalookan and the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, said the congress forms part of a longer spiritual journey toward 2033, the 2000th anniversary of the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus.
The event, he said, invites the Church “to rediscover the power of storytelling as the unique missionary language of Asia.”
Asia has long understood the formative power of story, he added, recalling its heritage of epics, myths, songs, dances, legends and parables.
The first Asian Mission Congress, he noted, placed storytelling and faith-sharing at the heart of its missionary method.
Today, the FABC views storytelling “not merely as a method of proclamation but as a lived mission,” rooted in community life and the synodal practice of listening.
David said the Asian way of evangelization is “storytelling, not conquering.”
“Evangelization in Asia is not loud. It is relational, respectful, and contemplative. We no longer believe in forcing faith on anybody through proselytizing,” he explained.
Asian Christians can recognize Jesus on the road among migrants, families broken by conflict and poverty, young people searching for meaning online, victims of violence, indigenous communities defending their lands, and people rebuilding after natural disasters, he said.
“Living the story means letting Him reappear in us,” David said.
He stressed that in Asia, evangelization “no longer” forces “the faith on anybody through proselytizing.” He also acknowledged that the Church bears the consequences of past historical errors, including missionary ties to colonial powers that continue to fuel suspicion in places such as China.
He pointed to the Asian Continental Synodal Assembly in Bangkok in 2023, which identified four paths for sharing the story of Jesus: dialogue with cultures, religions, the poor and creation.
“Asia is not the continent of great cathedrals. It is the continent of great stories — of harmony, compassion, hospitality, resilience and hope,” he said.
Ahead of the 2033 jubilee, he added, the Church in Asia is called to become “more synodal, more welcoming, more relational,” telling the story of Jesus in ways that heal divisions, build interreligious bridges, uplift the poor and protect the planet.
