The bishops of Asia are calling for renewed efforts to evangelize culture in a spirit of brotherhood, and one senior cardinal is calling for those efforts to be toward fostering a “communion of communities” in the Church.
Cardinal Ignatius Suharyo is Archbishop of Jakarta, host city to the 12th plenary assembly of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences, which took place from July 20 to 26.
The 76-year-old Suharyo, who has been Archbishop of Jakarta since 2010 and received the red hat from Pope Francis in 2019, also serves as head of Indonesia’s military archdiocese. He was the only cardinal from Indonesia to participate in the 2025 conclave that elected Pope Leo XIV.
Suharyo told Crux Now the three most important things to emerge from the week-long gathering were, “Conversion, conversion, and conversion.”
The bishops of Asia were gathered in Jakarta to discuss Synodal Conversion and the Mission to Be Bridges and Bridge-Builders in Asia, a theme inspired by a line from the first chapter of the Gospel according to St. John: “You Will See Greater Things.”
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“To be a real communion of communities,” Suharyo said, “we have to make a serious conversion – that is, changing our way of thinking, changing from the Church as institution towards the Church as communion of communities.”
The Church “is an institution,” he said, and also a “communion of communities,” called to a four-fold dialogue: “With religion,” he said, “dialogue with culture, dialogue with the poor, and now you have to add dialogue with the Earth, with creation.”
A communion of communities
The idea of the Church as a communion of communities developed out of a call from Pope Leo XIV to strengthen communion among the local Churches throughout Asia.
In a video message delivered to participants in the 12th FABC plenary, the pontiff specifically called the bishops to communion centered on Christ – and particularly on Christ in the Eucharist.
“As his disciples today,” Leo told the bishops, “we know that Jesus is not only the source of our communion with God, but also with one another.”
Mentioning his recent encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, Leo said Christian solidarity “finds its source in the mystery of Christ and emerges from our communion in the sacraments, particularly the Eucharist.”
The pontiff encouraged the bishops “to continue to promote a Eucharistic spirituality” in their local Churches, “a spirituality of ecclesial unity grounded in the charity that flows from the gift of our Lord in the Eucharist.”
“In this way,” he said, “the bonds of communion within and between the local Churches will be strengthened and become an ever-greater sign of God’s presence in your various countries, which in turn will help you be bridge-builders together throughout Asia.”
In their final statement, the FABC bishops took up the theme and the challenge, saying it is “essential for the Church in Asia to fulfill its mission as a bridge-builder in culturally and religiously diverse societies.”
The final statement from the more than 120 prelates from across the continent who participated in the sessions renewed their commitment to “walk together in an ecumenical way as a missionary synodal Church with our neighbor-religions and cultures.”
The bishops recognized persons who practice other religions “as fellow pilgrims seeking truth, justice, peace, and the care of our common home.”
“In Asia,” the FABC bishops wrote in the concluding message, “we are being called to be bridges and bridge-builders.”
Spanning divides, walking together
They said Asia is “a continent blessed with ancient civilizations, vibrant major religions, and youthful peoples,” in which Catholics are called to build bridges across many different kinds of divide.
“Bridges of trust and dialogue where others erect walls of suspicion,” they said, “bridges of peace where violence and conflict divide communities,” and “bridges of compassion where the poor, the vulnerable, and the excluded long for dignity.”
The bishops said Catholics are especially called to build “bridges of hope for young people searching for meaning amid rapid social and technological change, global fragmentation, and the ecological crisis threatening our common home.
The bishops are not shying away from difficult conversations, and they are clear-eyed about the polarization in society, something peoples – and even the Church herself – experience in Asia as in other parts of the world.
Suharyo said the bishops’ approach was not political in the usual sense, but arises out of a sense of morally grounded citizenship.
“Our meeting had nothing to do with politics,” Suharyo told Crux Now. “We are speaking about a moral calling,” he said, something he feels “as a citizen of Indonesia and as a citizen of the Church.”
“This is an invitation for everyone,” Suharyo said, “especially those in positions of responsibility, to lead with respect for human dignity, the common good, solidarity with the poor, integrity, and care for creation.”
