As the Church in Asia prepares for a pivotal moment, the "Great Pilgrimage of Hope" (GPH) in Penang, Malaysia, from November 27–30, 2025, we are invited to see this journey not just as a gathering, but as a formal commitment of our faith to the future of our shared continent.
Scheduled during the Jubilee Year of Hope 2025, the GPH theme compels us to align our spiritual aspirations with concrete action. This is a moment to move beyond words, to express our Christian hope practically in a continent facing imminent existential challenges.
For decades, the FABC has prayerfully discerned the path for the Church in Asia, identifying ecology as an “emerging mega-trend” as far back as 2011. Penang is the culmination of this prayer, a public commitment to the care of our common home.
From Dialogue to Integrated Action
The choice of Integral Ecology marks a profound progression for the Asian Church, building on its historic commitment to dialogue and communication. In the past, the FABC has rightly focused on religious pluralism, emphasizing diversity as a source of richness and strength, and collaboration as co-pilgrims searching for truth.
Similarly, the Office of Social Communication challenges us to "disarm communication" and share hope with gentleness in the digital sphere.
Integral Ecology is the necessary grounding for both. It confronts us with the reality of existential physical survival and systemic injustice. It provides a non-negotiable common home, demanding that dialogue transcend theology and become tangible action. It forces the Church to listen not only to human voices, but also to the "cry of the earth" which "groans in travail".
The crisis is not compartmentalized; Pope Francis calls it "one complex crisis with both social and environmental dimensions". This means our faith is now operationalized, we move from articulating unity to physically building resilience against collapse.
Asia’s Wounds: The Cry of the Earth and the Poor
Asia is the global epicenter of intertwined socio-ecological crises, where environmental destruction falls most heavily on the poor. In Indonesia, major cities such as Jakarta are sinking by up to 25 cm a year due to unchecked groundwater extraction and poor water management, threatening the homes and livelihoods of vulnerable families. Massive deforestation driven by palm-oil expansion continues to violate Indigenous lands and destroy biodiversity.
The Philippines remains one of the world’s most climate-vulnerable nations, with stronger typhoons repeatedly devastating poor farming and fishing communities. The memory of Typhoon Haiyan highlights the injustice faced by those least able to recover. The Church there also defends Indigenous groups harmed by mining operations that pollute and displace communities.
In India and Pakistan, severe coastal erosion and saline intrusion are forcing marginalized families from farming into precarious fishing. Meanwhile, over 90% of plastic entering Asia-Pacific waters comes from inland rivers, linking urban pollution directly to the suffering of coastal communities.
A Single Crisis, A Radical Hope
Integral Ecology, rooted in Laudato Si', is the spiritual and moral vision that provides a pathway through this crisis. It radically rejects the notion of humanity as "lords and masters, entitled to plunder". Instead, it affirms that the world is a loving gift, and "Each creature possesses its own particular goodness and perfection".
The essential teaching is the inseparable link: the Earth itself, "burdened and laid waste," is counted among the "most abandoned and maltreated of our poor". Therefore, all ecological action is simultaneously a mission of justice for the marginalized.
Integral Ecology mandates "special attention to the most vulnerable creatures on earth," prioritizing those living in "extreme poverty and living creatures under threat of extinction".
This theological frame provides the necessary hope for action: when the existing world order proves powerless, local communities and groups must step up, promoting self-sufficiency and communal responsibility.
Signs of Hope: Ecological Praxis at the Grassroots
Our Asian Catholic communities are already providing living Signs of Hope that demonstrate integrated ecology is possible:
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Rural Resilience (Bangladesh): Caritas actively encourages small-scale farmers to adopt organic fertilizers and composts.
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Defending Livelihoods (Sri Lanka): Human rights groups like Fimarc have investigated the adverse effects of mega-tourism projects that threaten to destroy local ecosystems and deny traditional fishermen access to the sea. This directly links ecosystem preservation with the defense of poor families' livelihoods.
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Waste Management and Community Action (Philippines): Diocesan social action centers in the Philippines have initiated "Zero Waste" programs focusing on ecological solid waste management.
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Spiritual Integration (Japan): Bishop Daisuke Narui of Niigata champions environmental stewardship by drawing upon the deep-seated cultural reverence for nature, a "spiritual presence in nature", rooted in Shinto spirituality.
Ecology as the Path to Peace and Reconciliation
Finally, we must recognize that environmental degradation is a conflict and security crisis. Climate change acts as a threat multiplier, exacerbating poverty and fueling forced migration. When agricultural land and water resources deplete, it exacerbates poverty and forces environmental migrants to flee their homes. Millions of South Asians have been displaced in recent years due to intense flooding.
These displaced families often move to already crowded cities, accelerating urbanization pressures and increasing social tensions, which can lead to local conflicts. Even the scarcity of water, an existential necessity, is triggering international disputes, or "water wars", in Central Asia.
The tragedy of people stranded on temporary islands like Bhashan Char underscores the terrible costs of failing to address these interwoven threats. The Church's response must be one of radical hospitality and robust advocacy.
Engaging in ecological action, defending land, water, and air, is the only sustainable, long-term pathway to securing peace, reconciliation, and justice for those forced to flee their homes.
The Great Pilgrimage of Hope in Penang is our moment to formally commit our Church to care for our common home. It signifies our resolve to live out a credible hope, a hope found not in passive waiting, but in the decisive, courageous defense of creation and the integral justice of our people.
