As Filipinos, it’s easy to overlook that Catholicism is a tiny minority in Asia.
While Catholics make up around 80% of the Philippine population, they account for only 3% of Asia’s population. In other words, while nearly every Filipino is a baptized Catholic, only three out of every 100 Asians are baptized.
By comparison, the Americas have about 60 Catholics for every 100; Europe has about 35, Oceania about 25, while Africa has about 18. Asia, therefore, is the least Catholic region in the world. This gap tells us that much needs to be done to bridge the gap between Catholics and non-Catholics in Asia, as emphasized during the plenary assembly of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences (FABC) held last July:
As we discerned together, a broad consensus emerged that, now more than ever, the Church in Asia is called to be a bridge and a bridge-builder through ongoing synodal conversion, embracing the rich diversity of our cultures and peoples.
A bit of history
This vision is not new; it has been there since the beginnings of the FABC. When Asian bishops gathered to establish the federation during Pope Paul VI’s historic visit to Manila in 1970, they were already aware of the pastoral challenge before them, as shepherds on a predominantly non-Christian continent. Rather than pursuing an assertive program of conversion, they chose a pastoral path centered on conversation and solidarity – an approach captured perfectly by the metaphor of bridge-building.
By 1972, the FABC formally articulated this relational approach in its statutes through what became known as the “Triple Dialogue”: dialogue with (1) Asian cultures, (2) Asian religions, and (3) the poor.
From its foundations, the FABC has called on Asian Catholics to see their non-Catholic neighbors as brothers, sisters, and fellow pilgrims. This core conviction has remained constant – voiced in their earliest documents and renewed in their most recent assembly.
"Pakikipagkapwa": Why dialogue resonates with this deeply held Filipino value
The conviction that building cooperation is more effective than targeting conversion is not unique to Asians. Pope Leo, for instance, is known to be a strong advocate of this view, as have his immediate predecessors, especially Benedict XVI.
This approach resonates with the Asian instinct for harmonious relationships. For Filipinos, this disposition is captured in the value of pakikipagkapwa. Rooted in kapwa, which means to see another person as someone with the same dignity and humanity as oneself, pakikipagkapwa is bridge-building in its most intuitive form. When we approach our non-Catholic neighbors with respect and solidarity, we carve out paths for deeper cooperation and friendship.
The FABC closing statement assures Catholic Asians that reaching out with respect and solidarity to those from other religions does not compromise Catholic identity but rather points back to the core of who we are as disciples of Jesus. As followers of Christ, we are asked to recognize his image in every person, regardless of creed or culture, and to embody the bridge that he himself is:
"We leave this Assembly with a renewed conviction that Christ himself is the living Bridge between heaven and earth, between God and humanity, among peoples, and between humanity and our common home. To follow Him is for us to become bridges and bridge-builders in His name, in our own time and place."
A tunnel between a cathedral and a mosque
While in Jakarta, the participants of the FABC plenary walked through the Tunnel of Friendship connecting Jakarta’s Cathedral and the Istiqlal Mosque – a striking physical symbol of the Catholic vocation to build bridges with peoples of different faiths.
The same bridge-building takes on flesh every day in the lives of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), 70% of whom work in non-Christian societies across Asia and the Middle East. They’re caregivers and nannies working in places like Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taipei; engineers, nurses, and service crew employed in Dubai and Riyadh.
Rather than proclaiming from a pulpit, they build living bridges through daily sacrifice and compassion: patiently caring for their elderly employers, sacrificing personal comfort to support their families back home, serving fellow migrants, and extending genuine hospitality to everyone they encounter.
It is this hidden witness multiplied millions of times over that reveals Jesus without requiring a homily or a debate. Through their steady kindness and warm solidarity, Filipino migrants turn foreign workplaces into spaces of spiritual encounter. Through them, Jakarta’s Tunnel of Friendship becomes an everyday bridge built of human lives embodying what the Asian bishops envisioned:
“In Asia, a continent blessed with ancient civilizations, vibrant major religions, and youthful peoples, we are being called to be bridges and bridge-builders: bridges of trust and dialogue where others erect walls of suspicion; bridges of peace where violence and conflict divide communities; bridges of compassion where the poor, the vulnerable, and the excluded long for dignity; and 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."
Deeper and broader than we tend to think
The bishops’ call to build-bridging invites us into a deeper and broader understanding of mission.
Deeper, because it anchors Christian mission in habits of attentive listening: listening to God in prayer and discerning the Spirit when he speaks through other people.
Broader, because it expands our vision to embrace solidarity, friendship, and cooperation. Through their assembly, the bishops remind all Catholics that the purpose of a missionary’s heart is not only to invite non-believers to baptism; it is also to accompany and serve them.
This is why synodality is so important to the Church’s work in Asia. It offers a pastoral framework for relating to our non-Christian brothers and sisters in a way that honors cultural values of respect and harmony. Before we can pilgrim beside them, however, our bishops also remind us that we must first allow the Holy Spirit to convert our own hearts. They remind us that for evangelization to bear good fruit in Asia and anywhere else, we must begin this transformation with ourselves and our current relationships:
Throughout these days of prayer, listening, silence, and Conversations in the Spirit, we experienced anew that synodality is not merely a method of working together; it is, above all, a path of conversion that is directed towards mission. Before it transforms our structures, it transforms our hearts. Before it renews our institutions, it renews our relationships.
This truth will resonate beyond Catholic circles. Mahatma Gandhi intuited something similar when he wrote:
“We but mirror the world. All the tendencies present in the outer world are to be found in the world of our body. If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change ... We need not wait to see what others do.”
Synodality highlights the communal effects of this insight: the renewal experienced in oneself must spill outward into the lives of those around us. Conversion isn’t meant to leave us solitary. It calls every Christian to reach across barriers, walk alongside one another, and encourage every person we meet to draw closer to the God who created us all.
Ultimately, this shared pilgrimage is the living bridge Asia needs the most.
