(UCAN) Representatives of three major Christian traditions have called for joint responses to Asia's social, political and religious realities to advance continental Christian unity.

Catholic, Protestant and Evangelical delegates reached this agreement during the fourth Asian Movement for Christian Unity (AMCU IV), held June 12-14 in Kuala Lumpur.

The 24 participants represented the Christian Conference of Asia (CCA), the Evangelical Fellowship of Asia (EFA) and the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences (FABC).

The CCA and FABC previously collaborated on AMCU events in Hong Kong (1995), Bali, Indonesia (1997), and Chiang Mai, Thailand (2001). The EFA become involved in the fourth AMCU seminar following the Asian chapter of the Global Christian Forum, held Sept. 20-22, 2006, in Bangkok.

For about half the seminar, participants shared personal faith experiences and spoke of encounters with other Christians in their native lands: Bangladesh, East Timor, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand and the United States.

In addressing the seminar's theme, Our Common Witness in Contemporary Asia, they agreed to respect Asia's religious and cultural plurality, and concretize a united Christian response to injustice and discrimination.

Christian commitment, they asserted, should compel Asia's Christian Churches to oppose discrimination as incompatible with the Gospel. They cited discrimination by caste, class, race and gender as examples. God's message to humanity, the Christian leaders said, affirms the equal dignity of all and condemns whatever oppresses and discriminates.

Meanwhile, they said, Asian Christians need to deepen awareness of sinful structures within their own communities through self-examination and self-criticism. They also insisted that Christians must oppose injustice and exploitation not just when they are victims, but also when the victims are not Christian but the perpetrators are.

According to participants, Gospel-based Christian witness should serve the most vulnerable: victims of natural calamities, oppressive regimes and all forms of degradation. It should also confront global warming and environmental concerns.

Given Asian religious multiplicity, participants defined a common Christian witness. Faith in Jesus Christ, they said, must be proclaimed with full respect for others. True Christian witness should never disparage others' faith. Christians should see faith in Christ as liberation from sinful practices and a free, joyful response to God's grace.

The seminar called on the CCA, EFA and FABC to address certain concerns together. One such challenge they identified is to help young Christians commit to building Christian unity. Another is to develop parishes and pastors as focal points for further Christian unity.

The seminar urged the three bodies to promote Christian unity through further discussion, and by inviting one another to their respective assemblies and plenary sessions. The three also could further develop joint projects such as the Asia Conference for Theological Students and the Congress of Asian Theologians. Other possibilities include jointly sponsoring Christian unity summer camps for young people and cooperating on joint actions at the local and national levels.

Participants proposed that the next Asian Movement for Christian Unity (AMCU V) seminar take place in mid-2009.

Souce: UCAN
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