PHILIPPINES: Full communion partners share Eucharistic vision for a globalized world
Episcopal News Service. October 1, 2008 [100108-01]
Matthew Davies
Saying that the Eucharist "is the sign and reality of the hope of a just world for all," a group of Christian churches in full communion with each other issued a statement following a recent meeting hosted by the Iglesia Filipina Independiente (Philippine Independent Church) in Manila, Philippines.
The third and final meeting of a three-year theological consultation on catholicity and globalization was held August 18-22 in a nation marred by poverty and extra-judicial killings reportedly carried out by the State in order to rid itself of disruptive influences.
Mindful of the life and witness of martyred Filipino Bishop Alberto B. Ramento, who was found stabbed to death at his rectory in October 2006, representatives of the Episcopal Church, the Iglesia Filipina Independiente (IFI), and the Old Catholic Churches of the Union of Utrecht, joined by an observer from the [Lutheran] Church of Sweden, "continued to explore the complex interrelations of catholicity and globalization, as catholic churches seeking ways to confront the economic and social issues challenging the world today," the statement said.
Ramento was the IFI's former prime bishop who had been an outspoken critic of the Philippine government and received several death threats in the lead-up to his murder.
The Bishop Ramento Statement, titled "A Eucharistic Vision for a Globalized World," acknowledged that the Eucharist "looks forward to a global society in God, a city for all the nations, in which the last are first, the humble lifted high, and the powerful repentant, as grace and peace forgive and unite all humanity."
The two principal themes that were addressed throughout the meeting were "the concrete effects of globalization as experienced within the Philippines and by migrant workers around the world," and "ways in which the churches may respond to and transform the world through the power of the Eucharist."
The Most Rev. Godofredo David, Obispo Maximo of the IFI, welcomed the participants and encouraged them in their work. Bishop Christopher Epting, the Episcopal Church's ecumenical and interfaith officer, brought greetings on behalf of Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori.
The Episcopal Church was also represented at the meeting by Marsha Dutton, a professor of English at Ohio University and parishioner at Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd in Athens, Ohio; the Rev. Canon J. Robert Wright, professor of ecclesiastical history at General Theological Seminary in New York City; and the Rev. Cody Unterseher, theologian-in-residence at Christ Church in Bronxville, New York.
"We have struggled to understand one another's perspectives, consistently benefiting by the recurring opportunity to familiarize ourselves with our churches' social and governmental contexts," said Dutton, who described the Manila consultation as the most valuable of the three meetings.
"Working at the heart of the cruel poverty that has resulted from economic globalization -- from deregulation of utilities, from governmental corruption, from international exploitation -- we could simply not ignore the costs," she said. "Now, having learned so much, we must work together for real change, guided by our common faith and our knowledge of God's unfailing abundance."
The Rev. Rex Reyes, general secretary of the National Council of Churches of the Philippines, offered an overview of the Filipino situation, using a variety of demographic and economic data to set forth the political, social, and theological context of the IFI and the Episcopal Church in the Philippines, one of the 38 provinces of the Anglican Communion.
"A radical disparity exists between the economic elite and the rest of society," he explained. "The nation's 20 wealthiest families have a net worth equivalent to the combined annual income of 52 million Filipinos, as 80% of Filipino families subsist well below the poverty line."
The Bishop Ramento Statement acknowledged that "government failure to protect the interests of Philippine farmers and workers, irresponsible deregulation of industries, and privatization of public services have all contributed to the impoverishment of the people." IFI participants noted that such realities "compel their church to fight against the many faces and effects of economic globalization and to urge the churches with which they are in full communion to join them in their struggle."
The meeting continued with further experiences and insights about the Philippine situation and several papers discussing a Eucharistic perspective on and response to the globalized context.
"The members of this consultation recognize the diversity of their contexts and respect the different points of view that result from such divergent experiences and understandings of globalization," the statement said. "However, they stand united against those political and economic structures and policies that contradict the Eucharistic vision of a world of peace, justice, and life in abundance for all.
"The shared week of conversation has led the participants to an enlarged awareness of the ways in which all nations and churches are implicated in and affected by globalization and its many destructive effects, an expanded understanding of the ways in which globalization contributes to and worsens pre-existing and local conditions of inequality and injustice."
Seeking a Eucharistic response to globalization "that will assist God in transforming God's world," the members of the consultation made several recommendations for joint worship, witness and service between their churches.
"We must continue to struggle, to be advocates for a Christian perspective on economics, politics, and global society. We must seek to understand, to effect change, to feed the hungry, and to clothe the naked, following our Lord's example," the statement said. "As we receive the body and blood of Christ we become ever more fully members of his body and are joined inextricably with all those whom he loves and feeds. Our mission is thus not only to praise God or to invite others to praise God but to manifest God's love in this world that is our common home."
The full text of the communiqué, including a list of participants at the consultation, is available here.