Asia Pacific – Reconciliation with God, nature, and indigenous spirituality
In Laudato sí,Pope Francis addresses all members of the Church, including believers of all faiths and people of goodwill, urging them to care for creation and reconcile their relationship with God, creation, and one another. For decades, the Church has been entrenched in anthropocentrism, which places human beings at the apex of creation while viewing the rest, including indigenous spirituality, as mere resources to be exploited for one’s own benefit.
However, Pope Francis has helped us grow in awareness and consciousness about ecocentrism, where we recognise our stewardship role and the sacredness of creation, including biodiversity, forests, rivers, mountains, and water. The purpose and end of all human beings, as God created us, is to rule over the earth and all of creation—not to destroy and abuse but to care for and be passionate about all of His creations.
The Asia Pacific Contextual Theology For Engagement Program (ACOTEP) is an immersion experience offered by the Loyola School of Theology as an intersession course in response to the invitation of Pope Francis to understand the indigenous people’s ancestral wisdom (QA §51) and mysticism (QA §73) that accord reverential respect to creation. They are imbued with “sacred meaning” (QA §79) and spirited with the indwelling and omnipresent Rûah of the Creator-Sustainer-God and “various beings” (QA §42) or guardian spirits of Mother Earth.
This year, ACOTEP was organised in collaboration with the Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific’s Jesuit Companions in Indigenous Ministry, and Reconciliation with Creation, and PACOS Trust, a community-based organisation supporting indigenous communities in Sabah. From 16 to 25 July, six Jesuit scholastics and five laypersons experienced a spirit-led spiral process of integrating the critical, dialogic, and discerning aspects of faith and indigenous spirituality with both critical and theological reflections and discernment towards an inculturated response.
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