« Bringing the Marginalized to the Table Will Lead to True Discernment and Conversion »
A Filipino lay theologian who has served as a Synod of Bishops research consultant and more … Calling the Church to accompany the poor, migrants, and women, not as objects, but as ‘subjects’ of theology

This article is released on August 30, 2026, in both print and online formats.

Q. Your theological work is deeply rooted in the Philippine and Southeast Asian context. For readers more familiar with European or North American theology, how would you explain the significance of doing theology from within Asia's own histories, cultures, and faith experiences ? Could you also share what historical experiences have shaped your liberation-postcolonial theological vision ?

A. Like many nations in Southeast Asia, the Philippines has experienced the deep wounds of colonisation. Even after gaining political independence, the marks of colonial influence remain in how people think and worship. To do theology within Asia's own context and cultural categories is part of the journey of decolonising both mind and faith. This is not a call to romanticise the pre-colonial past, but rather to recover what is life-giving in our local wisdom and traditions — treasures once dismissed, yet now shining as resources for resilience and flourishing in today's world.

My approach is liberation-postcolonial, that is, shaped by a liberationist lens, which is critical of the structures of inequality within and among nations. It is also postcolonial, exposing how colonial patterns still shape our thinking as well as striving to decolonise theological knowledge. I see this as deeply aligned with Jesus' mission in Luke 4:18: to proclaim good news to the poor and to set the oppressed free.

Among the historical wounds that shaped my theology were the struggles of the mujer indigena. In the pre-colonial times, women and men in the lowlands were relatively equal. The loss of women's rights and leadership in the religious space is symbolised by the repression of the Babaylans, our pre-colonial religious leaders who are mostly women. They were at the forefront of the resistance against the colonisers and are thus our proto-feminists. Feminism in the Philippine context is not an importation from the Europeans and North Americans, but a seed sown in the struggles of the babaylans, our proto-feminists.

A more contemporary historical wound that has shaped my theological vision is the Marcos dictatorship. I belong to the dekada setenta (70s decade) generation, composed of students when the fourteen-year martial rule of Ferdinand Marcos began in 1972. In the 1980s, I got arrested for organising coconut tenant farmers, as well as removed from my position as Campus Minister in a State University for organising the students to distribute the CBCP (Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines) call to discern civil disobedience. As a witness and participant in the People Power Revolution, I realised that no matter how bleak the circumstances, there is always hope in the promise of resurrection and liberation.

Q. Asian Churches have long received their theological language from Europe and North America. With Christians a minority in most Asian countries, how can Asian local Churches contribute to the renewal of theology in the universal Church ?

A. Except for the Philippines and East Timor, Christians are a minority in most Asian countries. Seeking to remain distinct from other religions that have shaped local cultures, Christians often hold on to beliefs and practices rooted in European categories and culture. Yet the churches of Asia are called to a deeper courage — to let theology and worship speak in the language of our own people, and to affirm that these local expressions or articulations belong within the shared voice of the universal Church. An important area, in particular, where Asian local churches can contribute is in the realm of interreligious dialogue, and engagement with Asian non-dualistic philosophies.

Q. You have often reflected on people at the margins — the poor, migrants, women, and Indigenous communities. What does it mean to receive them as partners, and what is needed for « listening » to move beyond a mere symbol into real, concrete change ?

A. The Church needs to listen to the voices of those at the margins, for in their wounds, they carry wisdom that exposes what is broken in our ways of thinking, worship, and living — truths we would miss if we only spoke among ourselves or with those who benefit from the system. Yet listening alone is not enough. To hear without welcoming them as partners risks falling into patronising pity. What is needed is empowerment: the recognition of their gifts and their rightful place at the table where decisions are made.

People from the margins and underrepresented communities who have the vocation and training should be ordained, or as lay people appointed to various bodies at every level of the Church. Pastoral councils composed of lay women and men, inclusive of people from the margins, should be deliberative — not just consultative — bodies in charge of the long-term and strategic planning for the community. The laity, especially women, must be given greater access to theological education, and theologically trained women and lay people from the margins should be preaching.

In the Philippines, the rate of priests to faithful is 1:7000, yet very few dioceses are training permanent deacons, much less open to having female deacons. There are theologically qualified laypeople in the church who can preach better than some priests, and a big majority of the faithful are in favour of allowing qualified women to preach, yet the Church insists on restricting preaching at Mass to the ordained ministers. For the Church to genuinely accept the variety of gifts that people bring, women and lay people must be represented in decision-making bodies and pastoral life at every level. It is only when listening happens at every level of the Church that true ecclesial discernment and conversion can take place.

Q. Migration is an important issue for the Korean Church today as well. What would an « intercultural Church » look like — one that understands migrants not as objects of charity, but as people who renew the Church's identity and mission ?

A. It would help the Church if it looked back in history and saw how past influxes of migrants have enriched the Church. In the book Migration and the Making of Global Christianity, Jehu Hanciles shows that migration was central not only to the spread of Christianity but also to its theological development. Migrants themselves should be included in parish and diocesan leadership, so their voices are heard, and the gifts and wisdom of their cultures can be shared more fully.

A multicultural model that simply brings different cultures together under one roof is not enough — communities remain side-by-side, divided by ethnicity and race, without weaving their cultures into a shared Christian life. Interculturality resists the isolation that multiculturalism can foster, and instead calls for dialogue between nationals and migrants, and among migrants themselves. An intercultural church is guided by ministers who think, feel, and act across cultures, and it flourishes when migrants and their children are welcomed into leadership, bringing the wisdom of lives lived in many cultural worlds.

Q. Korean society today faces secularisation, inequality, low birth rates, and growing social fragmentation. What questions should Catholic media and the Church be asking, and what is their calling amid all this ?

A. Most of the cultural shifts Korea is experiencing are not limited to Korea; they are unfolding worldwide, largely driven by interconnected economic, political, and environmental forces. While global capitalism has alleviated poverty, it has simultaneously widened wealth and income inequality, fuelling polarisation and social fragmentation. The Korean Church must therefore probe beneath surface issues to address root causes: What are the economic, political, and environmental forces that are propelling secularisation, inequality, low birth rates, youth anxiety, and growing social fragmentation ? How can the Church, in its theology and praxis, help build alternative economic-political-ecological structures of grace ?

In this age of post-truth, Catholic media must train the faithful to recognise fact-based truth from fabricated lies, and to see reality through the eyes of those pushed to the margins. With courage and compassion, you are called to expose those who profit from disinformation — whether politicians or powerful tech corporations — so that the light of truth may bring guidance and healing to our communities.

I would like to end with a quote from the Scripture scholar N.T. Wright's book Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church: « You are not restoring a great painting that's shortly going to be thrown on the fire. You are not planting roses in a garden that's about to be dug up for a building site. You are — strange though it may seem, almost as hard to believe as the resurrection itself — accomplishing something that will become in due course part of God's new world. » What we do in Christ and by the Spirit, no matter how small, will not be wasted. It will last all the way into God's new world. In fact, it will be even enhanced there !

reported·translated by reporter Bak Juhyeon ogoya@catimes.kr

박주현 기자

ogoya@catimes.kr

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