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By Franco Jose C. Baroña
POPE Francis has appointed Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle as his special envoy for the upcoming and biggest gathering of Asian bishops in Thailand's capital city of Bangkok.
Tagle, the pro-prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, will preside over the closing Mass of the 50th general conference of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences (FABC) on October 30 at the Assumption Cathedral, the principal Roman Catholic church of Thailand at the Bang Rak District of Bangkok.
The Asian bishops' meeting will begin on October 12 and will be held at the Baan Phu Waan Pastoral Center of the Archdiocese of Bangkok.
More than 140 bishops from Asia are expected to attend the conference.
This year's conference theme is "FABC 50: Journeying together as peoples of Asia...and they went a different way." (Mt 2:12).
The assembly also marks the belated 50th anniversary celebration of FABC, which was established in 1970 with the approval of the Holy See.
The FABC Secretariat said the 19-day conference will "reflect on the re-emerging and emerging realities and challenges of the Church in Asia."
Before being appointed to the Dicastery for Evangelization, Cardinal Tagle headed the FABC's Office of Theological Concerns while he was still the Archbishop of Manila.
The FABC is an association of Catholic episcopal conferences in Asia to foster solidarity and joint responsibility for the welfare of the Church and society in the region.
The association's leadership is currently led by Cardinal Charles Maung Bo of Yangon as president, with Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith of Colombo as vice president, and Archbishop Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi of Tokyo as secretary general.
The FABC earlier called on Catholics to pray for the association so it will continue to be steadfast in its mission.
This charge was given by the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) in a circular sent to dioceses last week.
'Tagle could be next Pope'
Originally written in English, the "Prayer for FABC 50" was translated in four Philippine languages: Tagalog, Waray, Hiligaynon, and Cebuano.
The FABC asked its member episcopal conferences that the prayer be prayed in all churches until October 30 for the success of its general conference.
In his message for the occasion, Pope Francis expressed hope that FABC will "renew the Churches in Asia in fraternal communion and in missionary zeal for the spread of the Gospel among the richly diverse peoples, cultures and social realities of the vast Asian continent."
