EDITORIAL INTRODUCTION
2020: What a year for St. Alphonsus Theological Mission Institute (SATMI)! Just like the entire Philippine Church, we, at SATMI, were excited to celebrate the 5th centenary of the coming of Christianity in our country. We then thought of coming up with an edition dedicated for this very important occasion. But then, Covid-19 came. Everything changed, including our initial plan.
BUDYONG, being the “apostolate of the pen” of the institute, strives to bear witness to the theological mandate of fides quaerens intellectum, with the firm thrust of doing contextual theology – a task that involves discerning the signs of the times and confronting the pressing realities of the church community today. This academic year’s issue is a tapestry of theological perspectives that touch on difficult but opportune issues that permeate the Church in global, national and local levels. How do we make sense of our faith in a world at crossroads? Drinking from the Church’s wells of rich heritage and living tradition, scriptural understanding and Christian missionary praxis, what theological questions and insights emerge as we grapple with realities such as the Covid-19 pandemic, displacement of Indigenous peoples, cultural asymmetry and multi-culturality, and the challenge of inclusively celebrating the faith in the midst of historical injustices and persecution?
Fr. Edilberto Cepe, CSsR
- From Triage to Treatment: Shifting Principle-Based Bioethics at a Time of Pandemic – Fr. Alfonso Suico, OFM
- “Communitas” in Liminal Spaces: Exploring Christian Spirituality from The Experience of the Displaced – Elton Viagedor, OFM
- Listening Appreciatively to the Voice of Culture: Transcending Linguistic Domination in Theology – Jose De Mesa, PhD
- Encountering the Stranger: Multiculturality and Spirituality at a Crossroad – Fr. Antonio Pernia, SVD
- The Inclusive Celebration of the 5th Centenary in 2022: Its Meaning and Implications – Fr. Antonio Rosales, OFM
- Persecuted Yet Vibrant With Life: Some Insights from the Book of Revelation – Sr. Miriam Alejandrino, OSB