Asian Horizons

Harmony of Life: Theological Reflections on Wholeness and Communion

Joby Jose Kochumuttom — 2026-09-23

In Christ There is no East or West: How an Eastern Way of Thinking Helped to Heal Church Divisions at Vatican II and Beyond

Anastacia Wooden — 2026-09-23

This paper argues that an “Eastern way of thinking”—holistic, experiential, paradox-friendly, and communional—helped Vatican II shift Catholic ecclesiology from a juridical model of unity toward a sacramental, Eucharistic communion, enabling new Catholic-Orthodox dialogue. Through seven examples, including ressourcement, pneumatology, liturgical theology, and religious freedom, it shows how the Council retrieved patristic and Eastern sources and calls for continued reception, broader cultural participation, and theologians to “speak so they can be heard.”

Contribution of Ecotheology to the Harmony of Life

Konrad Glombik — 2026-09-23

Harmony of life concerns various dimensions, both individual and social. The broadest perspective is harmony in the relationships among all creatures of the animate and inanimate world, which is the subject of interest to the contemporary theological movement known as ecotheology. This text presents the contribution ecotheology makes to the harmony of life, an essential element of which is human life in harmony with the natural environment and other creatures, or from the perspective of communion among all creatures. The author begins by presenting the general concept of the field of study of ecotheology. Next, the text discusses the concept of ecological sin, developed within the framework of ecotheology, and its significance for understanding the harmony of life. Finally, the text presents essential postulates of ecotheology that are relevant to the harmony of life from an ecological perspective. Ecotheology’s contribution to the harmony of life lies in its postulates for a comprehensive understanding of the ecological crisis and the search for solutions, protecting against reductive solutions, and contributing to a holistic vision of creation.

Faith Seeking Harmony of Life: The Legacy of Dharmaram Theology

Paulachan Kochappilly — 2026-09-23

Jonas Thaliath, CMI, the visionary architect and founder of Dharmaram College and its constituent Institutions in Bengaluru, described theology as “faith seeking harmony of life” (fides quaerens harmonium vitae). Furthering the traditional definition of Anselm of Canterbury and focusing on the Indian and Oriental genius of theological perspectives, Jonas’ script on theology is groundbreaking, contextual, ecumenical, and interreligious in essence, surpassing the bounds of spacetime. Theology may be described as learning, loving, and living the art of life, striking a harmony of life in tune with Jesus Christ and His Gospel, for the salvation of the whole world. In essence, theology enables and empowers us to celebrate our life in Christ.

Scanning the theological contributions of the Pontifical Athenaeum Dharmaram Vidya Kshetram, Bengaluru, the harmony of life emerges as the major current running throughout the centuries, with its incessant spring flowing from the hilltop of Mannanam (Bethrauma) (1833) through the Sacred Heart Study House, Chethipuzha (1918), to the garden city of Bangalore (Dharmaram) (1957) and beyond. Theology reminds us of our path of faith, seeking harmony in life, the hallmark of salvation in Christ, which leads to the celebration of life in Christ.

Religious Pluralism, De Facto and De Iure: An Indian Appraisal of Vatican II

Shinto Puthumattathil George — 2026-09-23

Pluralism, pluriformity and synodality have become often-mentioned jargons in the post-modern religious context. The narrow, exclusive, yet necessitated axiom, namely, extra ecclesiam nulla salus of Origin of Alexandria, Cyprian of Carthage, which although intended for schismatics and heretics originally, was understood rigidly from the fifth to the fifteenth century in the documents of popes and councils. The Council of Florence declared that all outside the Catholic Church, be it pagans, heretics, Jews, or schismatics, will not have a share in eternity. On the contrary, they will go to the “everlasting fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels,” if not joined the church before death. Such a notion was defended by Pope Pius IX in Singulari Quadam (1854), stating clearly that everyone outside the Catholic Church will have no salvation. The Second Vatican Council, a metamorphosis wherein the Church did not define any new doctrine but exemplified a dialogical pilgrimage, called for a renewed vision of other religions in our time (Nostra Aetate). Periti from both theology and history backgrounds consider the Vatican II standpoint as a breakthrough and a conclusion for the recurring search for Vera Religione. This paper will evaluate religious pluralism from a Catholic point of view in line with Vatican II and post-Vatican II teachings and would affirm that it is de facto and de iure in the contemporary global context. Although ‘dialogue’ and ‘dialogical’ became the new paradigm in which the church should pilgrimage with the new conciliar vision, on account of both misinterpretation and reinterpretation, the new enthusiasm has been skillfully downplayed in the post-Vatican II period. Thus, this paper will unfold the fact that the ‘envisioned dialogue’ has remained in the conciliar documents alone, at least in the Indian context, wherein religious pluralism is de facto and de iure.

Mental Health and Harmony in Consecrated Life: The Treasure Care Model

Sally John — 2026-09-23

The theme “Faith as Harmony of Life” invites consecrated life to recover an integrative vision of the human person in which spiritual commitment, psychological wellbeing, relational capacity, and vocational fidelity form a coherent whole. This article argues that mental health is not ancillary to consecrated vocation but constitutive of its theological integrity. Drawing upon Christian theological anthropology, Magisterial teaching, contemporary mental health scholarship, and sustained clinical and pastoral engagement with women religious, the paper adopts a practice-informed theological methodology to examine how unaddressed psychological distress—often obscured by stigma, spiritualisation of suffering, and structural dynamics—disrupts personal integration and communal harmony.

In response, the article proposes the TREASURE CARE Model, a faith-embedded, community-based mental health framework developed by women religious for women religious. The model integrates five interdependent pillars: mental health literacy and stigma reduction, early identification of distress, relational accompaniment, structured professional referral, and community-level cultural transformation. Situated within global mental health principles and ecclesial anthropology, the model reframes care for psychological wellbeing as an expression of incarnational theology and communal responsibility. By engaging critically with traditional understandings of asceticism, redemptive suffering, and obedience, the paper contends that therapeutic care safeguards vocational freedom and strengthens consecrated life as a credible witness to communion, hope, and harmony. Mental health care thus emerges not merely as pastoral support but as a theological and ecclesial imperative within contemporary religious life.

The Enhanced Human and the Harmony of Life: Ethical Limits in a Technological Age

Arnald Mahesh Irudhayadhason — 2026-09-23

This article examines the ethical implications of Human Enhancement (HE), arguing that its underlying drivers, namely dissatisfaction with human limits, restlessness, and the drive against finitude, reveal a misguided pursuit. While HE promises improved health and longevity, it threatens human vulnerability, which is foundational to meaning, solidarity, and interconnectedness. Evaluating HE against the framework of “harmony of life", the article exposes concerns around justice, autonomy, authenticity, and social cohesion. It concludes that genuine fulfilment and harmony of life arise not from technological self-transcendence but from purposeful living, embracing vulnerability, and fostering solidarity within our shared human condition.

Feminist Hermeneutics and the Quest for an Inclusive Harmony of Life

Smitha Gabriel — 2026-09-23

This article examines feminist biblical hermeneutics as a transformative approach to Old and New Testament interpretation grounded in suspicion, remembrance, and creative actualisation. Engaging pioneering scholars such as Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza, Phyllis Trible, and Rosemary Radford Ruether, it explores texts of terror, subaltern readings, women’s discipleship, and questions of male victimisation. The study argues that feminist subaltern hermeneutics fosters inclusive harmony by exposing power structures, centring marginalised voices, and cultivating communities of justice, compassion, and mutual participation across genders.

Inter-Faith Dialogue: A Way of Harmony of Life Asian Praxis of Theology

Antony Kalliath — 2026-09-23

By and large, the harmony of life constitutes the foundational ecosystem of Indian religions. Indian theologisation must therefore resonate with the broader Asian understanding of religion as way—for religions are fundamentally pathways, wherein the way itself is truth and life. The most authentic way to engage this Asian sensibility is through open, non-judgemental, and non-conclusive dialogue. Such dialogue fosters mutual empowerment, processes of learning and unlearning, and enables a genuine fusion of horizons. Dialogue, therefore, must be understood as an awakening in its own right; it is not merely a means to an end but a religious experience in itself. In this context, the Trinitarian understanding of the Godhead—both in Hinduism and Christianity—offers a profound theological foundation for conceiving interreligious dialogue as an inclusive religious consciousness. This consciousness acknowledges the radical plurality of existence while remaining attentive to the demands of justice inherent in all authentic dialogue among religions.

From Family Enculturation to Liturgical Co-Responsibility: A Developmental Communication Model of Children’s Musical Formation

Pawel Piotrowski — 2026-09-23

Children do not become liturgical participants merely through exposure to religious music or the acquisition of repertoire. Their formation develops across family, educational and ecclesial environments and requires progressively deeper relations among sound, symbol, action, faith and community. This theoretical study constructs a Developmental Model of Liturgical Musical Agency by synthesising the theology of participatio actuosa, relational communication, the communicative theory of the musical act, family religious transmission and selected research in music education. The model comprises five analytically distinct but overlapping stages: musical-religious enculturation, symbolic comprehension, communicative agency, ecclesial participation and reflective co-responsibility. Across this trajectory, family roles change from modelling and emotional mediation to explanation, autonomy support, dialogue and shared discernment. The model rejects rigid age bands and treats feedback, accessibility, regression and renewed learning as constitutive features of development. Formation should therefore be assessed not by attendance, repertoire size or public performance alone, but by a child’s growing capacity to relate musical action to liturgical meaning, respond freely within an assembly and assume responsibility appropriate to development and ability. The model offers criteria for connected family and parish practice while preserving the theological specificity of liturgy.