The FABC Vision of Inculturation and the Pedagogical Renewal of Catechesis in the Philippines

This article examines the FABC's theology of inculturation as fundamentally dialogical, tracing its development from Pedro Arrupe's 1978 definition through successive FABC documents that frame inculturation as a two-way encounter between the local Church and Asia's cultures rather than a one-directional imposition. Applying this vision to Philippine catechesis, the author surveys shifting cultural, technological, and lifestyle trends among Filipinos and argues that existing catechetical methods have not kept pace. Drawing a parallel between FABC's dialogical inculturation and the doctrine-moral-worship framework of catechetical integration, the study proposes "dialogic integration" as a new pedagogy of faith attentive to the signs of the times and to Filipino cultural experience.