A deep interest in exploring the intersection between religion and some of the big questions facing modern society underpinned Fr Anthony Le Duc SVD’s recent participation in an international conference on mission in Rome, followed by speaking engagements at the Desmond Tutu Centre for Religion and Social Justice in South Africa.

Fr Anthony, who is a member of the SVD Australia Provincial Council, based in Bangkok, Thailand, said that both events helped contribute to his lived experience and understanding of mission in the world today.

The March 27-29 Rome conference, entitled, ‘Missio Dei in Today’s World: Healing Wounds, Challenged by Postmodernity, Learning from Cultures, Inspired by Religions’, was hosted by the Society of the Divine Word as part of its 150^th Jubilee celebrations, but attracted participants from across the Catholic Church as well as other Christian churches, making it a truly ecclesial and ecumenical event.

More than 250 people took part in the conference which featured keynote speakers including the Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for the Evangelisation of Peoples, Cardinal Luis Antoni Tagle of the Philippines, along with well-known SVD missiologists, Stephen Bevans SVD and Roger Schroeder SVD, along with a number of other international scholars.

Fr Anthony said the conference was an important part of the SVD’s jubilee celebrations, and the themes reflected in a comprehensive way the concerns of the Church as well as those of the Society of the Divine Word in its mission and vision.

“There is a clear continuity between the Society’s long-standing commitment to the poor and marginalised and the emerging challenges posed by intercultural and interreligious contexts, as well as the challenges and opportunities of postmodernism,” he said.

“The Jubilee, as a significant milestone in the life of the Society, is not only a moment to celebrate its achievements and express gratitude for the generations of SVDs who have contributed to its global development. It is also an opportunity for intentional reflection on the Society’s role and participation in the mission of God and to help set the agenda for the future.

“I believe the conference meaningfully contributed to the Jubilee by creating a space for this spirit of intentional and participatory reflection on the Society’s mission and identity.”

Fr Anthony said he was impressed by the conference’s broad outreach.

“The highlight for me was witnessing the committee’s ability to make the event not just about ‘us’ SVDs, but about the broader reality of the Church and the world in the which the SVD carries out its mission,” he said.

“While the SVD presence was evident, ample time and space were given to voices representing women, other Christian churches, lay individuals and other religious congregations.”

He said the insights he gained at the conference would be valuable in his ministry.

“In my academic work as Director of the Asian Research Center for Religious and Social Communication, the issues raised during the conference strongly resonate with the research and concerns regularly explored within our platform,” he said.

“The theme and subthemes of the conference offer a valuable framework for ongoing studies within my own intellectual pursuits. They also help to clarify and shape the future agenda of our center’s work.”

Shortly after the conclusion of the Missio Dei conference, Fr Anthony boarded a plane for Cape Town, South Africa, where he delivered presentations at the Desmond Tutu Centre for Religion and Social Justice at the University of Western Cape.

Fr Anthony said the invitation to speak at the Centre was the result of a professional relationship he had formed with a scholar from the Centre who had participated in a roundtable on ‘Religious Communication and Artificial Intelligence’ organised by the Asian Research Center for Religion and Social Communication.

“After the conference, which took place in November 2023, we kept in contact and discussed joint efforts between the two centers,” he said.

“Our first joint effort took place in July 2024 in the form of a joint public lecture online. The invitation for me to come to South Africa took place within this ongoing relationship-building on our parts.”

Fr Anthony said his presentations reflected his research interests and publications dealing with the intersection between religion and contemporary concerns such as ecology, migration, social communication, and technological development.

His first presentation explored the integration of AI tools in academic publishing and communication, examining core ethical principles involved in using these tools. The second was on movements towards ecoflourishing through religious humanistic principles and values.

“The stand-out for me was the strong sense of ‘at-homeness’ I felt in meeting the members of the centre,” he said.

“Although I had known only one member prior to my visit, I quickly came to feel as though we had been friends and colleagues for much longer, even after just one meeting or conversation. Through their feedback on my talks and our informal conversations, I experienced a deep sense of mutuality and reciprocity in our engagement.”

Fr Anthony said the ongoing building up of the relationship between the two centres has resulted in a decision to sign a memorandum of understanding for long-term collaboration.

“The decision to sign an MOU between our two centres, along with the expected participation of nine scholars affiliated with the centre in this year’s International Roundtable organised by the ARC in Chiang Mai, Thailand, testifies greatly to this mutuality, both on a personal and professional level,” he said.

Meanwhile, Fr Anthony’s latest book, entitled "Buddhist Environmental Humanism: Doing Good for Self and Others" has been published by Ethics International Press (UK). The book is available in hardback and ebook and more information can be found on the publisher’s website: https://ethicspress.com/.../buddhist-environmental-humanism.

PHOTOS

TOP RIGHT: Fr Stephen Bevans SVD speaking at the Missio Dei conference in Rome.

MIDDLE LEFT: Fr Anthony Le Duc SVD at the University of Western Cape in South Africa.

BOTTOM RIGHT: Fr Anthony with academic colleagues at the University fo Western Cape during his visit there.