An Evaluation of the Midwest-APYACC in Light of Phan’s Christianity with an Asian Face

The Midwest Asian-Pacific Young Adult Catholic Conference, or APYACC is being held this summer at Loyola University Chicago’s Lake Shore Campus. This conference is for Asian American young adults and all those who work with them. It is a time to come together to discuss three important concerns of Asian American young adults: intergenerational dialogue, being Asian-Pacific and American, and Being Roman Catholic today.

An excerpt from Phan’s book, Christianity with an Asian Face, published by Orbis Books, was the reading for this week. Phan explains that human development is one of the main issues for Asian American Catholics. The preferential option for the poor is especially important to this community because of the oppression and poverty found in so many Asian countries. Even in America, Asian Catholics are under-represented in the hierarchical structure of the Church. Not only do we need to address the poverty and oppression in the Asian countries that this group of people are immigrating from, we also must address how they are being treated within the American Catholic Church.

APYACC presents a great opportunity for dialogue with the Asian American community. The focus of the conference includes putting Asian American identity into dialogue with both the American and Catholic cultures. This is precisely what Phan suggests is necessary. Without this dialogue, the Asian American Catholic community could continue to be an unheard and underrepresented minority. By having conferences such as APYACC this community is able to make their voice heard. This is a wonderful platform for discussing ways to effectively minister to the Asian American Catholic community. Anyone who works with this group of people should attend this conference.