austraLasia #2091

PNG Missionary defends thesis on narrative portrayal of Jesus as Shepherd in Matthew's Gospel

ROME: 11th March 2008 -- No, not GC26, at least not quite; but with his Provincial, Fr Wong present, and given the plea recorded only days ago for a return to the narrative approach which is also part of our Salesian tradition, Fr John Cabrido's successful defence of his doctoral thesis at the Gregorianum was a timely event.
    Fr John Cabrido's life as a Salesian and a Filipino led him to this narrative approach - and despite the near unanimous acceptance of Jesus' portrayal as Shepherd in Matthew's Gospel, little until lately had been written on the theme.  As Fr John himself said: "This work traces its roots from a life setting. After ten years of teaching the Bible on the graduate level to lay people, religious and seminarians, one frustration always surfaced: does the study of the Bible really have to be that difficult? This, together with the perception that insipid faith and empty churches result in part from an excessively scholarly yet soulless historical criticism, has convinced me to adopt the narrative approach which better reflects the nature of the Gospel...Moreover my participation in massive street protests against corrupt leaders and a ruthless dictator, and my reading of a world desperate for good leadership, convinced me of the need to explore the theme of Good Shepherd".
    Members of the panel were unanimous in extolling the thoroughness of John Cabrido's work and its contribution to biblical exegesis. After his  licentiate at the Biblicum, he taught for many years in Manila at the Don Bosco Centre of Studies and the University of Sto. Tomas. He then went as missionary to PNG where he taught in the interdiocesan seminary in Rabaul as well as ministering to the students at the Salesian school in Vunabosco. He has already returned to PNG for classes and had to come back to Rome for the defence.  He returns almost immediately to PNG.
     austraLasia ran an earlier story on another effort of Fr Cabrido's which puts this doctoral defence into context as well: #1714 (you can easily find it by running a search on 'Cabrido' in the austraLasia section of SDL): Dialogue, like the Tango.....missionary's dance with Cargo Cult, and concerned a work on the Pomio Kivung Cargo Cult published by the Melanesian Institute.  It is not only a work of anthropology but also theological in that he re-interprets this particular cult as a deep longing for salvation.
    He will now be able to go back to these same people, to proclaim to them "the messianic, Davidic and eschatological Shepherd presented as distinctively unique: compassionate, not militant, universal, not only Israel's; lowly, not overbearing; and most especially, suffering and drawing to communion.
    Congrats Dr. John Cabrido SDB.
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Title: australasia 2091
Subject and key words: EAO Provinces PNG
Date (year): 2008
ID: 2000-2099|2091