This cover story, the 7th in this issue, honours Prof. Felix Wilfred’s profound contributions to contextual and public theology in India and beyond.
Cardinal Filipe Neri Ferrao, President of the Federation of Catholic Bishops’ Conferences of Asia (FABC) and the Indian Bishops’ Conference, paid tribute to Prof. Felix Wilfred, stating, “Prof. Felix’s life was a testament to his extraordinary dedication to theological scholarship, interreligious dialogue, and the promotion of justice and harmony.” Prof. Felix Wilfred, who entered eternal life on 7th January 2025, was one of the most renowned Asian theologians of our time, recognized globally and nationally. His “profound insights, scholarly rigour and compassionate pastoral approach” have “inspired theologians, clergy and laypersons worldwide” (Cardinal Filipe). This essay offers an overview of his idea of ‘public theology as contextual theology’ one of his favourite topics found in his recent writings.
Felix Wilfred: A Theologian’s Life
As a 17-year-old seminarian witnessing the concluding sessions of the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s, Prof. Felix Wilfred deeply imbibed its spirit of openness to diverse cultures and religions. This formative experience shaped his journey as a contextual theologian, leading him to become a professor at St. Paul’s Seminary, Trichy, in 1978.
Responding to the Council’s call to read the signs of the times, he engaged deeply with India and Asia’s socio-cultural realities. His extensive study of sociology and history gave him profound insight into poverty, patriarchy, caste discrimination, and other injustices while also attuning him to India’s rich philosophical and religious traditions.
His theological work evolved over decades—from addressing poverty, inculturation, and the people’s church in the 1980s to tackling caste, Dalit issues, religious violence, and fundamentalism in the 1990s. In the 2000s, he focused on globalization, minorities, and subalternity, later moving toward public theology and multidisciplinary inquiries into Asian Catholicism.
Fr James Ponniah
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