Remembering Father Robert Astorino by Asian friends（1）

Remembering Father Robert Astorino

Paul Hwang（Korea）

Fr. Bob was my boss and friend for more than 10 years when I worked as deputy editor of UCAN in Korea office. It was wonderful time for me to learn more about Asian people and churches so much so that I could create "Asian Lay Leaders (ALL) Forum" which has been providing formation and training programs for youth and young theologians in Asia. I could even work for the Woori (our) Theology Institute (WTI) located in Seoul at the same time thanks to his devotion and support which provided good working condition with proper payment so that I could do my "triple jobs" to do, two of which were volunteer works.

After him, UCAN has seemed to experience dramatic change to look more a "foreign" news agency rather than Asian's.

It has still been published rather for Europeans in terms of its publishing hour which is over midnight or dawn in most Asian countries.

Quite rare has been various voices through "commentary" and "interview" especially about Asian people and churches, which had been a good and well-known source loved and cherished by many Asians and even those foreigners who are interested in Asian churches.

It is worried for me to hardly see the news from the "People of God" especially in the local church like Korea but from its church hierarchy especially the clergy. If UCAN pays fairly and properly to the contributors it will get good ones in quality from many countries in Asia, not much focusing on few countries like the Philippines or Indonesia or "borrowing" ones from other news agencies.

I hope it will be prosperous in the future to be a genuine Asian news agency.

Chinese Version中文：特稿：亚洲友人回忆乐耀星神父（一）