PANAJI, India (UCAN) -- Genetic engineering, suicides and rash driving are among issues the 15th Asia-Pacific congress on love, life and family will address, its main organizer says.

Father Soccor Mendes, a priest of Goa archdiocese, expects 500 people from Asia and Pacific regions to attend the Oct. 20-31 congress titled "Human life: a mystery, gift and mission."

It will be held in Taleigao, near the Goa state capital of Panaji, 1,910 kilometers southwest of New Delhi.

Father Mendes directs Goa and Daman archdiocese's Family Service Centre, which is collaborating with Philippines-based Human Life International, Asia Pacific to organize the congress.

It will commemorate the 40th anniversary of Pope Paul VI's encyclical Humanae Vitae ("On the Regulation of Birth"), the priest told UCA News. That document, which Pope Paul promulgated on July 25, 1968, after a five-year study, reiterated the Church's teaching that the use of artificial contraception is intrinsically wrong.

Father Mendes expressed hope the congress will highlight "the ungodly times we live in" and remind people about the dignified and sacred life they have received from God.

The congress will also discuss medically assisted reproduction technology and emphasize "the dire need of upholding the dignity of life" from conception to "its natural end."

According to Father Mendes, it will address issues such as "suicides, rash driving, dress code, drugs, even developing God-given talents, because if you do not develop the talents, you are not cooperating with the giver of life."

Other issues on the agenda include genetic engineering, human sexuality, secular sex education and parenting.

Experts on demography, bioethics, moral theology and sociology, and committed workers in pro-life and family movements will share their experiences at the congress so delegates can understand what others are doing worldwide to defend families, especially the unborn, Father Mendes said.

Goa was chosen as the venue because of the dwindling birth rate among its people, explained the priest. Many Goans, he added, do not respect family values.

Among Goa's 1.3 million people, Christians, mostly Catholics, account for 26.7 percent. Hindus are the majority at 65.8 percent and Muslims, the third-largest community, form 6.8 percent.

Father Mendes says careerism and pursuit of money now lead Goans to ignore family life and result in "widespread" use of contraceptives among them. "Abortions are common, divorces are up, sexual promiscuity is becoming a norm," he said. He blamed the media for fueling "consumerism, hedonism and secularism."

The organizer claimed previous congresses benefited their hosts and expressed his hope the upcoming event will also help Goans understand "genuine" pro-life work.

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