RSSApostolic Nuncio Archbishop Pedro Lopez Quintana opened the Indian Church´s first mission congress on Oct. 14 urging Catholics to witness their faith through service.
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Inaugurating the Indian Mission Congress: (From left) |
The Church by its very nature is missionary and every Catholic has to become the light of Christ and live it daily, the papal representative told some 1,500 delegates from the country´s 160 dioceses.
Cardinals, archbishops, bishops, priests, nuns and lay leaders are among the participants of the five-day Prabhu Yesu Mahtosav (Lord Jesus grand festival) in Mumbai.
The festival is a follow-up to the Asian Mission Congress held in Chiang Mai, Thailand, in 2006, in which one of the resolutions was to hold similar national, regional and diocesan congresses.
Archbishop Lopez Quintana described the congress as “a remarkable event” in the Indian Church´s history and said it would help spread “the Gospel of hope” to all, especially the suffering and the marginalized.
The Church always invites, but does not force, people to follow Jesus, the papal representative said, in an apparent reference to allegations that the Church´s humanitarian works are a facade for converting people to Catholicism.
Observing that the event is taking place during Diwali, India´s festival of lights, the archbishop said Christians have to help Christ´s light shine in modern society. Diwali, which celebrates the victory of good over evil and light over darkness, falls on Oct. 17, the second last day of the congress.
The nuncio also commended the Indian Church for choosing a “fitting” theme for the congress: “Let Your Light Shine: Become the Message and the Messenger.”
“We have to bring light to those ignorant of Christ, not only through our words, but particularly with our deeds of love and service,” the nuncio said.
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Delegates from the Syro-Malankara Catholic |
Another task for Catholics was to create a “cultural of peace and love” in a country beset with sectarian and ethnic conflicts, the archbishop said.
Cardinal Varkey Vithayathil of Ernakulam-Angamaly, president of the Catholic Bishops´ Conference of India, hailed the congress as “a historic and unique” event that has united India´s three Catholic Church rites — the Latin, Syro-Malabar and Syro-Malankara rites.
“This intimate cooperation augurs well for the Catholic Church in India,” said the cardinal, the head of the Syro-Malabar Church.
Cardinal Vithayathil urged Catholics to proclaim their faith courageously. “We should not be only messengers of Christ but also the message ourselves,” he said while denying the charge that the Catholic Church engages in forced conversions.
“We believe in genuine conversion of heart and mind,” he stressed.
Major Archbishop Moran Mar Baselios Cleemis of Trivandrum, head of the Syro-Malankara Church, said although the Church is “a miniscule minority” in India, its services to the poor, the oppressed and disadvantaged are deep and wide.
Methodist Bishop Elia Pradeep Samuel of Maharashtra and Gujarat, who was invited to speak at the event, expressed happiness to attend the Catholic Church´s first mission congress. “We come from different denominations but we have one faith and one God in Jesus Christ,” he said.
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