by Xin Yage

A three-day seminar to absorb the wealth of the Synod on the Family and focus on strategies for accompanying youth. The mission of 4 thousand Catholic teachers in the island.

Taipei (AsiaNews) - The annual meeting of Catholic teachers in Taiwan took place a few days ago. With more than 70 participants from all over the island, the educators gathered in Taipei April 15 to 17 to reflect, discuss, share, learn and plan for the future.

Archbishop John Hong (洪山川 總 主教) opened the three days with a passionate appeal to the evangelizing and educational mission of the Church. "Jesus taught and amazed the crowds; he sowed the seeds to curiosity in the disciples to grow and discover something greater than themselves; he accompanied those who followed him with special care".

The theme of this year’s encounter is "the Gospel of the family" and in the educational context, the archbishop recalled some moments of the Synod experienced in Rome last year.  He noted how the Pope and the Synod are very attentive to the problems of family. All bishops, Christians and teachers must "listen and dedicate time to educate values."

The second day focused on participants’ experience and the need to foster communication with the young people and to update themselves to digital age. Then Father Jerome Guevara (柯建 融 神父) introduced the apostolic exhortation of Pope Francis "The joy of the gospel" (福音 的 喜樂) illustrating the link with the spirit of Ignatian discernment and the style of Pope Francis.

The third day, on Friday morning, there was the presentation of Father Louis Gendron (詹德隆 神父) on response and accompaniment to offer to students who experience parental separation, the situations of families with parents of the same gender or contexts where there are extramarital affairs by one or both spouses.
"Among the teachers, the most encouraging thing is the young age of the new participants: this gives us a hope and a strength that no other element can replace. If there is a strong generational bond we can transmit everything that the adult generations have experienced and learned, directly to the new recruits, eager to continue this important mission in schools "enthuses Professor Wang of Taichung.

There are 48 Catholic schools in Taiwan with about 4 thousand professors and educators. Many of the teachers work in state schools and create a bond that enriches all the realities and the contexts in which they operate. Next year, the meeting will take place in Hsinchu, always during the month of April.

• taiwan
• catholic
• education
• gospel
• family
• youth