Kathmandu (AsiaNews) – The directors of many South Asian Catholic cultural centres are meeting from 29 April till 2 May at a Catholic Pastoral centre in Godavari, a few kilometres from Kathmandu, for a conference designed to see how the Christian faith can interact with local cultures and values. Upon the arrival the many participants were welcomed by Mgr Anthony Sharma, Apostolic Vicar for Nepal.

Mgr Pedro Lopez Quintana, Apostolic Nuncio for India and Nepal, Fr Bernard Ardura from the Pontifical Council for Culture, and bishops and Church officials from India, Nepal and Myanmar as well as representatives of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC) are attending the event.

During the conference various papers will be presented, each focusing on ways the Gospel can enter into dialogue with the cultures of South Asia, which are steeped in the traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism, whilst safeguarding the dignity of man and the fundamental values of these cultures, increasingly jeopardised by rapid globalisation.