Kalay (AsiaNews) - With enthusiasm and determination, the new bishop of the new diocese of Kalay, Mgr. Felix Lian Khen Thang, wants to help the ethnic Chin people – the majority in the area - to remain and not emigrate. In a conversation with AsiaNews he stresses that to achieve this greater care must be given to the environment (the forest) where the Chin live and support evangelization with human development through education projects and cooperatives.
The bishopric of Kalay - erected as a diocese by Benedict XVI May 22, 2010 - is located in the city of Kalaymyo. On 29 June the 50 year old bishop officiated Mass in the church of Saint Mary, which now becomes a cathedral. The function was attended by two archbishops and eleven bishops, along with 2 thousand Catholics and other Christians of many denominations. During the ceremony, the prelates ordained five new priests.
The bishop also stressed the importance of maturing Catholics in their faith, so they are able to interact in dialogue with Protestants and Buddhists.
Located in northwest Myanmar near the border with India, the new diocese covers a large area of Chin territory, a Burmese ethnic group that forms the majority of the population which converted to Christianity en masse: 80% of Protestant faith, while only 3.6% are Catholic. Suffragan of the Archdiocese of Mandalay, the bishopric of Kalay is bordered to the east by the Diocese of Myitkyina and south by the Archdiocese of Mandalay and the Diocese of Hakha.
For Mgr. Thang "the abandonment of villages in search of fortune" abroad or elsewhere in the country is the most urgent scourge. For this, the prelate, who is also an ethnic Chin, aims to safeguard the environment and the specific identity of his ethnicity and the other five ethnic groups living in the region. "We must preserve creation, the gift of God, eliminating the disorder that we humans create. In this way we can promote the life of tribal people and hope for greater prosperity and quality of life”.
The diocese includes 22 parishes Kalay and about 50 thousand faithful. It is home to 51 priests, a deacon, 17religious, 43 seminarians and 120 catechists. The pastoral care is entrusted to Mgr. Thang, ordained in 1990. In Rome, in 1993, he obtained a doctorate in canon law, and was formed i the Vatican diplomatic corps. He previously served as secretary to the apostolic nuncio in Madagascar, Bangladesh and Morocco.