The initiative is from the Ministry for Religious Affairs. The aim is to encourage peaceful relations among religious communities. Bishop Kubi to youth: "You are Christ's ambassadors." The next meeting in Sylhet.
Mymensingh (AsiaNews) - Bangladesh's Ministry of Religious Affairs wants to boost harmony in society. That's why it is sponsoring a series of "ethics and morality" meetings specifically aimed at young Christians. The last one was held yesterday in Mymensingh, about 120km from Dhaka, in the local offices of Caritas. The 57 participants, all university students of different Christian denominations, bishop. Pontius Paul Kubi of Mymensingh, "You are Christ's ambassadors. Bring Christian values and put them into practice in everyday life. "
One of the present was Bipu Borsho Rema, organizational secretary of Bangladesh Garo Chitro Sangaton, a student association. He reports: "A Catholic priest taught us about the Ten Commandments. As a Christian I must first be honest and then induce others to behave properly."
Charles Sourav Sharma, another young man, speaks about using the Internet: "We do not use it in the right way and we often make mistakes." "Then we discussed harmony," he continues, "and we learned what our role as Christians is in creating brotherhood with other confessions." Noyomi Mankin, a young girl, adds: "We understand what mistakes we are making, and how much the absence of morality and ethics has a negative impact on our lives."
The meeting was organized by the Christian Religious Welfare Trust, a branch of the ministary. By inaugurating the works, Matiur Rahman, head of the Ministry for Religious Affairs, said: "The government wants young people from all faiths to cultivate their religious values. We invest in Christian youth so that they can aim to be perfect adults.”
Bishop Kubi invited the young people to "maintain good relations with people of other faiths, so to build a peaceful society." The purpose of the seminars - the first of which took place in the capital and the next one is planned in Sylhet in one week - is to encourage peaceful relationships among religious communities.
Nirmol Rozario, secretary of the Christian Religious Welfare Trust, asserts to AsiaNews: "The government really wants to increase the [sense] of ethics and morality in young Christians. They are tomorrow's leaders and so we have to care for them. "
During the meetings Fr. Ignotious Gomes spoke of the importance of ethics and morality to "change society". Chayan Hubert Reberio then discussed the role and responsibilities of young people in forming a harmonious society. Nirmol Rozario, on the other hand, focused on the mistakes young people can make. "Some young Christians – he said - are addicted to drugs and alcohol. For us it is a great challenge. That is why we have warned them in the seminar about the use of drugs and the consumption of alcohol."