Preparations for the first ever Mission Congress (19-22 October 2006) are well under way.
Bangkok (AsiaNews) The Catholic Bishops' Conference of Thailand gathered youth from Catholic schools across the country (11 -12 August) for a two-day missionary congress. The meeting was held at St Joseph Seminary in Samphran, and was based on the theme: "Go then, to all peoples everywhere and make them my disciples" (Mt 28:19).
The main objective of the encounter was to inspire youth to be more decisive in taking up their duty to evangelize and to learn to live like 'missionaries'. The meeting, prepared by Fr Vidhaya Kaew-waen, head of the Pastoral and Missionary Commission of the Archdiocese of Bangkok, also served to pave the way for the first Asian Mission Congress, due to be held in Chiang Mai from 19 to 22 October this year. The congress is being organized by the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences (FABC) and the Vatican Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples and it aims to uphold a notion dear to John Paul II, namely that the third millennium will belong to Asia's evangelization.
Thailand has been chosen to host the congress because it is one of Asia's most liberal nations where religion is concerned. The Thai Church has been gearing up for the event for the whole year: it has been celebrating the year of evangelization since 15 October 2005 (until 14 October 2006).