Dhaka: Bishops and FABC urge 'new paths' of journey 'on synodality'
Bishops, priests, nuns and over a hundred faithful participated in a seminar entitled "Journeying Together. Unity foundational value of the Church. Layman calls deepening knowledge of Fabc's mission a "new and enriching experience." Archbishop of Dhaka: family where unity is most evident.
Dhaka (AsiaNews) - An "important" seminar during which "I learned many things I didn't know" about some aspects of the faith and the "role" that each of the faithful plays "in building a society" that can be defined truly "Catholic".
This is what Eva Marak told AsiaNews, among the hundreds of people who attended the day of meetings promoted by the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences (FABC) and the Church of Bangladesh in Dhaka and entitled "Journeying Together".
Archbishops, bishops, priests, nuns, religious and laity were present at the event and it was an opportunity to motivate a greater commitment to community life: "I hope that all the participants - adds the woman - like me can contribute more to the Church".
Fr. Marcus Murmu, senior priest of the diocese of Dinajpur, underlines the importance of unity as a founding value of a Church and thanks the Bishops' Conference for promoting and strongly supporting him.
“I think - he explains - that the group discussion clarified the concepts of the universal, Asian, local Church, the New Path [...] A fruitful seminar. We participants have benefited and received indications on the 'must be' and on the 'must do' in order to truly be a synodal Church".
In Bangladesh, the laity do not have much knowledge of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences and, in this sense, the meeting proved to be central to deepening the theme as emerges from the words of Rosline Costa, a laywoman: "It is a new and enriching experience to learn about the FABC vision, mission and associations”.
Starting from the search for "new paths for this collective journey of synodality", which the representatives of the eight dioceses "tried to find together. We appreciated - he adds - this process of discovery”.
The organizers outlined the seminar's objectives: to introduce the FABC vision, mission, structure and procedures; highlight the significant events of the journey of the Church of Bangladesh together with the FABC; find new ways for the FABC and the Church of Bangladesh to walk together towards the future mission.
A prominent lay leader, who requested anonymity, says that the FABC "gives priority to the laity" but this indication is not always taken up by individual bishops. “We could contribute – he told AsiaNews – much more to the activities of the FABC, but we don't know much about it. The bishops could involve us”.
During the seminar Msgr. Bejoy N. D'Cruze, archbishop of Dhaka and president of the Cbcb, explained that "a clear example of walking together is the family. And its unity is most evident within married life.”
The unity between Jesus and the Church, warns the prelate, is "what He has given us in our lives. That is, the love of Jesus is an excellent example of love in earthly life." The archbishop then added that there is charity and love in the life of priests and consecrated women. But true love lies in unity which, while requiring "self-sacrifice", at the same time makes family life "stronger". “If it's not strong, then - he warns - we lack true love. The place of true love is the family."
The FABC was born in Manila in 1970 under the guidance of the bishops of Asia and Pope Paul VI. It is a voluntary confederation that brings together the Bishops' Conferences of South, South-East, East and Central Asia. The mission is to promote solidarity and co-responsibility among its members for the welfare of the Church and society in Asia, and to promote and protect all that is for the common good.
.png)
23/08/2004
