Malout: Cardinal George Alencherry, head of the Syro-Malabar Church, has called on missionaries to spread Christ’s message mainly through their personal examples.
“More than any other way, we must give Christ to others by attraction,” asserted Cardinal Alencherry while opening a three-day seminar to celebrate the golden jubilee of a Vatican II decree on missionary activities.
Cardinal Alencherry, who was the chief guest at the seminar, said the Church’s evangelization works are rooted in the Gospel values and that the “conflicts and inflicts that exist between communities and religions invite us all to be more and more Christian.”
Echoing Pope Francis’ condemnation of careerism among priests and nuns, the Syro-Malabar leader stressed the “need to flee from the temptation” of becoming professionals.
“We are not called to be so, but givers of Christ. Cost of discipleship is apostleship. We must always be humble, simple and let all the people see in us a church that has been and is always poor,” added the prelate who has been championing for simplicity and austerity after taking over as head of the second largest Oriental rite in Catholic Church in 2011.
The October 16-18 seminar was organized by Faridabad diocese at Malout, a town in Punjab, some 370 km northwest of New Delhi.
It marked the 50 years of Ad Gentes (To The Nations) the Vatican decree promulgated by Pope Paul VI on December 7, 1965. It focuses on the factors involved in mission work. It calls for the continued development of missionary acculturation. It encourages missionaries to live with the people, absorb their ways and culture in their efforts to bring Christ’s message to them.
The decree also encourages the coordination of mission work through agencies and the cooperation with other groups and organizations within the Catholic Church and other denominations.
Such cooperation among India’s three ritual Churches has become necessary after the country’s three rites recently began missionary works in the country’s northern region.
Until now, such works were mostly handled by the Latin rite.
The Syro-Malabar Church expanded its missionary activities to northern India after the creation of Faridabad diocese in 2012. The diocese covers states such as Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi and parts of Uttar Pradesh.
In 2015, the other Oriental rite, the Syro-Malankara Church, too opened its Gurgaon diocese that covers 22 states spread over the entire north, east and northeastern regions of India.
The seminar was attended by 250 participants, including Latin Archbishop Albert D’Souza of Agra, Syro-Malabar Archbishop Kuriakose Bharanikulangara of Faridabad and Bishops Antony Chirayath, Sebastian Vadakkel and Gratian Mundadan.
Priests and nuns from Faridabad and Jalandhar dioceses and members of the Congregation of St Theresa working in Punjab also attended the seminar where the main discussion centered on various aspects of evangelization, missionary activities, social works, educational and other institutional activities of the Church.
The participants visited villages in Punjab and shared their experiences as part of the seminar.
Archbishop D’souza, who represented the Latin Church, commended the Syro-Malabar Church, especially Faridabad diocese, for “the wonderful mission works it has started” in the region.
The Latin prelate said the region’s established dioceses must help in the mission work the new dioceses and congregations.
“Be happy always when others do what you cannot do,” he added.
Archbishop Bharanikulangara thanked those who worked behind the success of the event, which ended at Hanumangarh in Rajasthan, some 90 km south of Malout.