By Matters India Reporter

Pune, October 15, 2019: When Argentinian Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio chose for his papal name Francis after the globally acclaimed the poor one of Assisi on March 13, 2013, many expected him to strive for renewal in the Church plagued with innumerable problems — internal and external.

How far has he succeeded in the past six and half years of his pontificate?

Church leaders, scholars, social activists, lay faithful and theology students in India will study Pope Francis’ teachings at an international, interdisciplinary symposium.

Jnana-Deepa Vidyapeeth (JDV), a Pontifical institute for philosophy and religion in Pune, Maharashtra, will organize the program November 29-30.

“While a few have reacted vehemently to the changes being introduced by Pope Francis, a large majority of Christians solidly stand alongside him, for they know that he ‘walks the talk’ and resolutely seeks to be ‘radical,’ not ‘liberal,’ as his adversaries allege him to be,” Father Jesuraj Ravappan, one of the organizers, told Matters India.

The Divine Word priest, who teaches church history, says being radical entails re-reading Jesus’ gospel from the perspective of the ‘least’ of his sisters and brothers (Mt 25:31ff) whom he loved, lived for, and sacrificed himself in ‘the scandal of the cross.

He noted that it is already more than 50 years since the completion of the Vatican II. “Pope Francis has been trying his best to actualize the council fathers’ dream,” he added.

The seminar will held under the aegis of JDV’s faculty and postgraduate students of JDV and the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India Office for Theology and Doctrine.

Father Rayappan says the symposium is being organized because of what is happening in the Church. “It seeks to review the challenges of Vatican II to ensure that the gains it envisaged some 50 years ago is bearing fruit in the life and mission of the Church, today. This we do by striving to look at Church and world with the eyes of Pope Francis,” he added.

The seminar will reflect on the apostolic exhortations, encyclicals, letters, homilies and other musings of Pope Francis and pointedly ask: ‘How are these furthering the vision and mission mapped in Vatican II?’

The seminar will cover varieties of topics such as migration and the refugee crises, ecology and care of environment, inter-religious dialogue and collaboration, science-religion dialogue, political involvement of the church, peace and reconciliation initiatives, family and its mission in church and world, vocation, responsibility and challenges of youth, role of women in church and society.

Other topics include discernment as the key to responding to God, clericalism as a cancer plaguing Church, sexual abuse by clerics, ecumenism and dialogue among churches, being a church of the poor and periphery, mercy and compassion, liturgy: from cultic to prophetic-contextual-celebrative, sacraments: from cleric-centered to people-centered.

“Pope Francis is Christ’s messenger of freedom and liberation, of justice and love, of forgiveness and mercy, a servant of life,” Jesuit Father Arjen Tete, another seminar organizer, told Matters India when asked about the relevance of Pope Francis for the Indian Church,

Pope Francis challenges the Indian Church to take part in the liberation of men and women from all that enslaves them, to participate in the struggles of the poor and the oppressed for life and bread.

The example of Pope could empower the voices of Dalits and tribals to shake the Indian Church out of its complacency, asserted Father Tete, a tribal and a young faculty member of JDV.

“Pope Francis is a person of dialogue. His example of dialogue encourages the Indian Church and those who do not belong to it to walk and work together to make this earth a more beautiful home for all people. Now, in India, poison of hatred and violence is being spread, the Pope is relevant for the country because he encourages us to build up a reconciled community of men and women living in dynamic harmony with God, with one another and with nature.”

JDV is a premier institute of deep learning and scholarly research in philosophy and theology. It has always been at the forefront in reflecting upon and responding to crucial concerns that affect church and society in India.

The Jesuit-managed JDV was established in Kandy (Sri Lanka) in 1893 and was transferred to Pune (India) in 1955, catering primarily to the formation of candidates to the Catholic priesthood.

In the 1970s and 1980s, JDV was the driving force for inculturation and liberation theology for the Indian church.

JDV has continued in its pioneering activities in the Indian Church for more than a decade pursuing dialogue between science and religion.