Mission World
21.01.2009
Stepping forward
Catholics in Pakistan face up to challenges of living in a Muslim country. Iris George used to hide the chain with a cross around her neck to avoid questions from her Muslim colleagues. But after attending Pakistan's first Mission Congress, she has changed her mind.
"They used to ask confusing questions regarding the Trinity and my Christian faith, and then come up with a flood of information about their own religion, so I decided not to show the cross. But now I will not hesitate showing my Christian identity," she told UCA News.
George, 50, was one of 190 delegates -- priests, Religious sisters and brothers, lay catechists and other parishioners -- from the country's two archdioceses, four dioceses and one apostolic prefecture at the Nov. 25-28 congress. They reflected on "Telling the Story of Jesus," echoing the theme of the first Asian Mission Congress, held in October 2006 in Thailand.
After the opening ceremonies at St. Patrick's Cathedral in Karachi, 1,150 kilometers southwest of Islamabad, delegates spent most of the next three days in faith-sharing sessions and workshops, and praying together.
George, a teacher, shared her experience during one of these sessions. "One cannot tell the story of Jesus without experiencing him," she told delegates. "We can tell stories of Jesus by acting upon his teachings. We also need to discover new ways to proclaim the Good News," she added.
Likewise, Peter John, a mechanic from Quetta, near the border with Afghanistan, told UCA News: "Time spent in the congress was like being in a church for 12 hours every day. It helped me understand the importance of communion." He said delegates plan to organize parish gatherings and then separate mission congresses for various groups including women, children, youth and the elderly.
According to delegates, the common challenges Pakistani Christians face in telling the story of Jesus are fear of the Muslim majority and their own lack of knowledge of the Bible. They suggested ways of retelling the story of Jesus such as through folk music in liturgy, family prayer and Christian greetings. "Many people prefer using Islamic names for their children nowadays so they do not face difficulty finding jobs," a delegate said in his presentation.
Father Mario Rodrigues, national director of the Pontifical Mission Societies, which organized the congress, reported that delegates from different dioceses conducted morning and evening prayers, organized the daily Mass and sang hymns in their local language.
Karachi, Pakistan (UCAN)
Lament at the State of Jails in Latin America and the Caribbean
"For Jesus, no life is a throw-away," affirmed a group of prison ministers reflecting on the state of jails in Latin America and the Caribbean as part of their declaration at the end of the 6th Latin American and Caribbean convention on prison ministry, held in late November 2008.
The prison ministers said, "We are witnesses to the reality that the majority of the prisons on our continent are inhuman compounds, characterized by trade in weapons and drugs, overcrowding, torture, organized crime and the absence of humanisation programs."
The prison ministers denounced a prison system they characterized as "contrary to the plan of God." The conference participants said it is "fundamental and urgent that the governments of our countries invest in quality public education, especially for the poorest and most marginalized sectors of society."
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic, 2008 (Zenit.org).
