Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Pedro Lopez Quintana has opened the Indian Church’s first mission congress on Oct. 14 urging Catholics to witness their faith through service. The Church by its very nature is missionary and every Catholic has to become the light of Christ and live it daily, the papal representative told 1,500 delegates from 160 dioceses, UCA News reports.
The five-day Prabhu Yesu Mahtosav (Lord Jesus grand festival) in Mumbai is a follow-up to the Asian Mission Congress held in Chiang Mai, Thailand, in 2006, in which one of the resolutions was to hold similar national, regional and diocesan congresses.
Archbishop Lopez Quintana described the congress as “a remarkable event” in the Indian Church’s history.
The Church always invites, but does not force, people to follow Jesus, the papal representative said, in an apparent reference to allegations that the Church’s humanitarian works are a facade for converting people.
Observing that the event is taking place during Diwali, India’s festival of lights, the archbishop said Christians have to help Christ’s light shine in modern society.
The nuncio also commended the Indian Church for choosing a “fitting” theme for the congress: “Let Your Light Shine: Become the Message and the Messenger.”
“We have to bring light to those ignorant of Christ, not only through our words, but particularly with our deeds of love and service,” the nuncio said.
Another task for Catholics was to create a “cultural of peace and love” in a country beset with sectarian and ethnic conflicts, he continued.
CBCI President, Cardinal Varkey Vithayathil of Ernakulam-Angamaly, hailed the congress as “a historic and unique” event that has united India’s three Catholic Church rites - the Latin, Syro-Malabar and Syro-Malankara rites.
“This intimate cooperation augurs well for the Catholic Church in India,” said the cardinal, who heads the Syro-Malabar Church.
Cardinal Vithayathil urged Catholics to proclaim their faith courageously. “We should not be only messengers of Christ but also the message ourselves,” he said while denying the charge that the Catholic Church engages in forced conversions.
Major Archbishop Moran Mar Baselios Cleemis of Trivandrum, head of the Syro-Malankara Church, said although the Church is “a miniscule minority” in India, its services to the poor, the oppressed and disadvantaged are deep and wide.
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