Authentic Christian life is a challenge, says top Indian bishop

Bangalore, India, Mar 15, 2007 / 07:13 am

The Catholic Church must be present to young people and share the faith with people of other cultures and religions. These were some of the ideas shared at a national conference, held March 7-9 in Bangalore, in preparation for the 2008 Indian Mission Congress.

“In India, it is a challenge to live as authentic Christians in our own surroundings first, to tell the Good News to our neighbors, other cultures and other religions in a dialogue of life,” Archbishop Oswald Gracias reportedly told conference delegates. Archbishop Gracias is president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India.

According to a Fides report, Archbishop Bernard Moras of Bangalore underlined the effects of globalization on modern culture and people. In particular, he noted that many young people migrate to Bangalore for work or to obtain professional and technical education.

The “pastoral care of this young migrant generation is the formidable task of the Christian community,” he said.

Msgr. Jan Dumond, secretary general of the Pontifical Society St. Peter Apostle, also attended the conference.

“The foremost mission of the Church is to build community as in the early Christian times,” Msgr. Dumont told Fides. “And then there is a move towards the world which is foreign to the Christian community values and faith.

“This openness to the world is an historical sign of the presence of the Holy Spirit, who impels us with divine dynamics,” he stated, adding that he was pleased to see the great progress of the Church in India.