Rome, Italy, Sep 7, 2010 / 16:07 pm
Participants of the laity congress taking place in Seoul, South Korea this week sent a letter to Pope Benedict XVI offering their commitment as a “small flock” in a vast continent of millions to “proclaim Christ in Asia today.”
“Dear Holy Father, we are your ‘small flock,’ a flock that at times may appear small and insufficient in a vast continent of millions of inhabitants and age-old cultural and religious traditions, which contrast with a new economic and social, chaotic and rapid growth that puts Asia on the forefront of the world stage with greater weight,” the letter states.
According to Vatican Radio, the Asian faithful thanked the Holy Father for his closeness and affection and recalled his recent statement that “the greatest witness Christians in Asia can give today is to show the joy and beauty of Christian life.”
They told the Pope that despite their small numbers, they keep ever present in their minds the words of Pope John Paul II in the Apostolic Exhortation Ecclesia in Asia, underscoring that “the Peoples of Asia need Jesus Christ and his Gospel. Asia thirsts for the living water that only Jesus can give.”