austraLasia #2250



'Reconciler of communities in tension' lines up for the October Synod on the Word

GUWAHATI: 9th September 2008 --  Pope Benedict XVI has decided to include in the initial phases of the coming Synod (October 5-26), a brief assessment of the state-of-affairs in the Church on each continent in relation to the topic The Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church. He has chosen Archbishop Thomas Menamparampil of Guwahati, India, to treat the subject for the Asian continent.
    Archbishop Menamparampil will be one of six Salesians chosen as representatives or experts for the Synod - seven, should the Secretary of State put in an appearance! The others are Cardinals Rodriguez Maradiaga and Zen, Archbishop Farina;  Frs Bissoli and Zervini, both of the UPS, as experts.
    The Guwahati archbishop, 72 years of age, is currently the Chairman of the Office of Evangelisation for the Federation of Asian Bishops Conferences (FABC). He had held this responsibility 17 years ago for two terms and was recently re-elected to the Office by the Central Committee of the FABC. He was the Special Secretary of the Asian Synod in 1998. Presently he is Chairman of the regional conference of bishops for Northeast India. Author of several books and articles, he has reflected at depth and written extensively on evangelisation, culture and its relationship to Church services, civic responsibility of Christians, and probity in public life. He is conversant with the challenges facing the Church in Asia and equally alert to newly arising opportunities.
    Locally Archbishop Menamparampil is known for his innovative ways of evangelisation. However, he remains equally committed to Dialogue and creative thinking on the theme of inculturation. He insists on seriousness and depth when speaking of these matters. Having worked for over four decades in Northeast India, a region known for frequent ethnic conflicts, he has emerged as a reconciler of communities in tension. With his ecumenical friends, he has intervened with amazing success in several ethnic conflicts in which hundreds of lives had been lost. Leading a fast-growing Church, he does not rule out the possibility of an Orissa-type drive against Christians even in his region.  But he remains optimistic.
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 AustraLasia is an email service for the Salesian Family of Asia Pacific.  It also functions as an agency for ANS based in Rome.  For queries please contact admin@bosconet.aust.com . Use Bosconet-wiki to be interactive. RSS feeds - just go to Bosconet, click on austraLasia 2008 in the sidebar. You will see the RSS orange icon in your browser address bar - add it from there.  Avail yourself of the Salesian Digital Library at at http://sdl.sdb.org

Title: australasia 2250
Subject and key words: S Asia Guwahati Arch. Menamparampil
Date (year): 2008
ID: 2000-2099|2250