austraLasia #2218


M28 - mission animation in Philippines North Province

MANILA: 7th August 2008 --  The latest edition of 'M28' (from Matthew 28:19) has been published from Manila. In fact, it is No. 18 of a series of mission e-letters that began under quite a different name, 'Auxiliaries of the Mission', and is the official voice of mission animation in FIN province.  The current August edition runs with the metaphor of 'border crossing' as a way to describe mission.
    Each edition focuses on a missionary - usually a missionary from the province itself.  On this occasion the focus is on Fr Ariel Macatangay who has served in PNG for the past nine years. He is currently the Director of Novices and Rector of Don Bosco School in Kumgi, in the highlands north of Port Moresby.
    Both Philippines provinces are very conscious of mission, stemming not only from the position of the nation in Asia as a Catholic country with great responsibility for evangelization in the region, but also from their origins.  There are moves afoot, in conjunction with China Province, to formally open the Cause for Canonisation of Fr Charles Braga, who was the 'founding father' of the Salesian presence in the Philippines.
    While the formal mission presence of the FIN province is represented by the PNG-SI Delegation (and for FIS, the presence in Pakistan), it is interesting to note that from various parts of the Pacific, requests still come in for Salesian presence.  The provincial, Fr Eli Cruz, notes in his recent circular to confrères, that Guam Archdiocese would like the Salesians to come there.  There are no commitments to this venture as yet, simply a respectful listening to the circumstances and desires of the Archbishop of Guam, Anthony Apuron.  Guam, part of the region known as Micronesia, is closer to Manila than to Tokyo, yet is also an unincorporated territory of the US.  There are Salesian communities in Melanesia (PNG-SI-Fiji) and  Polynesia (Samoa), but currently none in Micronesia. Some diocesan students for the priesthood from Guam come far south to the Pacific Regional Seminary in Fiji for their studies.  Others go to the US but because of its relative closeness, Guam also has many connections with the Philippines.

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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 2218
Subject and key words: EAO Provinces FIN Mission animation
Date (year): 2008
ID: 2000-2099|2218