2004 ITM Priests, religious in Church seminar on family
austraLasia #2004
Priests, Religious from East Timor's two dioceses gather for
ongoing formation
DILI: 11th December 2007 -- The two bishops of East Timor,
Bishop Alberto Ricardo da Silva of Dili and Bishop Basilio do
Nascimento of Bacau gathered many of the priests and Religious from
their respective dioceses for an inter-diocesan ongoing formation
meeting in the capital, Dili, on 5-6 December. The meeting, which
was
held at the Salesian Sisters' John Paul II Hall in Dili, covered a wide
range of pastoral issues facing clergy and religious in East
Timor.
Four canonists from the two dioceses offered the substance of the
formation, much of which concerned pastoral care in relation to
marriage and family.
As East Timor takes its place in a rapidly-changing
world, it too
notes the pressures now being placed on family relationships. The
Dili
meeting was an effort to prepare those responsible for pastoral care of
families to adopt common approaches. Three issues stood out: The
question of annulments, Barlake (Bride price or dowry - it is not
unusual for some families to take the better part of a lifetime to
settle the dowry), and the nature of the Sacrament of Matrimony.
Participants proposed to adopt marriage preparation
procedures that
will be common across the two diocese, to visit families and encourage
couples to celebrate their wedding anniversaries, and to give proper
formation to those who wish to marry foreigners. They also
tackled the
problem of the increasing tendency to divorce, and in particular agreed
to undertake a proper dialogue with the Government to prevent the
establishment of laws which permit divorce and also abortion.
They
will also work with Government to help people live in harmony. _________________ AustraLasia is an
email
service
for the Salesian Family of Asia Pacific. It also functions
as an
agency for ANS based in
Rome.
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