austraLasia 1022
Taiwan: Bishop Bosco celebrates Don
Bosco
TAINAN: 31st January 2005
-- Bishop Bosco Lim, the recently appointed Bishop of
Tainan (previously Auxiliary Bishop of Kaoshiung) is no 'accidental'
diocesan-and-Salesian-at-heart. He is in fact a past pupil of the UPS, and
more precisely the education faculty of that Salesian University in Rome.
So it was no wonder that he found himself at Tainan Salesian Professional
School, as they call it, for the vigil of the Feast of St John
Bosco.
Taiwan is no walkover
in evangelisation terms. The Salesian technical venture there has 2000
students of whom but 5 are Catholic. The Bishop thanked the Salesians for
their efforts in this context; his view of Don Bosco being that of the
Saint who rediscovered youth for the Church. Clearly he was of the opinion
that the Salesians were of inestimable value for his own hopes for youth in
or out of the Church in Tainan.
This was a special
occasion - 25 years of Salesian presence in Tainan. It began back then
with the presence of Fr Thomas Panakhezam, the Regional at the time. On
this occasion Fr Vaclav Klement, the current regional, was able to be
there.
For the Feastday of Don
Bosco there were special celebrations at the school, including an overnight
celebration for the students. On Sunday there was a basketball tournament
for Filipino parishioners, of whom there are many, organised by Fr Jojo
Garcia.
The school compound now
features paintings by the students, officially inaugurated on this occasion -
depictions of Don Bosco's dream at nine years of age, with additional Catholic
and generally religious motifs displayed along the school buildings
fronting the footpath ('sidewalk' they call it but the writer has antipodean
training!).
But it really doesn't stop
there. This is a 'Salesian' presence, not just SDBs.
Three minutes walk across the road one meets the Salesian
Sisters' newly inaugurated (December) Laura Vicuña Youth Centre, all four
stories of it with evangelisation and recreational facilities and a 30 bed
capacity retreat facility to boot.
It might be added that
in addtion to all the above, this Tainan Salesian setting is also the Province
centre for Taiwan missionary preparation, there being Salesians from no fewer
than 5 different nations studying Chinese culture and language from this vantage
point. All the evangelisation difficulties aside, it is an ideal location,
and perhaps precisely for that reason! And with Bishop Bosco so keen to
develop a vibrant youth ministry, it is no surprise that he counts heavily on
the Salesian presence.
__________________________
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