austraLasia #2226



'Middle Earth' Mission meeting!

QUITO (Ecuador): 12th August 2008 --  Middle Earth?  Quito describes itself as 'mitad del mundo', and that, translated, can easily be 'Middle Earth'!  It also happens to be the location currently for one of the world's grandest assemblies focused on mission, though the special focus is mission in the Americas.  We are speaking of CAM3, the third American Mission Congress running from 12-17 August. 
    Of interest to EAO readers?  Well yes, for several reasons.  There is a Church delegation from Indonesia and one from PNG present.  This is not a 'Salesian' Congress as such, though being in Quito, and with a cluster of venues all within metres of each other (Catholic University -SJ, Salesian Polytech University - SDB, and the University  Sports League Stadium - all 'religions'!), with the key presence of notables like Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga, the Salesian Missions Councillor Fr Klement, his FMA counterpart Sr Ciri, the Regional for Interamerica Fr Ortiz, and a host of delegates for Youth Ministry and Missions from the Salesian Americas, it is partly that too.  The Holy Father has sent a special envoy in the person of Cardinal Nicolas Lopez Rodriguez (Archbishop of Santo Domingo, Dom Republic).
    CAM3 has taken 44 months of preparation, including 14 national mission congresses leading up to it. It involves a total of 3,110 registered participants from all over the world which includes 1,219 missionaries from five continents. Approximately 1,500 of the participants are from outside of Ecuador.  AT the 'top' level it involves presidents of episcopal conferences, leaders of religious congregations, other ecclesiastical authorities. Quito being Quito, a friendly, community-oriented city, some two and a half thousand Quitan Catholic families are helping with accommodation.
    Topics covered over the next few days range widely: Mission ad gentes in today's world, Mission and Family, Mission and globalisation, Mission exclusion and migration, Mission and the laity, Mission and youth, Mission action and human dignity, Mission culture and peoples, Mission and ecology, Mission and media, Mission ecumenism and inter-religious dialogue, Mission education and the intellectual world, Mission spirituality, Mission and religious fundamentalism, Mission and women, Mission science and technology.
    It is of interest to note that in October, Quito's Salesian University will be the centre for an international congress on this final topic, but more specifically focused on free software and the democratic construction of knowledge.  Little doubt that Quito, from just about any angle, is truly 'middle earth' for the moment!
  _________________
 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 2226
Subject and key words: SDB General CAM3 Mission
Date (year): 2008
ID: 2000-2099|2226