Site hosted by Angelfire.com: Build your free website today!

ASIAN BISHOPS CONVIVENCE

Kota Kinabalu 9 to 13 April 2002

Convivence

Eucharistic Celebration during the Convivence

Asian Bishops¡¯ Convivence¡­¡­¡­1

Asian Bishops¡¯ Convivence¡­¡­¡­1

 

KOTA KINABALU ¨C About 120 Asian bishops attended a meeting at a tourist resort near here April 9-13, at the invitation of the initiators of the Neocatechumenal Way, Kiko Arguello and Carmen Hernandez from Spain.

"The Neocatechumenal Way is a true renewal in the apostolic tradition for the service of the Church - even, may I say ¨C for the salvation of the Church," said Cardinal Paul Shan of Kaohsiung, Taiwan, at a Eucharist on the final day of the gathering.

Cardinal Shan and Cardinal Ricardo Vidal, the Archbishop of Cebu in the Philippines had joined the initiators in issuing the invitation to the bishops for the meeting. Referring to the Church after the Second Vatican Council, and in particular to the Neocatechumenal Way as an instrument to help the Church in Asia in our times, Cardinal Shan said the Council was like a typhoon.

"We who come from the countries around the Pacific know very well how violent typhoons are.

"Many branches fall from the trees. But the typhoon cleans the forest. Once it is over, new branches grow with vitality and bear more fruit."

Bishop John Lee, head of the hosting Diocese of Kota Kinabalu, said in his welcoming remarks on the first day, that in recent years, the Church in Asia had been moving into "a new way of being Church".

He added that the idea of journeying together in small communities seemed to be the common pastoral goals.

"This move is imperative, because we are ¡®a small flock¡¯ within the fast developing economies and societies in the (Asian) region.

"This Convivence is, therefore, most timely and historical," Bishop Lee said.

The bishops at the Convivence came from almost all countries in Asia and were accompanied by itinerant catechists, including 123 priests, who had worked in this continent for many years.

By far the biggest contingent was the 52 bishops from India, including some belonging to the Syro-Malabar and Syro Malancaric traditions.

Also at the gathering were bishops from the Philippines, Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Mongolia, Laos, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand and Turkmenistan.

Five bishops from Australia and some from the Oceania, such as Guam, the Marshall Islands, New Zealand, Papau New Guinea, Tara and Nauru and Vanuatu were also present.

The Neocatechumenal Way, started 35 years ago in Spain, is now present in 16 Asian countries, 74 dioceses with more than 750 communities.

The central questions and topics that the 374 participants, including families in mission, raised and discussed during the five-day meeting were:

How to evangelize in Asia? How to help Christians in the continent face with a global and secularized culture? What are the Neocatechumenal Way and the purpose of the 46 "Redemptoris Mater" diocesan missionary seminaries it has so far established throughout the world?

Aside from time given for reflections on those questions, the days were marked by solemn liturgies every morning and evening.

The following statement in the letter of invitation explains the central focus of the Convivence:

"Today, the Christian initiation of adults is vital for putting the New Evangelization into practice. A serious itinerary of formation of faith lived in small communities where the seed of baptism that has been received can grow to adult stature.

"This is the gift which we have received and which we offer to the bishops as a response to the great challenges faced by the Church at the beginning of the Third Millennium."

 

Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe, the Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples at the Vatican, sent a letter that was read out to participants.

He said the Neocatechumenal Way was counted among valid instruments that had emerged and that could help the Church "to give an answer to contemporary man¡¯s search for fullness of life and peace".

"It is precisely to help your apostolic ministry that the Holy Spirit, which in every age gives life to impulses of greater fidelity to the Gospel, has aroused, by means of the Second Vatican Council, such valid instruments," Cardinal Sepe told the Asian bishops in his letter.

Among other Asian prelates at the Convivence were: Msgr. Joseph Tikang, Archbishop of Taipei, Taiwan; Msgr. Peter Chung, Archbishop of Kuching; Msgr. Cornelius Sim, Head of the Apostolic Prefecture of Brunei; Msgr. Antony Selvanayagam of Penang; Msgr. Dominic Su of Sibu; and Msgr. James Chan, Bishop Emeritus of Malacca-Johor.

Also present were: Mgrs. Alfred Gonti Pius, Archbishop of Medan and Msgr. Herculanus H. Bumbun, Archbishop of Pontianak, Indonesia.

The Asian Bishops¡¯ Convivence here was the sixth such convivence of bishops celebrated by the Neocatechumenal Way.

The last one was for bishops in the Americas, held in New York in April 1997.

The others were: Latin America, in Santo Domingo (1992); Europe, in Vienna (1993); Africa (1994) and the Middle East (1996) both held in Rome.

 

Ends.

 

Another story follows ¡­¡­¡­

 

 

 

Asian Bishops¡¯ Convivence¡­¡­¡­2

 

MALAYSIA: ¡®PROFOUND SPIRIT OF COMMUNION¡¯

AT ASIAN BISHOPS¡¯ CONVIVENCE

KOTA KINABALU ¨C Participants at the recently concluded Asian Bishops¡¯ Convivence held at the Nexus Resort Karambunai, near here, observed that the gathering was marked by an atmosphere of a profound spirit of communion.

About 120 Asian bishops, accompanied by 254 itinerant priests, laypersons and families in mission, attended the meeting April 9-13 at the invitation of the initiators of the Neocatechumenal Way, Kiko Arguello and Carmen Hernandez from Spain.

Many bishops commented, at the conclusion of the meeting, that the liturgies were "Truly celestial".

"There were moments when we found ourselves living in eternity, when time no longer mattered," said Msgr. Valerian D¡¯Souza, the Bishop of Poona (Maharastra), India.

Archbishop of Bangalore, India, Msgr. Ignatius Paul Pinto, said, "It has been a unique experience¡­120 bishops, with presbyters and lay people, together for five days in communion¡­it was like an experience of the primitive Christian communities."

Each day¡¯s program was concluded by a solemn Eucharistic celebration. For some bishops from communist countries, this was their first contact with all the renewal of the Council.

Many of the bishops were very impressed by the rich and elaborate liturgical signs.

The main resort ballroom was totally transformed for the liturgical celebrations, with wall-to-wall red carpets, several huge icons painted by Kiko himself erected around the hall, a well-decorated paschal candle, lots of fresh flowers and newly built presidential chair and lectern.

"These solemn liturgical celebrations can really touch the Asian soul," commented Msgr. Stephen Nguyen Nhu The, the Archbishop of Hue, Vietnam.

Organizers of the meeting said the Convivence was the first opportunity for more than two-thirds of the participants to be in direct contact with the initiators of the Way.

The bishops had an opportunity to discover what the Way could serve the needs of their respective diocese.

The organizers said that it was for this reason that Kiko gave the example of a cake; saying that it was not a matter of giving the recipe of ingredients that was important, but to give the bishops a taste of the cake.

"The idea is to show the bishops and priests concretely how this itinerary of faith could make a contribution to the evangelization of Asia.

"The great challenge is that Asia, the continent where the great religions were born, today finds itself caught between secularization and fundamentalism.

"It is certainly not a question of competing with the great religions, of building other temples, but of giving witness of the new life, of the new man, of the man of the beatitudes," the Convivence organizers said at the close of the meeting.

This was how Kiko explained who this "new man" is at one of the sessions: "It is Jesus Christ inside you; grace in you. It is to be able to live like Jesus Christ.

"In this man all the wars are over. It is in him that all the religions find their meaning."

Bishop John Lee, head of the hosting Diocese of Kota Kinabalu, also rejoiced over the successful conduct of the convivence.

"It was really good to see that so many bishops from all over Asia staying together and could speak and share their views freely.

"I am happy to have seen our brother bishops being so open. It was very enriching," he said at the close of the gathering.

Bishop Lee said that the fruit of the convivence or where to go from here would depend on the Holy Spirit.

He said it was left to the bishops who attended the meeting to reflect on the situation and needs of their respective diocese on return and to act accordingly.

He thanked Kiko for his choice of Kota Kinabalu as the venue for the Asian Bishops¡¯ Convivence.

"As a whole, the event was fantastic, although I had some reservations in the beginning," Bishop Lee added.

 

Ends.

 

 

From: Joseph Leong

Kota Kinabalu

Sabah, Malaysia

Tel: 6088 713888

Fax: 6088 727855

E-mail: saiho@pc.jaring.my

Postal Address: P.O. Box 10243

88802 Kota Kinabalu

Sabah, Malaysia

Back to Homepage