Bishop of Karnataka : Our Catholics ' living witnesses ' of Year of Faith
Mangalore ( AsiaNews) - "To be living witnesses of the faith , to follow the footsteps of Jesus Christ and to proclaim the Gospel in everyday life": according to Msgr. Aloysius Paul D' Souza, Bishop of Mangalore ( Karnataka ), these are the lessons that the faithful of his diocese have drawn from the Year of Faith that ended yesterday More than 20 thousand laity, 186 priests and thousands of nuns participated in the celebrations organized by the Church of Mangalore to mark the end of the Year convoked by Pope Benedict XVI on 11 October 2012, the day of the 50th anniversary of Vatican II and 20 years after promulgation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
Msgr. D'Souza
has organized a three-day event (22-24 November) , alternating moments of prayer
, discussion and Eucharistic adoration . It
ended with a special Mass concelebrated by Msgr. Geevarghese
Mar Divannasios , bishop of the Syro- Malankara Catholics in the diocese of
Puttur .
"Every
corner of the diocese - said Msgr . D'Souza AsiaNews - was involved in this
rally. There are two Deaneries that are located in remote areas and a special
seminar dedicated to the Year of Faith was organized. All the
faithful of all ages and walks of life participated".
The
most exciting aspect of the celebrations, said the bishop, "was the
enthusiasm with which the people of Mangalore responded to this event. It is a sign of the faith of these people, of
how they put it into practice and their willingness to learn the teachings and
the catechism of the Church. "
In
September 2008, ultra-nationalist Hindus attacked 24 churches in Karnataka
, many of which belonged to the diocese of Mangalore own . The
extremists accused the Christians of carrying out forced conversions. What
happened , however , noted the bishop, " has revived and strengthened the
faith of the people , giving value to their belief in Christ and in the Church
."
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24/05/2010
