by Nirmala Carvalho

Card. Gracias, archbishop of Mumbai, has launched a speacial Day on 22 February, Feast of the Chair of St. Peter, to honour of the pope. In these eight years, the Holy Father has repeatedly identified the challenges facing India and Asia: a dialogue between cultures and religions, secularization, globalization and implementation of the Social Doctrine of the Church.

Mumbai (AsiaNews) - February 22 next, Christians from all over India will spend the day with Benedict XVI and his pontificate. The initiative is being launched by Card. Oswald Gracias, archbishop of Mumbai and president of the Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI), who chose the feast of the Chair of St. Peter to express the deep gratitude of the Church in India to the Holy Father. That day, at 18:30, every Christian institution, convent and monastery will dedicate an hour of adoration to the pope.

In these eight years of his pontificate, Benedict XVI addressed on several occassions and in different ways issues dear to India and Asia. For example in the encyclicals Deus Caritas Est, Spe Salvi and Caritas in Veritate, which identify some of the most significant challenges of the continent. "In addition to the dialogue between cultures, with the poor and with other religions - said the cardinal, who is secretary general of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences (FABC) - Benedict XVI stressed the need to implement the Church's social doctrine to the realities of today : the economy, globalization, the gap between rich and poor, ecology, fundamentalism. " Thus, he stressed, "development is at the heart of human actions, and globalization and progress can serve humanity."

The pope's attention to the Asian world was manifested not only through his documents. "Asia - noted Card. Gracias - is home to the largest Muslim population in the world, and the repeated attempts of Benedict XVI to communicate with Muslims was a really important challenge. With intellectual clarity and academic brilliance he has created the basis to understand their differences and call for a united front against secularization. "

The archbishop of Mumbai, says "the last two days of world peace" were fundamental.  In 2011, "Religious freedom, the path of peace," the pope said that "religious freedom is an authentic weapon for peace that can change the world and make it better." In his message for 2012, "Blessed are the peacemakers," Benedict XVI said that "peace is not merely the absence of war," but more importantly, reiterates Indian cardinal, "it is the universal experience of justice and love, which contrasts with the personal and structural evils of greed, inequality and violence. "

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