Archbishop’s House a venue for Dialogue and Peace-building Mission

FRANCIS SUNIL ROSARIO

Kolkata: On Sunday, Aug. 18, an Inter-Faith dialogue meeting was held at Archbishop’s House. His Grace, Most Rev. Thomas D’Souza welcomed all the members to take part in the brain-storming discussion towards evolving a strategy to build peace and harmony in society. All those who came,
from cross-sections of society, belonging to various faiths, traditional and cultural backgrounds, voiced their deep concern for the changing pattern of leadership in the country.

This initiative to hold a gathering of some veteran leaders who are already engaged in the process of dialogue through various fora, came from two activists in peace building, namely Mr. Satnam Singh Ahluwalia and Mr. Imran Zaki, representing two faith traditions, Sikhism and Islam. They both uphold their belief in the religion of humanity. “To be human is to be divine.” It was an initiative to go beyond our own religious boundaries and parameters and put the tenets of each religion into
practice to build humanity. All religions in fact, are committed to build a new humanity of freedom, justice, fellowship and peace.

India being one of the largest democratic nations in the world and a secular country, it is the duty of all citizens to voice their concern to preserve Secularism and allow people of all faiths and cultures to uphold the dignity of individuals, allowing all to live in freedom. Hence, it’s a clarion call to build up consensus among the citizens of our country and stop any infringement into the human rights
and dignity of individuals, those who are most vulnerable of the society.

Archbishop D’Souza highlighted the need for dialogue in present scenario. Dialogue has become almost imperative and essential for every one as we live in a pluralist society. People of all faiths
and cultures live here in harmony. Our economic, political and social issues that affect the lives of common people should be looked into, in the spirit of dialogue, respect for human dignity and life and deeper understanding.

Mr. Satnam said, “Religion should play a positive role to build humanity and peace.” Rev. Franklin Menezes, Director of Seva Kendra said, that there are others who may not believe in any religion, but
they too uphold human values, they should also be included into the process of building peace. Mr. Syed Irfan Sher said, “The very idea of India is under attack today.” Mr. O. P. Shah, Forum for
Peace, said, “We need to have an introspection of mind and try to understand deeply our national issues.We should also include those who are opposed to our views and how we can respond together to sort out those differences and continue our process of dialogue to build humanity.”

Among others who spoke were Qari Fazlur Rehman, Imam, Bhikkhu Pala (Buddhist Monk), Mr. Gurbux Singh, Gold Medalist in 1964 Olympics in Hockey and member of Minority Commission, West Bengal), Mr. Sunil Lucas, former President of Signis India and Brahamakumari from Bangur Centre. At the end of discussion, the organizers said that a realistic plan for further discussion will take place soon.

Some of the proposals that came out from the floor were to organize workshops to understand the urgent need for dialogue, some introspection of our own state of mind, by way of panel discussions to remove some of the misconceptions, ignorance and baggage we carry against certain religions. Some proposed that our social media should play a positive role in promoting harmony and peace towards a better humanity.

SCC National Convention Venue is St. Xavier’s, Park Street

DOMINIC AND SYBIL AZAVEDO

Kolkata: St. Xavier’s College Ground is the venue for the National Hindi SCC Convention which will be held from October 25th to 27th, 2019. This very happy news was announced by Fr. Dominic Gomes, Vicar General, who, in the absence of Archbishop Thomas D’Souza who is attending the CBCI Meeting in Bangalore, expressed his thanks and appreciation to Fr. Dominic Savio, Rector and Principal of St. Xavier’s College for his generosity and understanding.

To shift to St. Xavier’s was finalised at the Preparatory Meeting for the Convention held in Archbishop’s House on 11th August, 2019. There were 12 members present from the National SCC Team including Bishop Ignatius Mascarenhas of Simla/Chandigarh, Chairman of the National SCC, Bishop Gerald Mathias, Bishop of Lucknow, Fr. Vijay Thomas, SCC Asian Secretary, immediate past SCC National Secretary and the National Coordinator of the Convention, Fr. George, (the new) National SCC Secretary, other NST members, Fr. Cassian Pradhan, Sr Christin Joseph, Sr Grace Mary, Fr. Faustin J. Pinto, Mr. Emmanuel John, Mr. Mathew Roy, Mr. Sameer Francis and local Heads of the various Committees.

The venue has been shifted as St. Xavier’s is more spacious and there will be enough space for cars and buses to be parked, as well as, space to put stalls for refreshment, a help desk, Media, Press, etc. There will also be one big shamiana on the St. Xavier’s grounds.Fr. Dominic Gomes, the local Coordinator, said that although he with his team has been spent a lot of time and energy from June 2019, requesting Parish Priests to help in providing accommodation, still there is a need to accommodate more than 1000 outstation delegates from 51 Dioceses.

The programme will start at 9 a.m. and go on till 6 p.m. On 26th October, the guests will spend the full day with the Parishioners in many of our City Parishes from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., having a solemn Bible procession and veneration, solemn Mass, a cultural programme, witnessing an exhibition of the origin and growth of the SCC in the Parishes, Gospel Sharing, lunch, tea, dinner, etc. There will be at least one Bishop in each of our Parishes. (The detailed programme has already been sent to the Parishes to prepare for 26th October to welcome the outstation guests in the Parishes).

The Media Committee has already started posting Convention news and photos on a Facebook page (fb.me/calcuttaarchdiocese) and is already active with 600/700 participants. In September – posters will be sent to city parishes and Advertisements put in The Herald. A Press Release to Secular Media, Flexes and Banners are also being prepared. 

St. John Vianney Feast Day Celebration

FRANCIS SUNIL ROSARIO

Kolkata: The diocesan clergy of Calcutta assembled at Christ the King Church, Park Circus on August 6th to celebrate the feast of St. John Mary Vianney, patron of the Parish priests and all the priests in the Universal Church. Nearly 70 priests came from the four corners of the Archdiocese to
take part in this annual Feast day celebration.

His Grace, Most Rev. Thomas D'Souza was the chief  celebrant. It was also an occasion to felicitate the Ruby Jubilarians, who completed their 40 years of priestly journey, serving the people of God in various capacities. The four Jubilarians were, Rev. Henry Saldanha, Rev. Rudolph D'Souza, Rev. Patrick Rodrigues and Rev. Francis Sunil Rosario.

The call to be a Diocesan priest is a special call given by God to serve the People of God in their respective dioceses administered under the Diocesan Bishop. The specific charism of the diocesan clergy is to love God wholeheartedly in His people and in the context of socio-cultural and pastoral realities. Finding the will of God in varied situations and challenges, they are the agents to bring transformation in society and the Church.

Their own personal sanctity inspires all, following in the footsteps of Christ through many trials and sufferings of the post-modern days, they bring fulfillment to God’s plan of salvation. “It is not you, but I have chosen you,” says Jesus while He invites them to be partners in God’s mission to save the world. Thus, the call of Diocesan priesthood is to remain united with God 24/7, loving people from various ethnic, socio-economic, cultural and linguistic backgrounds, to build fellowship among the fellow clergy of the Diocese and being obedient to God’s will by accepting the leadership of the Bishop, who represents Christ visibly in the creative and saving plan of God.

This year the feast of St. John Mary Vianney was on Sunday, August 4th. The
Archdiocese chose the nearest day, August 6th, to celebrate their common feast day. Soon after
the Mass, a felicitation program was held in the Parish hall and the day’s program concluded with a fellowship lunch.

This yearly event was organized by the Diocesan Priests Welfare Committee (DPWC). It was to bring the Diocesan clergy together to share their joys of priesthood and build communion among the clergy. The priests, serving the four deaneries, i.e. Kolkata, Midnapore, North 24 Parganas and Howrah-Hooghly, came together to share their fellowship. Rev. Fr. Basil Bimal Mandi, present Parish priest of Christ the King Church, helped in facilitating the day’s event.

Nitika Don Bosco Introduces “10 Tips for the Young” by the Youth of the Archdiocese of Calcutta

Kolkata: Nitika Don Bosco together with the Salesian Youth Department and the Archdiocesan Catechetical Commission introduced the “10 Tips for the Young” derived from the Post-Apostolic Exhortation of  Pope Francis, Christus Vivit on 3 August 2019 at Nitika in the presence of Archbishop Thomas D’Souza and 90 youth and animators from the Archdiocese of Calcutta. The “10 Tips” was the brainchild of Fr. Gilbert Choondal SDB, the catechetical Director of Nitika Don Bosco.

Though the participants received a free copy of the “10 Tips”, extra copies were available for Rs. 5/- per copy after the event. “We want our youth and animators to value what they receive. By putting a nominal price tag, they will not take for granted this attractive message of Pope Francis. When they buy another copy, they can gift it to another young person or their companion. That is evangelisation. The animators and heads of institutes can reach out to their students and boarders. That is how we need to disseminate the work of Pope Francis,” said Fr. Gilbert, the creator of “10 Tips”, during the vote of thanks. The programme commenced at 4:30 pm with Psalm 23 expressed through the body language of Miss Angela, a student of Loreto School, Entally. Fr. Robin Gomes SDB, the rector of Provincial House Community welcomed all to Nitika. Archbishop Thomas D’Souza released the “10 Tips” with a message to the youth and animators. He emphasized the role of youth in the Church as missionaries.

The most important part of the session was the presentation of the “10 Tips” by 10 Young people from the Archdiocese. “We wanted the other youth to learn this art of spreading the message of Pope Francis this way in their own parishes and schools, colleges and hostels,” said Fr. Gilbert. They explained each tip with conviction and personal experiences. “We were moved and touched by the sharing of the young boys and girls who presented the message of Pope Francis convincingly,” expressed Sr. Carmella IBVM. Fr. Patrick Lepcha SDB was the live wire of the programme with his lively compering. The surprise presence of the day was a group of Egyptian youth with a Coptic priest who attended the programme. Fr. Robert Johnson, the catechetical secretary for the Archdiocese thanked all, especially Archbishop Thomas D’Souza, Fr. Gilbert, the creator of “10 Tips”, and all the participants.

Shashi Tharoor at SXUK Convocation

Kolkata: Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor and writer warned that jobs were scarce and degrees were abundant and if this mismatch continued many qualified graduates would end up jobless. An alumnus of St. Xavier’s School, Kolkata from 1969 to 1971, Tharoor stressed the need to identify the actual demand for engineers, advocates, medical, legal and high technology service industries before increasing or decreasing “seats for these in our institutes” to close this skill gap.

Tharoor was delivering the convocation address at St. Xavier’s University, Kolkata on Saturday, July 27. "I am sure this won’t be a problem for the graduates I am addressing today at St Xavier’s University. But you must be aware of the broader national picture,” Tharoor said. “Some 60 per cent of our engineers for instance find themselves in jobs that do not require an engineering degree, and I am not even counting those engineers who get no jobs at all. We are releasing graduates into an ecosystem that does not know how to use them: they settle for a constable post as an alternative”, he said.

“You don’t create graduates for the real world without knowing what the real world wants… Too many of our graduates are overqualified for the jobs available. For the talent we have, we don’t seem to know what to do with it.” Father Felix Raj, the Vice-Chancellor of St Xavier’s University, presented a report where he spoke in detail about the activities of the university in the last one year. The university gave postgraduate degrees to 135 students at the convocation held on the New Town campus. Father congratulated all the degree awardees.

“This is a historical moment for us and the students who received the degrees on this occasion will be remembered for years to come. They are the first fruits of this tree (university) and I thank the entire university community that has helped to build this great institution… St Xavier’s University, Kolkata, is just a two-year-old infant, but it has already taken great strides by contributing towards knowledge creation,” said Father Felix Raj.

Tharoor said that almost half of the country’s population was under 25 and approximately 65 per cent
under 35. As a young and productive workforce, Indian graduates are primed to take over the world,  not only India's but the international society's greatest challenges. Tharoor said that “how to think” was far more important than “what to think” and the big successes in life were those who were able to think out of the box and to think beyond what was in the textbook. “…The big examination called life has a habit of asking you questions for which you couldn’t prepare answers from a textbook,” he said. Tharoor said he was looking forward to the New Education Policy aimed to create a new approach to education in the country.