India: conference held in Calcutta February 14-16:  

In light of the Extraordinary Missionary Month October 2019, which was announced by Pope Francis on the theme "Baptized and Sent: the Church of Christ on Mission in the World", the Morning Star College, in collaboration with the University of St. Xavier, organized a conference entitled "Evangelization in South Asia from Maximum Illud", February 14-16 in Kolkata. The event brought together 120 participants, including 26 experts (theology, sociology, law, medical care) and 12 religious (archbishops, bishops and missionaries from India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan).

The conference was inaugurated by the Archbishop of Calcutta, Bishop Thomas D'Souza, with a speech on how to implement the Christian vocation to proclaim Christ and his message with passion and mercy in the face of the complex challenges that South Asia is now called to face. Prof. Elias Frank, professor in the Faculty of Canon Law at the Pontifical Urban University, then illustrated the objectives of the Extraordinary Missionary Month, while Prof. Felix Wilfred, founder and Director of the Asian Centre for Intercultural Studies, recalled that the evangelization work of the Church must focus on the poor as recipients of the Good News, building bridges between followers of various religions.

Prof. John Romus, Dean of the Faculty of Theology at Morning Star College and promoter of the conference, examined the magisterium on the theme of evangelization starting with the Apostolic Exhortation Maximum Illud promulgated by Benedict XV. Dr. Leonard Fernando SJ, Rector of St. Joseph's College in Tiruchirapalli, reviewed the history of evangelization in South Asia. Prof. Vimal Tirimanne CSsR, professor of Moral Theology at the National Seminary of Our Lady of Lanka, stressed the need to consider evangelization and today's mission in a broader sense than it was in the past.

Prof. Jacob Parappally MSFS, professor of Systematic Theology at Tejas Vidya Peetha in Bangalore, highlighted the contribution of both foreign and Indian missionaries in developing culture through literature. Dr. John Anthony Jesu Sagaya, Director of the National Biblical Catechetical & Liturgical Centre, analyzed the "model of the mystery of the Incarnation" and the "early Christian model" of enculturation for evangelization. Bishop Sarat Chandra Nayak emphasized the self-giving of the Khandamal martyrs, identifying faith as a powerful witness to the Gospel in a pluralistic society.

On February 15th, the morning sessions were opened with a speech by Dr. John Pudota Rayappa SJ, Dean of the Vidyajyoti College of Theology, New Delhi, who shared the experience of his institute with the theme of evangelization and interreligious dialogue. The Archbishop of New Delhi, Bishop Anil Joseph Thomas Couto, spoke about the importance of unity among Christians for evangelization. Dr. Josephine Arokia Martina SJC, President of the Sister Doctors Forum of Tamil Nadu, explained how the uniqueness of Catholic medical care lies in its holistic nature, which on the model of Christ takes care of the patient not only for his physical well-being but also for his spiritual healing and is therefore a powerful means of evangelization.

Dr. Charlotte Simpson-Veigas, Vice Dean of St. Xavier College in Calcutta, presented the results of scientific research on the impact of Catholic education on students by emphasizing the evangelizing mission of the Church through education. Dr. Louis Montfort Prakash SJ, writer, researcher and former director of the Indian Social Institute in New Delhi, emphasized how Dalits have received a new identity by becoming Christians, regaining the dignity of human persons. Dr. Sudhir Kujur SJ, Professor of Systematic Theology and former Dean of Theology at St. Albert's College in Ranchi, explained how the work of evangelization in the tribal context through the promotion of human and legal rights, especially in central India, has created a new identity for the members of the tribes who have become evangelizers themselves.

Dr. Shalini Mulackal PBVM, former President of the Indian Theological Association, currently a professor of Theology at the Vidyajyoti College of Theology, spoke about discrimination against women in Indian society. At the round table that took place on the evening of February 15th, representatives of the laity, Mr. Stanislao Devotta, writer and member of the National Service Team of the Charismatic Movement in Sri Lanka, Mr. Chito Francis Rebeiro, editor of the weekly Shikha Anirban and assistant editor of the Bangladeshi daily newspaper Desh Bangla, and Mr. Eugene Gonsalves, former president of the All India Catholic Union, spoke about various missionary activities that the laity are engaged in. 

The last working day on February 16th was marked by three round tables. The first one, on the theme of dialogue, involved the participation of three important communities of faith committed to evangelization in South Asia. Dr. M.D. Thomas MST, founder and Director of the Institute of Harmony and Peace Studies, New Delhi, discussed the need to engage in dialogue with followers of the Hindu religion. Bishop Bejoy D'Cruze of the Diocese of Sylhet, Bangladesh, emphasized the need to train Christians to enter into dialogue with their Muslim brothers and sisters. Mr. Marsel Fernando, director of the Ecumenical Institute of Study and Dialogue of Sri Lanka, discussed the need to enter into dialogue with Buddhists despite tensions with the Christian community in the country.

The second panel focused on indigenous Christian movements. Dom Jerome Naduvathaniyil OSB, abbot of the Benedictine monastery of Asirvanam, Bangalore, discussed the development of the Ashram movement in India and showed how this way of living and witnessing to Christ is in harmony with the contemplative spiritual traditions of India. Dr. Jerome Sylvester IMS presented a documentary on the Khristbhaktas of Varanasi as a new way of accepting and proclaiming Christ and His message. Fr. T.V. George SDB recounted the adventurous attempts of the Capuchins to reach Tibet and Nepal to advance the Church in those regions in past centuries, also focusing on the Jesuit’s work of evangelization in the second half of the 20th century.

In the third discussion group, Leo Jalais, director of Asha Niketan in Kolkata, illustrated how caring for people with disabilities is not a social work but mysticism in action to transform lives. Sister Christin Mary ICM of the National Movement of Domestic Workers explained how the struggles of domestic workers and the defense of their human rights in sixteen states of India, in collaboration with other religious congregations, derive from Jesus' commands to the disciples. Dr. Lalit Premal Tirkey SJ highlighted the Church's efforts in support of eliminating human trafficking, which reduces man to an object of exploitation.

In the final session, Dr. John Romus asked participants to provide recommendations and suggestions for the new evangelization in South Asia, which will be published along with the proceedings of the conference by September 2019. The event concluded with a speech by Archbishop Thomas D'Souza who expressed his appreciation for the work of the organizers and thanked the staff and students of Morning Star College for their work.

A special thanks went to Fr. Fabrizio Meroni, Secretary General of the Pontifical Missionary Union and Director of the International Center for Mission and Formation at the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, for the support that made the convening of the Conference possible. The research documents presented during the event will be published as resources for evangelization in South Asia.