2006-08-22 15:01:17

Pope Benedict XVI names envoy for Asian Mission Congress


(22 Aug.2006): - Pope Benedict XVI has appointed Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe as his special envoy to the Asian Mission Congress, which will be held Oct. 19-22 in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Cardinal Sepe, the 63-year-old archbishop of Naples, is the former prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. According to AsiaNews agency at least 1,000 key Church figures across Asia are expected in Chiang Mai to participate in the first ever Asian Mission Congress organized by the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conference. An additional 3,000 people, all Thai, will participate in the encounters, exhibitions and cultural exhibitions that have been planned. The purpose of the congress is to develop among Catholics in Asia the awareness of being missionaries in their own continent and to reinforce their identity. Father Chalerm Kitmongkhol, deputy secretary-general of the congress, told AsiaNews about the two main challenges facing the mission in Asia: - differences in language, faith and culture among Asian countries, and a lack of support,or even persecution from governments," the priest said. The aim of the Congress, said the priest is to urge believers to share the happiness and enthusiasm of our faith in Jesus Christ, recognizing that God brings reconciliation, especially where there is division; and to celebrate evangelization in Asian culture by bearing witness in their daily living." The Church in Thailand comprises 300,000 Catholics living among a population of around 63 million, of whom 95% are Buddhist. The history of the country's evangelization dates back to the arrival of the Dominicans in 1567.








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