Cardinal Arinze opens FABC 9th Plenary Assembly

(Aug.12,2009): - The 9th Plenary Assembly of the FABC – Federation of Asian Bishops Conference opened on Tuesday with a solemn Eucharistic celebration at Manila’s Cathedral in the Philippines. The Mass was presided over by Cardinal Francis Arinze, Papal envoy to the assembly. In his homily, the cardinal brought special greetings and blessings of Pope Benedict XVI to the FABC, which was actually founded in Manila in 1970.
Cardinal Arinze concelebrated Mass with 6 cardinals and some 100 bishops and priests. In his homily, he underlined and elaborated on the theme of the assembly, “Living Eucharist in Asia.” He repeated the words of Pope Benedict, asking the bishops, “in particular, to teach Christ’s faithful, the importance of participating in Eucharistic celebrations especially on Sundays, and of receiving the sacrament of Reconciliation.” The Cardinal then made the sub-themes of the assembly the main points of his homily. They all focussed on the Eucharist.. Cardinal Arinze said the Eucharist is a sacrament of love, a bond of charity and an invitation to harmonious living.” At the Assembly, the Bishops will discuss the reality of the Asian continent, where 60 percent of all humankind lives and struggles and where Christians are very small minority.
The secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines government, Alberto Romulo, who welcomed the Assembly, said “it is an honour for the Philippines – one of only two Catholic nations in Asia – to host the event.”