Church in Bangladesh needs more support for its mission

(Jan. 25, 2012) The Catholic Church in Bangladesh needs more prayers and support from the Universal Church to carry out its missionary activities, according to Fr. Andrew Small, national director of the Pontifical Mission Societies in the United States.
Fr Small, a friar from the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate congregation, spoke in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka on Tuesday at the end of a week-long tour of the country. Fr Small’s tour included visiting parishes and tea estate villages in the newly erected Sylhet diocese in north-eastern Bangladesh. He also made a courtesy call on most of the local bishops at the Apostolic Nunciature in Dhaka, visited the country’s only Holy Spirit National Major Seminary and saw a remote mission center in Shimulia in Gazipur district.
Fr Small praised the local Church saying it is making a significant difference in the lives of the poor and powerless, inspite of the limited resources and influence at its disposal. Stating that he was surprised to see the extreme poverty in the country, he added that the world and the Church need to know about it. He noted that people have lot of love, respect and joy with the little support they receive and need to have more of our prayers and support. He said the world needs to learn more from the Church in Bangladesh, particularly of how it has found a very good way to coexist in a Muslim majority country.
Oblate Bishop Bejoy D’Cruze of Sylhet said Fr Small’s visit has brought renewed hope for the local Church.