Regional Theological Forum of Andhra Pradesh formed

January 14, 2013 - The Catholic theologians of southern India’s Andhra Pradesh state last week formed a regional theological forum called “Andhra Pradesh Theological Forum (APTF)”. Under the initiative of the Andhra Pradesh Regional Bishops’ Council (APBC) Commission for Doctrine and Theology, some fifty theologians from all over the state met at St. John’s Regional Seminary, Hyderabad, on January 7. Chairman of the Commission, Archbishop Prakash Mallavarapu of Visakhapatnam, stressed the importance of theologizing in the context of the local church. Theological knowledge, he said, should benefit the local church. Bishop Thomas Dabre of Pune agreed with him and invited the theologians to use their expertise for the growth of the local church. He also emphasized the need of doing theology in the local language in order to have a greater regional outreach. An elected executive body decided to hold two meetings a year, the first one scheduled for 24-25 July, on Lumen Gentium, the Vatican-II constitution on the church, and its significance for the local church.