Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Taipei (Fides Service) – The Christian virtues of Faith Hope and Charity will be the main themes of a plan for evangelisation drafted by the Church in Taiwan for 2004. This was decided during the Autumn plenary meeting of the Chinese Regional Bishops’ Conference which closed recently. For several months the Bishops reflected on the situation and identified objectives. With the Bishops at the meeting, Mons. Ambrose Madtha, Chargee d’Affairs Nunciature in Taipei, Mons. James Liu, General Secretary of the Bishops’ Conference and Father John B. Li, Rector of the inter-territorial Seminary in Taipei.
The participants agreed on the importance of formation of priests and promotion of vocations, and identified social problem and main challenges which Taiwan will face in 2004.
Mons. Ambrose Madtha remarked on the age of missionaries in Taiwan stressing the need to increase vocation pastoral. He said this is important for the Church in Taiwan, which must give special attention to the formation of young people with a calling to the priesthood or the consecrated life.
With regard to the future, the Bishops stressed the importance of the three theological values hope faith and charity on which dioceses should base all pastoral activity and evangelisation. The Bishops identified four main commitments: re-launch Taiwan’s Catholic Portal on the Internet; form groups of volunteers for the Church’s social services; better co-ordination of local Church’s human and material resources; feed-back system to verify implementation in dioceses and parishes of guidelines issued by the Bishops’ Conference.
The Church in Taiwan is planning the National Eucharistic Congress next year in preparation for the International Eucharistic Congress in Mexico. In view of this major national Church event the Bishops encouraged all Catholics in Taiwan to read and meditate Pope John Paul II’s recent encyclical Ecclesia de Eucharistia and to hold study seminars at the diocesan level.
(Agenzia Fides 12/09/2003 Lines: 35 Words: 342)
