VATICAN - General Assembly of the Pontifical Mission Societies: presentation of reports of activity of Pontifical Society for the Propagation of the Faith and Pontifical Missionary Union

Tuesday, 11 May 2004

Rome (Fides Service) - After a day of rest on Sunday, the work of the General Assembly of the Pontifical Mission Societies resumed on Monday 10 May. The pastoral session being concluded, the assembly will now focus on the activity of the past twelve months of the four Pontifical Mission Societies and the distribution of subsides to meet requests coming from mission territories all over the world. On Monday 10 the pastoral and economic reports from the Propagation of the Faith and Pontifical Missionary Union were presented to the participants who will then discuss the assignment of funds to projects concerning the respective international Secretariats.
Presenting the report of the Pontifical Missionary Union which has the task of animating the people of God for mission, promoting missionary awareness and encouraging missionary vocations, General Secretary Father Fernando Galbiati PIME, underlined the work of the past twelve months mainly through the Society’s monthly review Omnis Terra in its new print format: a valid means of maintaining a lively missionary spirit and providing information on basic themes of mission. Father Galbiati also presented the new mission correspondence course this time on the theme “Medicine and Mission”. The lessons selected for the new Course illustrate how through the centuries the Church has been faithful to the command given her by Jesus (“Go, preach, baptise Mt 28,19-20) but also to “cure the sick” (Lk 10,9). In fact the Church must be present where people need care for the body and comfort for the spirit and this is one of the main activities in mission territories: reaching souls through caring for bodies.
Father Galbiati also presented the annual report of the Pontifical Society for the Propagation of the Faith, of which he is Secretary General ad interim, which offers a decisive contribution to the missionary world and missionary animation through prayers and material offerings and he illustrated the process of the work achieved by this Society to distribute funds to meet the numerous requests received by the international Secretariat: between 7.000 and 8.000 every year. This morning, 11 May, the participants at the Annual General Assembly will be received in audience by Pope John Paul II. (R.G.) (Agenzia Fides 11/5/2004; Righe 26; Parole 353)


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