Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Guadalajara (Fides Service) - On Monday 11 October, after the opening address by Cardinal Sandolval, continental delegates illustrated the present day situation in different parts of the world and its impact on faith in the Eucharist. Archbishop Barry Hickey, Archbishop of Perth (Australia), delegate for Oceania, said the culture and traditions of the peoples of Oceania were deeply affected by successive migratory waves coming from Europe and elsewhere. In Oceania tradition lives side by side with modernity, subsistence economies with technological economies and in this complex situation the Gospel was announced by courageous missionaries and their work bore fruit. “We are united not only by the vast waters of the Pacific Ocean but also by faith in Jesus Christ. This faith which we share as brothers and sisters is what brings us here today to proclaim our profound faith in our Saviour Jesus Christ...We see the end of missionary efforts and we too have become missionaries to take part in the new evangelisation united with the Holy Father”.
Bishop Jean Baptiste Some, Bishop Deiebougou (Burkina Faso), Delegate for Africa, spoke of doctrinal and anthropological convergence at the level of basic and constitutive realities of the Eucharist and on the other, those of African culture. These realties are fundamental and they concern the family, life, the body, word and relation with tine invisible world through religious sacrifices. Each of these realities seems to bring light and shadows or in other words positive and negative aspects for or against the Eucharist. “We have no other faith in the Mystery of the Eucharist than that of the universal Catholic Church. Faith in the Eucharist is not only a word or an illusion in the African Church it is a spiritual reality of Christian life”. Referring to the shadows on the path of the African people he added that it is necessary to deepen faith in the Eucharist. A first class pastoral work in which bishops and their collaborators must be united “on a continent thirsting for God Three in One and Jesus in the Eucharist”.
Archbishop Carmelo D.F.Morelos, Archbishop of Zamboanga (Philippines), Delegate for Asia, said, “Christians in Asia are a minority compared to 85% of non Christians. Although we are a poor Church, nevertheless, just as the poverty of the Eucharist is its richness, so too the poverty of the Church is her strength. The celebration of the Eucharist is simple and poor. This daily simplicity reveals values, which are very important for the world today. The Asian Church aware of her weakness, finds her strength in the presence of the Lord. She is not proud. She has experienced the word of Paul, ‘When I am weak then I am strong (2 Cor 12,10) and she will continue to do so. Detached from the essential we find an authentic treasure: Christ in the Eucharist”. (R.Z.) (Agenzia Fides 12/10/2004; Righe 37; Parole 501)
