AMERICA/COLOMBIA - Encourage dialogue faith-culture, faith-science, Gospel and culture, globalisation and evangelisation: first lap of permanent 18 month Symposium “Evangelisation of Cultures”

Tuesday, 3 May 2005

Bogota (Fides Service) - The ‘Evangelisation of Cultures’ is the theme of an 18 month Permanent Symposium organised by Conference of Catholic Bishops in Colombia through its Commission for the pastoral of evangelisation of Cultures and Education and its Commission for Education, Culture and Universities. The Symposium will include 3 national residential seminars (one every 6 months) and three Regional Seminars which will reflect on the findings of the national seminars. The first lap of this long path of study and reflection will be held at the head offices of the Bishops’ Conference in Bogota 25 to 27 May.
The aim of the symposium is to encourage dialogue faith-culture, faith-science, Gospel and culture, globalisation and evangelisation, to complete the global vision of cultures and assess their impact on Church life, particularly in Colombian. In other words, according to a report from the Bishops’ Conference, “to identify the milestones of culture and mentalities which have marked our life in the incessant religious searching of our people. To acquire new dynamics and means to make our work of evangelisation start with the inculturation of our faith”. It also aims to offer addressees historical, anthropological, theological, pastoral and ecclesiological elements which have marked cultures and mentalities of Colombians, in order to collaborate with their permanent formation as evangelisers.
The Permanent Symposium will include national residential seminars and regional seminars. At the national seminars well known experts and scholars of the Church in Colombia and docents at the San Bonaventura University Bogota, and the Bolivian University of Medellin and the Pontifical Xaverian University Bogotà, will speak on selected subjects. At the regional seminars topics addressed by experts are still to be decided and the participants will form teams for pastoral work applying knowledge acquired in the respective regions.
Reflection will focus on the following themes at this first stage: History of the Covenant and birth of a culture of the people of Israel; Word of God and cultures; Processes of inculturation of the faith and historical development of the Church; Forms of Humanism proposed by society and the great religions and cultures; cultural dimension of individuals and communities; The Gospel and the encounter of cultures; Culture in the history of mentalities and sowing the seed of the Gospel message; Liturgical life and processes of inculturation in Sacred Scripture; Inculturation of the faith, only way to take the Gospel to the heart of culture and cultures.
Enrolment will close on 16 May. For more information apply to Héctor Lugo García O.F.M: phector.lugo@cec.org.co
(RZ) (Agenzia Fides 3/5/2005, righe 34, parole 454)


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