Mexico City (Fides Service) - Theology and Mission 40 years on from Ad Gentes decree is the theme of the 3rd International Mission Symposium in Mexico City which opened yesterday 18 April. The symposium promoted by the Missionaries of Guadalupe and the Theology Faculty of Mexico City’s Inter-continental University is being held at the University’s Auditorium Fra Bartolomé de Las Casas and will close on 22 April.
The programme will include conferences and reflection and round table discussions starting from experience in sectors involved in missionary activity and purposely selected (receivers of mission, missionaries, missiology students). On day one the participants reflected on “From the Church with Missions to the Missionary Church”, by Dominican Fr. David Díaz followed by discussion on missionary activity from the point of view of its receivers. Today 19 April the conference will be on “Interreligious Dialogue” (Dominican Fr. Carlos Mendoza ) and discussion on participation of missionaries working in different multi-cultural and multi-religious situations.
Wednesday 20 April Maryknoll missionary Fr. Juan Gorski, who teaches missiology at the Catholic University of Bolivia in Cochabamba, will speak on “Updating theological changes in mission” and discussion will focus on “Mission: horizon for theological studies”. Thursday 21 the conference will be “Towards inter-cultural and interreligious Liberation Theology” and discussion on “the study of theology in mission countries: pros and cons”. Lastly on 22 April General Superiors of missionary institutes and experts will try to answer the question “Where is the Church’s mission Ad Gentes going today?”. The Symposium will open and close with a concelebration of the Eucharist presided by Bishop Florencio Olvera of Cuernavaca also president of the Mexican Bishops’ Commission for Missions. (R.Z.) (Agenzia Fides 19/4/2005; righe 26, parole 326)