Day 2 - Congress for Asian Catholic Laity in Seoul, Korea

 Morning Prayer Service

Seoul : Cardinal Stanislaw Rylko, the President of the Council for Laity  in his opening address yesterday 1st September 2010, shared that Catholic, being the minority in most Asian countries, except for the Phillipines should not remain timid and confine to its own community but to take on a proactive role by being a 'creative minority'. Catholics ought to be courageous and move on to 'go and tell' the Good News of Christ to others.

He likened the Catholics to salt and leaven - though small in amount but provides taste to food and gives rise to the dough respectively. He urged Catholics in Asia to be  proud of the faith and be an organic communion of communities giving rise to growth.

The Coste Hall

Bishop Dr Josef Clemens on the right

Today, the second day of the Congress began with a prayer service conducted at the Coste Hall. The first paper of the day, 'The vocation and mission of the lay faithful in the light of the post-synodal exhortation, Christifideles laici' was presented in great depth by Bishop Dr Josef Clemens, the Secretary of the Pontifical Council of Laity. Laity must be co-responsible in upbuilding the Church.

 Prof Msgr Dinh on the right

Professor Msgr Dinh Duc Dao, once served in the Pontifical Urban University in Rome and currently the Seminary rector in Vietnam, presented the second paper on ‘Christian formation and lay missionary efforts in Asia’ with much vigor. Effective formation program must be connected to missionary action, failing which it will just be another activity.

There were two panel discussions for the day. The first, comprising Archbishop Thomas Menamparampil of India touching on ‘Christian initiation and the ongoing formation of the laity’, Dr Jess Stanislao, a former Congressman of the Phillipines talked on ‘The Christian witness of the laity in different sectors of society’ and Bishop Martinus Dogma Situmorang of Sumatera, Indonesia entrusted with the topic on ‘Testimonies of Christian charity and the service to the poor’.

 The second panel discussion was on the role of the laity in ecumenism, inter-religious dialogue and inculturation of the Gospel. 

The Gothic architecture of the interior of the Myeongdong Cathedral

Conference proper for the second day concluded with the Eucharistic celebration for the laity, presided by Bishop Rolando J. Tria Tirona of the Phillipines, con celebrated by Cardinal Stanislaw Rylko and Cardinal Telesphore Placidus Toppo of India.

Bishop Julius with Fr Yohanes of Indonesia (r) and Bro Rolanda (l)

Right after dinner, a film about the life of Matteo Ricci was shown to the participants for personal reflection on the art of evangelization. 

ds