Archbishop-Patriarch Filipe Neri Ferrao and a cardinal of Goan origin have been appointed by Pope Francis as members from the Indian delegation for the 14th General Ordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, from October 4-25.
Archbishop Ferrao along with Cardinal Oswald Gracias of Bombay, who traces his roots to Orlim-Salcete, will represent India along with Bishop Selvister Ponnumuthan of Punalur, Archbishop Dominic Jala of Shillong and Bishop Singaroyan Sebastianappan of Salem (Substitute), states a report from the Vatican.
A number of senior church officials from all across the world will participate in the 14th General Ordinary Assembly on the theme “the vocation and mission of the family in the Church and in the contemporary world.”
The Synod of Bishops is expected to reflect on the points discussed at the 2014 Third Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops "so as to formulate appropriate pastoral guidelines" for the pastoral care of the person and the family.
Drawing inspiration from Pope Francis’ message to the Catholic faithful to “wake up the world”, the Pilar Seminary inaugurated its new formative year 2015-16 with a specially designed logo titled, ‘Set Apart to Live, Love, Liberate’.
Archbishop-Patriarch of Goa and Daman Filipe Neri Ferrao unveiled the logo to inaugurate the formative year of the Pilar Seminary.
Speaking on the occasion, newly appointed Pilar Theological College Rector Fr Norman Almeida said the theme has been inspired by Pope Francis.
“Pope Francis has dedicated this Year to Consecrated Life, calling consecrated men and women to rise and wake the world up through their lives of courage, communion and joy,” said Fr Almeida.
“Today’s religious need to be prophetic, capable of waking up the world, of showing they are a special breed who have something to say to the world. Our theme draws directly from the Pope’s emphasis on the prophetic nature of our consecrated calling,” he added.
Fr Almeida voiced the danger that lurks among religious men and women “ the image of religious life as a refuge and comfort zone, a cozy place away from the ‘outside’ world that is difficult and complex.
“If this does not happen, we then run the risk of being abstract ideologists or fundamentalists, which is not healthy. Jesus went to all, really all, especially the poor,” said Fr Almeida.
In his address, Archbishop Ferrao stated the importance of priests being architects of communion and emphasized that after training, priests need to be caring persons, shepherd and steward leaders.
As a diocesan bishop, Archbishop Ferrao is ultimately responsible for the formation of the every seminarian in the archdiocese.
In the inaugural lecture, Fr Adrian Fernandes offered pedagogical insights based on Jesus and Nanak to promote a holistic approach to globalization and global solidarity.
Hailing from Assolna, Fr Fernandes, who completed his Masters in Theology at the Jnana Deepa Vidyapeeth, Pune, highlighted the fact that the process of globalization has the tendency to remain fixated on economic pursuits alone.
This year, the Pilar Seminary has 14 new seminarians for the first year of Theology. There are 14 in the second year, 9 in third year and 8 in the fourth year, a total of 45 students of theology. Of these, 40 belong to Society of Pilar, 3 belong to Missionary Society of La Salette, one each to Betthiah diocese and Belganv Diocese.
Fr Francis Carvalho, Superior General of the Pilar Society, released the Hand Book and Calendar for the year 2015-16. Pilar Seminary Orchestra sang the theme song of the year titled, ‘Wake the World with dawning Joy’ and played the popular Portuguese song Canta Baiso Alto.
