Monday, October 24, 2011

India: Church's social doctrine, the "best kept secret" against the moral desert of today

"The Church's social doctrine is its best kept secret. There is much light in this teaching to guide us through the ‘Moral Desert’ in which we find ourselves today." So says Msgr. Agnelo Gracias, President of the Commission for the theology and doctrine of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CCBI), as he welcomed the guests to St. Pius College, Mumbai for the South Asian Symposium (14-16 October) in honor of John Paul II and 50 years for social encyclical Mater et Magistra, Pope John XXIII (1961).

The event, entitled " Main Concerns and Pastoral Implications of Church’s Social Doctrine from Mater et Magistra to Caritas in Veritate ", was attended by about 500 people, including 100 priests and 178 religious. Also present were Archbishop Charles Bo, President of the Office for Human Development of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences (FABC), Card. Oswald Gracias, archbishop of Mumbai, and the Apostolic Nuncio Mgr. Salvatore Pennacchio. Delegates from Pakistan and Sri Lanka wanted to participate in the Symposium, but the Indian authorities have refused them visas. From Bangladesh, only one of three people managed to come.

"The Church's social doctrine - said Mgr. Agnelo Gracias - refers to the entire teaching of the Magisterium, which applies the principles of revealed truth and the Christian moral social order in which we live. At the heart of the Church's moral vision for society is the belief in the sanctity of human life and dignity of the human being. Along with this is the conviction that the human being is not only sacred but also social. Unfortunately, this teaching is not well known".

In his speech, Card. Oswald Gracias spoke of the importance of the social doctrine of the Church for mission: "India is the second most populous country and largest democracy in the world with a rapidly growing economy. The urban middle class is growing more and more and has made great strides in all fields. Unfortunately, the large mass of rural people, the people in the slums of the city and many others remain poor. In the State of Bihar, which has more than 80 million people, more than 85% of them do not have electricity. "

Among the key issues that affect the mission of the Church, the cardinal mentioned refugees and displaced persons, the policy on HIV / AIDS, the fight against hunger and poverty, protection of the rights of Dalits and tribals, the fight against corruption, the protection of ethics in the economic market and the impact of globalization.

Card. Gracias then cited the Apostolic Letter Mulieris Dignitatem of John Paul II (1988), on the dignity and vocation of women: "Of the 100 million women 'missing' in the world, China and India alone count for over 85 million. They are believed to have died from discriminatory treatment, lack of access to health care, nutrition or from pure negligence. Worse still, because they were never born. The 2011 census of India showed that the ratio between the number of females and males under 7 years old (child sex ratio) is the worst since 1947, the year the country was born".