PROGRAMME with some excerpts from Evangelii GaudiumWELCOME
Rafael Corso  ES (Coordinator of IFCA Secretariat)  –  Mgr Felix Machado (Archbishop of Vasai – CBCI General Secretary)

PRAYER

Speech about the Topic
Mgr Eugene Joseph –  Bishop of Varanasi  Chairman
Anthony J. Fernandes – secretary
Laity Commission CCBI India

Experiences GOOD PRACTICES  PRIORITIES in the local churches
from the countries   3 KEY WORDS (slides) to share
• Philippines  – Albert A. Loteyro
Sangguniang ng Laiko ng Pilipinas (Council of the Laity of the Philippines)

• Myanmar – Jennifer Lei Lei Win
Secretary of IDCA

• Argentine Catholic Action

Towards the Synod 2021-2023
“For a synodal Church: communion, participation and mission”
Archbishop Felix Machado

PRAYER with witnesses of sanctity in Asia

Evangelii Gaudium
102 Lay people are, put simply, the vast majority of the people of God. The minority – ordained ministers – are at their service. There has been a growing awareness of the identity and mission of the laity in the Church. We can count on many lay persons, although still not nearly enough, who have a deeply-rooted sense of community and great fidelity to the tasks of charity, catechesis and the celebration of the faith (…) . Even if many are now involved in the lay ministries, this involvement is not reflected in a greater penetration of Christian values in the social, political and economic sectors. It often remains tied to tasks within the Church, without a real commitment to applying the Gospel to the transformation of society. The formation of the laity and the evangelization of professional and intellectual life represent a significant pastoral challenge.

 121 Of course, all of us are called to mature in our work as evangelizers. We want to have better training, a deepening love and a clearer witness to the Gospel. In this sense, we ought to let others be constantly evangelizing us. But this does not mean that we should postpone the evangelizing mission; rather, each of us should find ways to communicate Jesus wherever we are.

 201 While it is quite true that the essential vocation and mission of the lay faithful is to strive that earthly realities and all human activity may be transformed by the Gospel, none of us can think we are exempt from concern for the poor and for social justice: “Spiritual conversion, the intensity of the love of God and neighbour, zeal for justice and peace, the Gospel meaning of the poor and of poverty, are required of everyone”. I fear that these words too may give rise to commentary or discussion with no real practical effect. That being said, I trust in the openness and readiness of all Christians, and I ask you to seek, as a community, creative ways of accepting this renewed call.