Meeting of Secretaries of CBCI Offices/Councils and Regional Deputy Secretaries

The meeting of secretaries of CBCI Offices/Councils and Regional Deputy Secretaries was held at St.  Joseph Vaz Spiritual Renewal Centre, Goa from April 3 to 5, 2018. There were 10 secretaries of CBCI Offices/Councils/Desk, 3 Secretaries of National Institutions and 8 Regional Deputy Secretaries for the meeting.

The meeting began with Holy Eucharist presided over by Bp Theodore Mascarenhas, Secretary General of CBCI. The formal session began at 9:15 am with Fr. Deepak Thomas KJ OCD,  Secretary CBCI Council for Youth leading us in prayer. After the prayer Bp Theodore welcomed everyone. Rev. Fr. Henry Falcao, Director, SJVSRC welcomed all to the Renewal Centre and in brief explained the history of the venue and it’s significance. Fr. Thomas newly appointed secretary of Faith and Doctrine was welcomed and introduced to the group.

Bishop Theodore then explained the purpose and modality of the gathering. Followed by reading of the final statement. There was a general discussion on major issues/points emerging from to statement. Fr.  Paul Moonjely moderated the session.

For the afternoon the entire group was divided into 4 groups and the following core issues were discussed

1. Formation,  Education, Participation,  Services and institution
2. Constitutional literacy, rights and empowerment
3. Dialogue of life with people’s of other Churches and Religious
4. Communication

Questions for discussion

1. What strategic action will you propose for each of these 3 areas (What & Who)
2. What communication strategy will you suggest? (Charts & Timeline).

Fr. Jervis D’Souza moderated the post tea session by having a talk show. It was more of an interactive session where not only the secretaries but the members of the groups were also invited to share their views.

The day concluded with rosary and dinner.

The 2nd Day began with Holy Eucharist, Abp  Filipe Neri Ferrao, Archbishop of Goa and Daman, being the Main Celebrant. The morning session on Networking and Communication was conducted by Mr.  Melvyn Misquita a renowned Catholic Journalist. He stressed the importance of being aware of the fake news and good reporting and journalism. He also called for good networking among all of us in different states in India. This session was moderated by Rev. Fr. Vincent Chinnadurai.  After the presentation there was an open discussion. Fr Jervis D’Souza, Deputy Secretary General felicitated Mr Melwyn Misquitta.

In the final session, all the secretaries put forward their plans for implementation of the Final Statement. This session was moderated by Fr John Ponnore. The meeting was brought to a close by the Vote of Thanks by Fr Amalraj.