Posted on 04/11/2006 9:57:54 PM PDT by NYer
KOENIGSTEIN, Germany, APRIL 11, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Vocations in India seem to be booming as increasing numbers of young men stepping forward to prepare for the priesthood.
In a recent interview with the international charity Aid to the Church in Need, Father Ignatius Prasad, rector of the Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Chennai (formerly Madras), gave this optimistic assessment of the Church.
The priest explained that his seminary now has 286 students and that -- due to a lack of space -- he had to turn away 23 candidates, who have been forced to continue their training elsewhere.
The seminary is one of four in southern India with a combined total of almost 800 students from 28 dioceses. More than 60 of them are due to be ordained to the priesthood next month.
In Chennai, there were now more than 30 students in each year-group in the seminary's theology section, double the number in the late 1980s, Father Prasad said.
"Vocations are going up; this has been the case for the last five years or so," the rector said. "We find it difficult to admit all the applicants and set a tight deadline for them to get their papers in on time."
Father Prasad revealed that there was growing "political pressure" to limit the growth of the Church with a new anti-conversion law introduced in the state of Tamil Nadu: Preaching in public is forbidden and would-be converts to Christianity now face a barrage of paperwork thrust upon them by government officials.
Retreats, sodalities
The seminary rector said that people were turning to the Church in protest against the new regulations.
"The more pressure they put on people, the more they feel like proclaiming their faith," he said.
The priest went on to explain that lively youth programs were drawing people to the faith and encouraging men to discern a possible vocation to the priesthood. Retreats, sodalities and altar serving had all helped to boost the number of seminarians.
He also praised the work of Aid to the Church in Need, describing how the charity had supported key training for seminary staff, Mass intentions, library books and a generator.
"What we feel is so important," Father Prasad added, "is to help the students to realize what they are learning about is not so much an academic subject but a mystery, something that is very personal and with a strong human dimension to it."
"Oh, brother! So the missionaries are supposed to ignore the suffering of the people they're surrounded by? Oh, my, he fed a poor person, let's go bash his skull in!"
Tell me brother - what about you poor christian brothers in Africa ? You know , all those people in Rwanda, Angola, Zimbabwe etc. ? Majority of them are passionate christians. They are worse off than even the poorest hindu untouchables in India. Why doesn't your christian god show any mercy for them ? Why dont you good christian brothers do something for them ? Why does your christian god hate his people in africa ?
dangus : ">> first of all they break indian laws <<
and the first Christians broke Roman laws. And the Jew-protecters broke Nazi laws. And the underground churches broke Soviet and Maoist laws."
Just like Al Qaeda broke US laws , you mean ?
There is a big difference between a free , democratic India and Nazi Germany or Marxist USSR. By hoping for people to break laws of India , you are advocating terrorism.
NYer - I thank you for your concern for the poor hindu untouchables of India , but I wonder whether you feel any empathy for your fellow christian brothers in Africa ? Poor folks are even worse off than Indian untoucables and are literally starving and rotting to death.....
Tell me , what has your christian god done for them ?
Who made you the jury ? Your christian god ?
if india thought so then mother teresa would have had her skull bashed instead of being respected and treated as a national hero. by the way feeding a poor person is a lot different from blackmailing a poor person to break with his roots for a bag of rice. serve in the name of christ instead of hindu bashing or hindu baiting.
and the first Christians broke Roman laws. And the Jew-protecters broke Nazi laws. And the underground churches broke Soviet and Maoist laws.
yeah right. india is no soviet union. it has religious freedom. wrong analogy there. see my first post on this thread. two out of the four south indian states are ruled by christians!!!! a christian catholic almost became the head of this country. india for a long time was a dhimmi state that went out of the way to please its jihadi population.
i have been to india and it has more spirituality and tolerance than most places in this country.
as i said, i see no difference between jihadi / wahhabi lies and the lies thrown around by hindu bashers. check out the poster in question flying a portugese flag and abusing his country just because he couldnt get a jahwb.
well said!!
Its not hatred , just a simple principle I learnt as a kid , called "tit for tat" or "do unto others as they do to you". If you slap me , I will slap back. If you abuse me or my faith or whatever, you will get the same in return , with interest.
A lot of hindus have migrated to the west too. So using your logic we will have to conclude that the corporate world in india discriminates against them too!!
Imagine calling me a Hindu Baiter. Just because they resent the Portuguese Flag. All I have to say is show me the proof that I am a Hindu Baiter.
Please keep posting. That is proof enough.
"And whether you believe it or not, you will face judgment before Almighty God--as will we all."
So will that 'Almighty God' be a hindu god or a christian god ??
If you ask muslims , they will tell you there is only one god and his name is allah.....its all to confusing. Too bad nobody has actually seen the chap.....
Are you sure everybody is equal in christianity ? Tell that to the hundreds of millions of christians in Africa , who are rotting and starving to death. I am sure they will be pleased. They should feel privileged at being part of such a great faith. Never mind most of them have skeleton protruding out of their skins and die before they turn 25 , atleast they will reach heaven after they die , because in eyes of the almighty christian god , they are all sexy , beautiful , equal or whatever.
Your ignorance of Christian teaching is profound. I will pray for you.
I pray for you too. Honest.
Infact let us all pray for each other. That should be nice.
if nothing else succeeds fall back on the "i am a victim" war cry. Bigotry lives.
mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the most bigoted of them all../sarcasm
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