Mangalore, November 16: Pioneers of 'Mangalore Christian Council' (MCC) were remembered and honoured on the occasion of its golden jubilee celebrations at a programme organised on Thursday at Bishop Jathanna Auditorium in Balmatta, Mangalore.
A book covering 'A Brief History of the Mangalore Christian Council' was jointly released by Dr Hannibal Cabral and Dr Joseph Martis, rectors of Karnataka Theosophical College, Balmatta and St Joseph's Seminary, Jeppu, to commemorate the event.
Addressing the gathering, Secretary of Karnataka Regional Catholic Bishops' Council (KRCBC) Fr Ronnie Prabhu said that the broad-mindedness of the ones who pioneered the ecumenism movement and their leadership was the reason it grew many years ago.
He said that he wanted the MCC to educate the Mangalore laity in Christian faith and spread the importance of ecumenism among them. “Every person in the community may be educated in Mangalore, but not educated enough in Christian faith. There may be differences among various denominations of Christian faith, which merely divide us. However, we must understand the essential aspects of our faith, and not compromise on it,” he said.
He envisioned a situation in Mangalore where all denominations were one.
In his message, Bishop of CSI Karnataka Southern Diocese Dr John S Sadananda said that the MCC had played a major role in the ecumenism movement. “We still have our differences, but we must also consider our faith, sense of direction, bringing changes, determination to move forward, uniting all the denominations and learning to live harmoniously with other religions, he said.
Dr Aloysius Paul D'Souza also gave a message to the gathering, calling on the Christian community to spread the message of unity amongst all at the time of darkness.
Pioneers and loyalists such as Dr C L Furtado, F M Lobo, Fr A F D'Souza, Dr John Fernandes, Paul Verghese, Judith Mascarenhas, Sydney Salins, Dr T A Khoshy, Ozmond Shiry, Asha Maben, Dr Victor Machado, Dr Lawrence Mendonca, Fr Stany Miranda, Fr Ronnie Prabhu, Fr Denis D'Sa and T R Andrews, who served the Christian community in Mangalore were felicitated on the occasion.
There was an audio-visual presentation on the pioneers and activities of MCC from the past 50 years.
Fr John Baptist Saldanha welcomed the gathering, while MCC Secretary Sandeep Theophil proposed a vote of thanks. Dr C L Furtado rendered a prayer of thanksgiving. Dr Geevarghese Mar Divannasios, Yakob Mar Elias and Olinda Pereira were present.
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