Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Burgos (Agenzia Fides) – Today marks the opening day at the 63rd Missiology Week in Burgos. The event is being held at the Archdiocese's Faculty of Theology. After words of greeting from the Archbishop of Burgos, Archbishop Francisco Gil Hellin, the first conference will be held, given by Bishop Camilo Lorenzo Iglesias of Astorga, a member of the Bishops' Commission for the Missions, who will discuss the theme of "Priests for the Mission." Mass will follow.
According to a note sent to Fides, the opening conference presents on of the two main themes of the Week, which aims at showing the universal and missionary dimension of the priesthood, although this must be done within the Christian community because, as the theme of the Week expresses, "we have to carry out the mission together." It cannot be a task of some specialists who work on their own in isolation, but must be the work and commitment of all Christians.
The other main theme of the week is the ecumenical dimension: the mission must be done all together, i.e. in communion with all Christians of various denominations, to avoid repeating history in terms of the divisions in Christianity throughout history. This is the same idea launched by modern ecumenism, whose origins date back to the International Missionary Conference held in Edinburgh in 1910. This is why the Week in Burgos will also celebrate the centenary of this landmark in the history of Christianity in the twentieth century. (CE) (Agenzia Fides 07/12/2010)
