Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Mumbai (Agenzia Fides) - India is in urgent need to form the consciences of young people, future leaders, to values such as harmony, peace and justice, celebrating its "unity in diversity": this is what emerged from a recent inter-faith meeting held in Mumbai in past days by the Daughters of St. Paul, in collaboration with the Hindu "Bandra" Association and the Islamic school "Anjuman-I-Islam," on the theme "Training leaders for tomorrow".
"We are God’s children and citizens of this great nation: we work together for the betterment of our people", urged Sister Chakkalackal of the Daughters of St. Paul, coordinator and promoter of the meeting, before an audience of young people from different religious communities.
The keynote speaker, Joe Monteiro, an expert in the field of Human Resources, illustrated the young people the characteristics of a leader: "To be loving, enthusiastic, helping others to develop their own personality". Monteiro described the leader as someone who has values such as listening, sincerity, confidence in him/herself, intelligence, the ability to think and put together new ideas. "It is a good thing to remember that nobody is a born leader: everyone is called to use God-given talents", he remarked.
According to Sister Pauline, of the Daughters of St. Paul, in today’s India pervaded by the leaven of religious radicalism, young people can bear witness to a wide and generous co-operation between the various religious groups, in view of the common good of society. A great responsibility, he stressed, is in the hands of families, where children "learn the basics of moral and human relationships". "It is the parents' responsibility - he concluded - to feed their children with the values of love, forgiveness, peace, sincerity and above all honesty and justice. The integration of these values will make children responsible citizens, and therefore good leaders of tomorrow. " (PA-LM) (Agenzia Fides 01/02/2012)
