Pontifical Council for the Pastoral
Care of Migrants
and Itinerant People
PRESENTATION OF THE CONGRESS
“International Students and Meeting of Cultures”
H. E. Bishop Joseph
Kalathiparambil
Secretary of the Pontifical Council
for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People
Your Beatitude, Your Eminences, Your Excellencies, dear Reverend Fathers,
Religious Sisters and Brothers, dear Pastoral Agents and international
university students!
It is with great pleasure that I take this opportunity to present the theme of
this World Congress on the pastoral care of international students. It certainly
gives me great satisfaction and brings me back to those beautiful years when I
myself was a "foreign student" here in this
The Final Document of the I World Congress, organized by our Pontifical Council
in 1996, states that being foreigner is a condition that belongs to the contents
of the Revelation and is a dimension in which the Church of Christ is called
to become "space", "place of communion", and "Sacrament of God" which embraces
all men and women into His Kingdom. While the document appreciates the
intellectual, cultural and spiritual contribution of the international students
in enhancing and enriching the cultural patrimony of the receiving society, it
also understands the dilemma, at times faced by them, especially when the local
culture challenges their value systems, aggravated by incidents of hostile and
xenophobic attitudes and permissive moral practices as well as model and
models of the Church being different from what was once familiar to them in
their native land.
The participants of the II Word Congress, organized by our Dicastery in 2005,
recognized so many positive contributions and also the "cultural shock” and
"secularization" as some of the main negative impacts that overshadow the life
of the international student. The Blessed Pope John Paul II, in his words to the
participants of this Congress, made it a point to highlight this growing
phenomenon as an important field of the pastoral action of the Church, as
contributing agents both for the development of their native countries and for
the Church's mission.
While addressing the participants of the Plenary Assembly of the Pontifical
Council for Culture in 1983, the Pope said that all sons and daughters of the
Church should become conscious of their mission and discover how the power of
the Gospel can penetrate and regenerate mentalities and dominant values that
inspire cultures, and also opinions and mental attitudes deriving from them. In
this Third World Congress, which we have just begun, our Pontifical Council
wishes to concentrate as how to develop a well-reflected methodology of approach
to this increasingly challenging phenomenon and also a programme of a widely
coordinated continental and international net-work for the future of this very
critical field of pastoral activity of the Church in the modern times.
When we look at the Programme of this Congress, therefore, one can see how it
has been set in a manner to give us practically three full days of intense
listening, reflecting and sharing in order to understand the meaning and
implications, demands and benefits of the meeting of cultures in the world of
international students. This evening, we will listen to the greetings from the
Prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education, His Eminence Cardinal Zenon
Grocholewski, who calls the theme of the congress "particularly interesting and
timely", not only because the cultural tensions affect the dynamics of
multicultural and multinational society but also because they influence
educational projects, teaching and academic researches. The greetings and
experience of fraternal delegations from the Ecumenical Patriarchate of
Constantinople, the Anglican Communion and the Lutheran World Federation will
certainly contribute to encourage our undertaking.
Addressing the Plenary Assembly of the Pontifical Council for Culture in 1997,
Blessed John Paul II said that faith in Christ incarnated in history not only
internally transforms the persons but regenerates also people and their
cultures. In this perspective, His Eminence Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi,
President of the Pontifical Council for Culture, will guide us tomorrow during
the morning session to understand and appreciate the interconnectedness
and interdependence between the Gospel and CultureThe Gospel of Our Lord
is made known and made understandable to the w. orld through its implantation
within the existing culture of the time.
In the second half of the morning session, in the Round-Table discussion, the
President of the Service of European Churches for International Students
(SECIS), Rev. Fr. Pierre Devos, SJ, from Belgium and the President of the
Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities in the United States of
America (ACCU-USA), Dr. Michael Galligan-Stierle, will articulate their
experience to discuss on how far the meeting of cultures has been positively and
negatively affecting the faith and values of the young generation today. The two
student delegates from
Immediately after the audio-visual presentation on the activities of SECIS in
the afternoon, His Excellency the Most Reverend Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of
Westminster, United Kingdom, and President of the Commission on Catechesis,
School and University of the Council of European Episcopal Conferences, will
enlighten us on how the meeting of cultures is seen in the process of
evangelization in Catholic schools and universities. The Prelate will base his
presentation on the Blessed Cardinal Newman's "Idea of a university".
These two main interventions of the day and the panel discussion will facilitate
our personal evaluation and contribution in the Workshops with the given themes
for reflections. Please remember that the workshops are extremely important for
a good outcome of the Congress. Your collaboration will be very much
appreciated.
The second day is dedicated to underline the vital role that culture plays in
the field of education. His Excellency Archbishop Savio HonTai-Fai, Secretary of
the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, will deal with this theme
from three points of view: (1) cultural transformations, (2) frontiers of
education and (3) inculturation of the Gospel and Faith. Archbishop Hon Tai-Fai will
consider the globalization process, which has brought about the standardization
of culture and the crisis of cultural identities of persons and institutions in
the context of the culture of globalization, affecting the education itself and
the education systems.
Following the audiovisual presentations on the activities for international
students in various parts of the world, the Round-Table in the afternoon will
take into debate the possibility and the challenges of animating a specific
pastoral care for international students. Rev. Sr. Mérète L. Klinke, belonging
to the Congregation of Charity of Nevers Sisters and Pastoral Agent for students
from France, and Mr Mehul Dabhi, President of the International Movement of
Young Catholic Students - PAX Romana, based in
The workshops in the late afternoon will offer you again the possibility to give
the best of your reflections and pastoral experience and to propose a project of
a manual of Guidelines for the use of the university pastoral care for
international students in future. As the establishment of SECIS was encouraged
as a concrete response to the outcome of the First World Congress in 1996, our
Pontifical Council wishes to undertake, as a concrete response to the outcome of
this III World Congress, the task of working out a manual, taking into
consideration your reflections and indications, to better respond to the needs
of the international students.
The last day of the Congress will be lighted up by Rev. Sr. Martha Seide, FMA, a
salesian sister from
The main event, which adds grandeur, joy and significance to our Third World
Congress is the Audience with the Holy Father Benedict XVI on Friday 2nd
December. This is a unique and solemn occasion for all of us as the Holy Father
has once again recognized the importance of this particular pastoral solicitude
of the Church, also as a gesture of encouraging the international students and
of appreciating the work of those committed to this field of pastoral activity.
May the power of the Holy Spirit inspire and guide all that we speak, discuss
and propose during these four days of the Congress.
Thank you!