from daijiworld's special correspondent

Panaji, Nov 13: The Church in Goa will be hosting, for the very first time, a meeting of the Catholic Cultural Centres of India, being organized by the Pontifical Council for Culture, Vatican, at Pilar Theological College, Pilar, from November 21 to  24,  2006, officials stated.
 
Cardinal Paul Poupard, head of this important Vatican department, will be presiding over the meeting, which will have for its theme: Catholic Cultural Centres: Cultural Resources for Living the Christian Faith in Dialogue with the Traditional Cultures in the Context of Evolving Cultures, says a press note released here.
 
It will be attended by over forty cultural centres from all over India. Many Catholic cultural centres throughout the world are engaged in the promotion of Catholic culture as well as in the Inculturation of Christian Faith and Dialogue with non-Christian cultural environments, the organisers stated.

The seventy-six year old Church Dignitary, Cardinal Paul Poupard, has been a Cardinal for over 21 years. The former Auxiliary Bishop of Paris is an erudite scholar who had earlier been the director of the famous Institute Catholique de Paris.  He holds two doctorates from the Sorbonne – in Theology and in History. His writings have been translated into thirteen different languages, press note adds.

Having been the president of the Council for Culture since 1988, he has now also been appointed president of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue. This Council has indeed become increasingly important in the last few years and particularly over the last few months, after the speech of the Pope in Germany concerning Muslims. Cardinal Poupard has been a central figure in handling the issue and he will be a key figure in the Papal entourage that goes with the Pope to Turkey on November 26.

"Accompanying the Cardinal to Goa will be his Secretary, Fr. Bernard Ardura and the Official for the Asia Desk, Dr  Theodore Mascarenhas. Dr. Mascarenhas, a priest of the Society of Pilar, also teaches at various Universities in Rome," officials stated.

Papal Nuncio Archbishop Pedro L. Quintana (the Ambassador of the Vatican in India)  will also be attending the three-day Meeting.

Archbishop of Goa and Daman Filipe Neri Ferrao and the Superior General of the Society of Pilar  Fr  Tony Lopes, will be accompanying the distinguished guest during his six-day stay in Goa, organizers added.