Acta Apostolicae Sedis - Commentarium Officiale536

NUNTIUS

Ad Congressum Laicorum Catholicorum Asiae.*

To my Venerable Brother

Cardinal Stanisław Ryłko

President of the Pontifical Council for the Laity

I was pleased to learn that the Congress of Asian Catholic Laity will be

held in Seoul from 31 August to 5 September 2010. I ask you kindly to

convey my cordial greetings and prayerful good wishes to the Bishops,

priests, religious and lay faithful from Asia assembled for this significant

pastoral initiative promoted by the Pontifical Council for the Laity. The

theme chosen for the Congress - Proclaiming Jesus Christ in Asia Today

- is most timely, and I am confident that it will encourage and guide the

lay faithful of the continent in bearing joyful witness to the Risen Lord and

to the life-giving truth of his holy word.

Asia, home to two-thirds of the world's people, the cradle of great reli-

gions and spiritual traditions, and the birthplace of diverse cultures, is cur-

rently undergoing unprecedented processes of economic growth and social

transformation. Asia's Catholics are called to be a sign and promise of that

unity and communion - communion with God and among men - which the

whole human family is meant to enjoy and which Christ alone makes possi-

ble. As part of the mosaic of the continent's different peoples, cultures and

religions, they have been entrusted with a great mission: that of bearing

witness to Jesus Christ, the universal Savior of mankind. This is the supreme

service and the greatest gift that the Church can offer to the people of Asia,

and it is my hope that the present Conference will provide renewed encour-

agement and direction in taking up this sacred mandate.

"The peoples of Asia need Jesus Christ and his Gospel. Asia is thirsting for

the living water that Jesus alone can give".1 These prophetic words of the

Servant of God John Paul II still resound as a summons addressed to each

member of the Church in Asia. If the lay faithful are to take up this mission,

* Die 10 Augusti 2010. 1 Ecclesia in Asia, 50.