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As part of a training programme for young Bhutanese, Archbishop Menamparampil was able to visit Bhutan, the first time since 1993. “I started my journey on March 9, beginning from Phuntsholing,” he told AsiaNews.
The visit was hard work but encouraging and enabled the Archbishop to meet about 300 Christians in various communities. Travelling between villages was difficult “every time about seven hours drive,” but the joyful welcome from the small communities made the effort worth while. “The altitude of many of the places we visited was about 2500 metres and I found the believers very fervent in their faith and eager to learn more about Christianity.(…) They eagerly wait for visiting Christian believers who can give them further instruction. We thought we were living in the days of the Acts of the Apostles.”
On March 11th having arrived at Thimphu. The capital, the Archbishop said mass for the small Catholic community. This community is considered an old group of Christian believers in the kingdom and are not disturbed by the Authorities at their quiet worship every week.
The number of Christians has increased in the last 18 years reaching about 10,000 even though the government discourages religions other than Buddhism in various ways. “I did not find any of the Christians discouraged or over-worried. They believe in the gentle ways of persuasion that is more typical of a Buddhist society, in order to induce change,” Archbishop Menamparampil explains.
In a land very proud of its own culture and of its traditions, Christianity needs to work through inculturation. The Archbishop of Guwahati concludes: “The issue of ‘culture’ is always very sensitive in Asia. Most people do not know how to make a distinction between culture and religion.… Our challenge in such situations is to invite people to deeper reflection about their identity, their task on earth and their ultimate destiny.”
Published 25/03/2011
