(ANS - Rome) – Some have been to many Chapters, like Fr Francis Maraccani  who has already participated in seven of them. !28 of the Chapter members are participating for the first time. The oldest Chapter member is Fr Maraccani. The youngest is the Delegate from the Sri Lanka Vice-Province, Fr Paul Sajeewaka who was 34 on 1 January 2014.

Fr Paul has been a Salesian since 1999. He studied theology at the Salesian Pontifical University. We met him during a pause in the chapter and he willingly answered some questions.

You are the youngest member of the Salesian General Chapter: what is it like for you?
I am very happy to have this experience. A General Chapter is the most important meeting in a religious congregation. So I feel very happy and fortunate, but I also feel responsible. I thank my Confreres in Sri Lanka for giving me this opportunity.

What do you think you will bring back to your Vice-Province when the Chapter is over?
First of all, I will bring greetings from the new Rector Major and his Council and from all the members of GC27 to the confreres in my country. Then I will share with them this beautiful experience based on a view of the Congregation worldwide, my reflections on what we have done on the theme of GC27 and the plan for the next six years.

I will bring with me a testimony of what I have seen, of how great the good Lord is everyday through our congregation, with its mission of saving young people most in need around the world. We are called to be mystics, prophets and servants of the young.

What is your work in Sri Lanka?
Until three months ago I worked as principal of a vocational school in the city of Kandy. Our national seminary is also in this city, and I taught philosophy to religious and seminarians in the first cycle of studies. At present I am dean of the aspirantate, where we have seventy-five young men. I am also Coordinator of Youth Ministry in the Vice-Province and member of the Provincial Council.

What are the young people in your country like?
They are very good. With regard to the social conditions, there is quite a lot of poverty, unrest, unemployment ... I am speaking about the  social conditions because we have just come to the end of a civil war that lasted thirty years. You can imagine the condition of the country, and especially of the young people. However, we live with great faith, hope and good will towards the future. I would say that the young people are relaxed even after this experience, but they need to be helped and accompanied. The most important thing is to educate them to be honest citizens and people of faith.

What are the challenges for the Church and the Christian faith?
In Sri Lanka we have four major religions: Buddhism 70.2%, Hinduism 12.6%, Islam 9.7% and Christianity 7.5% made up of 6.5% Catholics and 1% Protestants. So in a culture like this, the Church is facing really big challenges.

First of all, bearing witness to the Lord Jesus is not so easy. I believe deeply that the Church can do so through education in schools. Society in general has confidence in us and in our educational methods. 

Globalization is another challenge, which is changing our society profoundly, especially among young people. It has both positive and negative aspects. As a Church we try to keep the positive aspects, but we must also be alert to fight against anything that might destroy the lives of young people.

Published 31/03/2014