| India – Work of the Salesians with the Khasi people |
| RMG – The inculturation of the Salesian charism |
The challenges to evangelisation from modern society can be faced with the same means which this globalised society offers. This is one of the convictions which Archbishop Jala expressed in a long article in the Asian Agency UcaNews. “Jesus used words and signs to speak to people The apostles and subsequent generations made use of the best means available for evangelisation Why should we not use the best from the wide-ranging world of communication in the cause of Jesus?”
In Shillong, Archbishop Jala’s see, confidence in the media and the potential it has to spread the message of the Gospel is very deep-rooted and has led to a very fruitful collaboration between the Church and the lay people directly involved. By means of this synergy important videos and documentaries have been produced on relevant social topics. One excellent documentary was on “The Rome of St. Peter and St Paul,” which was made in 2009 for the 75th anniversary of the archdiocese of Shillong, which was broadcast by several television stations including Protestant ones.
Another issue to which the Salesian archbishop attaches great importance is that of the inculturation of the Gospel in the local setting, in particular through the contribution of the arts. For this reason, since 2009 the diocese has been in contact with Catholic artists, obtaining the collaboration of about fifty people, and has also organised two exhibitions on biblical and religious subjects.
“Music too is very important!” – Archbishop Jala writes in his article – “Whoever takes part in our celebrations will have noticed that the quality of the Church music has improved becoming more liturgical and more inculturated”. The use of instruments and melodies for sacred music based on traditional “khasi” music is gradually becoming more common in the archdiocese and already a book of prayers and hymns in the Khasi language has been printed entitled “Ka Lynti Bneng” (The heavenly way).
In line with the natural missionary tradition of the Church in India, many religious are engaged in promoting and integrating the traditional music of the local tribes in the Christian musical repertoires and a process has started of collecting and codifying tribal folklore and music. “This will mean an important forward step in order to lead to a better interpretation of our cultural heritage and to link it to our Christian faith” Archbishop Jala concludes.
Published 23/05/2011
