Irish-British Province

PAPUA NEW GUINEA
ASPAMIR Symposium in Madang,

The Third ASPAMIR (ASPA = Asia and Pacific Zone, MIR = Missionary Research) Symposium was held at Divine Word University, Madang, Papua New Guinea, from October 2-7, 2005.

The theme of the symposium was Violence and Mission. Thirty SVDs, guests from the Divine Word University and some SSpS sisters participated in the symposium. Twenty four SVD researchers from Asia and Pacific region presented papers on the theme.

The meet was organized by Patrick GESCH, the President of ASPAMIR. Fr. Thomas ASCHEMAN, Mission Secretary from the Generalate, presented a survey of SVD Mission in the world in the context of violence.

The Symposium opened with the panel discussion of three experienced missionaries from Papua New Guinea, they enumerated their own experiences of violence, and this was followed by the presentation of various papers and discussion.

“When faced with violence, there seems to be four options:” reports Fr. Stanislaus LAZAR (INM), the secretary of the MER (Missionary Education and Research), “Running away and keeping silent; closing up in a defensive crouch; taking revenge; or opening ourselves to love of enemies. The Christian option is clear. To face the situation of violence, four components may help: awareness raising, prevention, resistance and healing. We would be wise to pay creative attention to all four aspects.”

At the end of the symposium Fr. Raymundus Made SUDHIARSA (IDJ) was elected President of ASPAMIR for the next four years. Provincial Fr. Jan SZWEDA organized visits to some mission stations in the “Land of Paradise.”

Source: Arnoldus Nota