POIGNANT AND PATH

POIGNANT AND PATH-BREAKING – PANASCO-7!

PANASCO – 7 (Pan Asia Congress) was held in Goa from September 13 to 17, 2010. PANASCO is a gathering of members of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, from the Asia and Oceania regions, comprising 27 nations.

This event was organized by the National Council of India together with PANASCO-7 Steering Committee members.

Vincentians met to share with each other their experiences in the service of the poor and the needy. Through discussions and sharing they were able to understand the methods of working of each country and thus improve on their own methods of working. The overall theme for this just concluded PANASCO was ‘Justice and Peace will Embrace’!

The delegates who numbered around 400 Vincentians, also included may priests and nuns, and hailed from nations as varied as Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Myanmar, the Philippines, China, Hong Kong, Korea, Tonga, Australia, New Zealand and many others.

Participant from India were the Presidents of all the Central Councils and the managing committee members of National Council of India.

It was a melting pot of minds and hearts from around Asia and elsewhere, with one mission in mind… upliftment of the downtrodden! Delegates began pouring in from Sept. 11 onwards.

(Bishop Agnelo Gracias Celebrating Inaugural Mass at Holy Spirit Church - Margao)

The days were chockablock with events that revolved around a topic for the day. This topic permeated all proceedings, beginning with Holy Mass that was celebrated daily by a bishop and concelebrated by priests from various nations. The main celebrants included Bishop Agnelo Gracias; Bishop Peter Machado of Belgaum; Most. Rev. Raul Gonsalves Archbishop Emeritus, Goa & Baman, Bishop Anthony Alwyn F. Barreto of Sindhudurg while on the closing day the principal celebrant was Most Rev. Filipe Neri Ferrao, Archbishop of Goa and Daman & Patriarch of East Indies. The Eucharistic celebrations of the opening day and rest of the days were held at the beautifully inspiring Holy Spirit Church, Margao, while the closing day Mass was celebrated at the renowned Bom Jesus Cathedral in Old Goa. A truly moving experience!

(Bishop Agnelo Gracias Lighting the Inaugural lamp with Bro. V.M.J. Balaswamy - N.C.I. President)

The topics were delivered by renowned speakers in the field and dealt with various issues close to the Vincentian heart. The talks were followed by intense Group Discussions that threw up varied ideas and suggestions, ending on the final day with a summation of points for action. Here is a day-by-day and blow-by-blow account of the Congress.

(Mr. Digambar Kamat Chief Minister of Goa, Lighting the Traditional Lamp)

Day 1 – Panasco-7 Theme: JUSTICE AND PEACE WILL EMBRACE

This was the beginning of PANASCO-7. Four p.m. saw a packed Holy Spirit Church, Margao, with Vincentians from all around the world, congregating there. The overall theme of PANASCO-7 i.e. ‘Justice and Peace will Embrace’ was the focus of the celebration. To entrance hymn ‘Ring out your joy’ saw the procession of celebrants enter. Priests from Goa, international delegate-priests and those from other parts of India led the principal celebrant Most. Rev. Agnelo Gracias, Auxiliary Bishop of Bombay. The Spiritual Advisor of the National Council of India, Rev. Msgr. M. Chinnappa, also concelebrated. A notable inclusion was Vincentian Bro. Alfred D’Souza who is a married deacon and former Central Council of Bombay president. A huge banner, carried by the altar servers with the theme of the mass led the procession. This practice was followed every day. In his homily, the bishop reminded the gathering that people search for God everywhere but they tend to forget that God is present in their fellow men.

The inaugural function that followed was held at the Ravindra Bhavan, Margao. The high profile guests on the dais included Chief Minister of Goa, Mr. Digambar Kamat; Bro. V.M.J. Balaswamy, President, National Council of India and Chairman, PANASCO-7; President General of the SSVP, Jose Ramon Diaz-Torremocha; His Grace Bishop Agnelo; Msgr. M. Chinnappa, Spiritual Advisor, National Council of India; Brian O’Reilly, Vice-President General; Syd Tutton, President, National Council of Australia; John Lee, Territorial Vice-President; Xavier James Raj, Vice-President, National Council of India , Dominic Pinto, Treasurer, National Council of India and Convener, PANASCO-7; Nirmala Costa Frias, President Central Council of Goa; Mario Godinho, former Central Council President, Goa and others. The President, National Council of India, SSVP, India, V.M.J. Balaswamy, declared PANASCO-7 open. A prayer dance was followed by speeches by those on the dais and awarding of scholarships to handicapped deserving youth and children. The Chief Minister hoped that the five day congress would deliberate on vital issues that would help reduce the gap between the rich and the poor. Entertainment and Dinner was held at clube Harmonia Club House, with a live band providing a much-needed musical flavour.

Day 2 – Theme: SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

It was the feast of the exaltation of the Holy Cross and Mass was celebrated by Bishop Peter Machado, Bishop of Belgaum. The choir comprised Vincentians of the Holy Spirit Conference, Margao. After mass, delegates proceeded to the Majorda Beach Resort, which was to be the main venue and its San Rafael Conference Hall the main setting for daily conferences, talks group sharing, power point presentations, official business and entertainment. The sessions for Day 2 day were held on…

(1) Twinnings – where a poorer conference of SSVP is linked to a self-sufficient one, and receives help from it. The speaker was Sr. Catherine from Vietnam. The session was moderated by Bro. Syd Tutton, President, National Council of Australia.

(2) Social Responsibility – Partnership to Progress was the focus of the speaker, Dr. John Falzon from Australia. He was an excellent speaker and peppered his speech with humour. Bro. Brian O’Reilly, Senior Vice-President General was the moderator. This was followed by Group Discussion in seven different locations around the hotel. Groups huddled around their animator and shared willingly. Theses discussions saw intense participation by the delegates and one sensed that much good was to come out of PANASCO-7. Teas and lunch were at the hotel. Late afternoon, a ‘Rosary on the world’ was conducted by Sis. Nirmala Costa Frias. That evening buses with delegates headed to Panjim for a Boat Cruise down the river Mandovi. The Cruise was taken on two boats with delegates dancing and unwinding, ending with a nice dinner spread. A great way to end the day!

Day 3 – Theme: SPIRITUALITY

It was the feast of Our Lady of Seven Sorrows. Principal celebrant at Holy Mass was Rt. Rev. Raul Gonsalves, Archbishop Emeritus, Goa & Daman. Post-mass delegates proceeded to Majorda Beach Resort. Sessions were held on…

(3) New Poor – A new trio of challenges regarding the new poor in areas of Education, Alienation and Homelessness. It was by and far the most entertaining and incisive of the talks and was given by Fr. Desmond D’Souza CSsR, from Porvorim, Goa. This session was moderated by Sis. Nirmala Costa Frias, President Goa Central Council.

(4) Spirituality – A force from within, was dealt with by Fr. Joseph Francis CM. Coordinator of the Vincentian Family, India. He read out his notes even as a power point presentation displayed it via a MS Word file, on screens. The session was moderated by Bro. Xavier James Raj, Vice-President, National Council of India. Evening prayers were led by Sr. Catherine of Vietnam, via an audiovisual presentation. Very inspiring indeed! A break followed. Delegates gathered once again for an entertaining evening and were regaled by the talented musical band of Emiliano and his Group. Goa youth gave a performance of four Indian dances viz. prayer dance to a rendition of the Gayatri Mantra, Gujarati dandiya, Rajasthani dance and Punjabi’s ever-favourite Bhangra. The highlight of the evening was an auction of paintings, whose proceeds were to go to the National Council of India. The buyers included Bro. Randolph Rodricks, Bro. Joseph Soares, Michelle Pinto and Bro. John Lobo who bought a painting and presented it to the Australian Vincentians. Later, the floor was thrown open for dancing and many delegates let their hair down. Dinner was a sumptuous affair.

Day 4 – Theme: YOUTH AND EXPERIENCE

Bishop of Sindhudurg, his Grace Anthony Alwyn F. Barreto, was the main celebrant. The youth choir lent their voices for a melodious Eucharistic celebration. After mass Group photographs were taken of the entire PANASCO-7 contingent. It was then back to the hotel for the day’s programme.

(5) Youth and Experience – A positive coming together. The speaker was Bro. T. Joseph Pandian, Coordinator for Asia-Oceania Group 1 and former National Council President, SSVP, India and Bro. Joseph Soares, Vice-President, Bombay Central Council, was the moderator.

Post-lunch, most of the excited delegates readied themselves for a half-day sightseeing tour around the many sights of Goa. The convoy of buses took off around South Goa. Places visited were Big Foot, Farmaguddi in Ponda where we stopped for refreshments of piping hot potato bhajias and steaming cups of tea, the Mangeshi Temple, ruins of St. Monica’s in Old Goa. Rains which began with a drizzle that turned into a downpour, and a dark, cut short the trip. Delegates then buzzed off to Panjim for a stint at shopping. Dinner was had at one of the hotels where delegates resided.

Day 5 – Theme: HIV/AIDS- SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

The day began with elections for the venue of PANASCO-8. New Zealand, Malaysia and Singapore were the contenders for host country. The contending nations ‘argued’ their case. New Zealand spoke of all that they would do to make PANASCI-8 a success while Malaysia said, “this is the first time a majority Muslim country is trying to bid for Panasco. Life is not so straightforward in Malaysia as far as Catholicism is concerned. There is subtle intense persecution. You (New Zealand) want Panasco, we need it!” This prompted Singapore to come up and declare, “in the light of what Malaysia just said, we gracefully withdraw.” National Presidents of the Panasco countries voted between Malaysia and New Zealand. PANASCO-8 will be held in Malaysia! This was followed by the last session of PANASCO-7…

(6) HIV/AIDS – Social Responsibility. Ms Danusia Kaska of Australia delivered the talk. Management Consultant Bro. Randolph A. Rodricks was the moderator for this session. This was followed by a summation of the five-day congress by Bro. Brian O’Reilly who, via a Power Point Presentation, put down the gist of all the data gathered via the group discussions, thus giving a blueprint, a path for Vincentians to follow until the next Panasco. Regarding the youth he stressed that every country should hold a national youth day and the students who are part of conferences ought to be given free time for exams and academic activities. “They are students first,” he said. As far as service is concerned he summed up, “We should be working with the people and not just for them.” The closing ceremony was then held with National President, India, V.M.J. Balaswamy saying, “I thank you for your active participation in PANASCO-7,” He thanked the speakers, bishops and priests. It was a time to discover fresh avenues and make new friends, t hold hands and tackle the scourge of poverty together. Plenty of networking, parleying and discussions resulted in a plethora of ideas for action, enumerated on the penultimate day by Vice-President General, Bro. Brian O’Reilly. He said, “Panasco and what it is should live with you for the next four years.”

That afternoon, the Eucharistic Celebration was held at the Bom Jesus Cathedral in Old Goa. The main celebrant was Most Rev. Filipe Neri Ferrao, Archbishop of Goa & Daman and Patriarch of Each Indies. The entire liturgical celebration was meaningful, and the holy ambience, coupled with the renowned choir of the Pilar School of Music conducted by Fr. Peter Cardoz, led the entire congregation into an aura of spiritual upliftment.

After Mass the delegates returned to the Majorda Beach Resort, their fountainhead of prayer and ideas. They had come with only one mission to accomplish… lightening the burden of the less privileged. A new enlightenment was that the New Poor of today also include the elderly, children, drug addicts, migrants, refugees and widows. They need someone to listen to them, counsel them, and bring succor to their troubled hearts. Their need is psychological and is as poignant, if not more, as the physically hungry and ill people the SSVP assists.

The SSVP team at the National Council of India level, together with PANASCO-7 convener Dominic Pinto of Mumbai, and team, ably assisted by the Vincentians of Goa, organized this mega event to the great satisfaction of the delegates. This prompted Brian O’Reilly, Vice-President General, SSVP (from Australia), to say of the hospitality enjoyed in India. “The warmth of your welcome can only be matched with the warmth of your weather. India has many monuments but for me what makes a country great are its people. And India is a great country, a great nation.”

PHOTO GALLERY OF PANASCO-7

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