Report by Br Gleron Quadros, student of theology
Feb 17 : The Annual Bishop Basil Memorial Lecture was organized by the St Joseph’s Interdiocesan Seminary, Jeppu on Friday, 14 February 2020 at 6.00 p.m. in the Centenary Memorial Hall. The topic of the Lecture was “Witnesses of Christ in today’s context”. Rev. Dionysius Vaz SJ, Rector, St Aloysius College, Mangalore was the speaker of the day and Rev. Antony Shera, secretary, Catholic Board of Education, was the moderator of the session.
Rev. Joseph Martis, coordinator of the program, welcomed the gathering and gave a brief introduction of the speaker following which the Speaker delivered a meaningful, thought provoking, inspiring and moving talk on the topic. Rev. Dionysius shed light on the present apathy of the state of India with the financial, social and democratic crises. He cautioned the attendance with alarming rate at which constant attacks were being made on the multi-cultural, multi-lingual fabric of India. By sharing many anecdotes and using powerful images of the present context, he exhorted the gathering to rethink and reflect on the way Christians live today. He opined that it is not enough to just watch and keep quiet but to conscientize the people on the evils of society and to empower to speak up and act against these problems.
After the talk Rev. Antony Shera coordinated the session for queries and discussion. There was a good participation from the crowd. In attendance were the student and teaching faculty of Seminary, religious sisters and lay people. Br Joel, student of philosophy, proposed the vote of thanks. Br Pradeep Cardoza, student of theology emceed the event.
