By 'Il Bolletino Salesiano' (Italian edition)
Italy, 10 March 2023 -- Three years after his election during GC28 (March 2020) Fr Joseph Nguyen Thin Phuoc shares on the pages of the Italian Salesian Bulletin (Il Bolletino Salesiano, published since 1877, today in 350.000 copies monthly).
The extensive 4-page interview helps the wider public understand the situation, achievement, challenges and future of the East Asia-Oceania Region (EAO) with the following questions:
How did the Salesians arrive in East Asia?
What is the general situation of Christians?
What is the relationship with believers of other religions?
What is the current situation of the Salesians?
What are the most important countries and works?
Who inspires the most hope in the region?
What are the most acute problems of the moment?
What are the most urgent needs of the EAO region?
How do you see the future?
We just report the answer to the last question of this lengthy interview:
"The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Together with South Asia, 33% of the world's population resides in this region. The apostolic field for the Church and for the Salesians in particular is extremely vast. At the same time, the Church invites its faithful in Asia and the Pacific to enter into a threefold dialogue: dialogue with the poor, with culture and with religions. With their charismatic missionary identity, the Salesians engage in education and evangelisation, giving priority to poor youth as a sensitive part of society.
Having grown up and worked in the Province of Vietnam, that lost almost everything during and at the end of the war (1954 and 1975), putting together something very humble to start again, I believe that no difficulty, no challenge (internal or external) can prevent Salesians from dedicating their services to young people in difficulty: God loves young people; Don Bosco loved young people; the needs of young people are evident, that is, the Salesian mission is meaningful. It is up to each Salesian to fulfil this mission entrusted to him and his community by God."
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