Bangladesh diocese celebrates Holy Childhood Day

The Pontifical Mission Society (PMS) in the Diocese of Rajshahi in Bangladesh celebrated Holy Childhood Day for the children from Saint Rita’s Church in northern Bangladesh at Mothurapur on October 2.

The PMS encourages Catholics to show love and care for children with a special theme: "The Children for a Synodal: Communion, Participation, and Mission."

Around 150 children, including some child animators, Sister Mary Archana, SMRA, Lay Sister Philomena Palma, three priests, and people from all over the villages under the parish attended the event.

"I observe many times that our children are honest, humble, and faithful and have a simple heart. So, we need to take care of them, and this is our moral duty," said Father Shishir Gregory, the parish priest.

He added, "We are responsible for taking care of and loving children, as Pope Francis invites us to be a synodal church to listen to them and invite them to participate in the church's mission."

Father Pius Gomes, secretary of the PMS in the diocese of Rajshahi, said, "We must be humble like the child Jesus. The responsibility of children in the church is to work together, preparing them to serve the church."

"Children are the future. So, they need to be taught values and ethics from now on so that we can have a beautiful world in the future," he added.

The program began with a rally with children chanting slogans. Under the guidance of Father Swapan Purification, Sister Mary Archana, SMRA, and the animators, the children participated in art, prayer, and religious singing competitions.

Pope Francis has declared that Synodality is what God expects of the Church in the 21st century. He has put his transformative stamp on the meaning and conduct of synods, saying that a synod involves mutual listening in which everyone has something to learn and contribute to the good of all.

In the Catholic Church, synodality is a term "often used to describe the process of fraternal collaboration and discernment that bodies like the [Synod of Bishops] were created to express."

The theme of this Synod is about the very nature of the Church, the specific way of living and operating as a Church together. What this means is that there will be opportunities for gathering and listening to one another and to what the Holy Spirit may prompt its members at this time.

The synodal process, instituted by Pope Francis, aims to reorder the Church's internal mechanisms for discussion and reflection and to help shape a new way for the Church to understand and articulate both her internal self-understanding and mission of evangelization.

The teaching of Scripture and tradition shows that Synodality is an essential dimension of the Church. Through Synodality, the Church reveals and configures itself as the pilgrim People of God and as the assembly convoked by the risen Jesus. - Nikhil Gomes