The church in these challenging times must assume a character that’s local and respond to its people accordingly.
This was the gist of the talk given by Bishop Francisco F. Claver, SJ during the launching of his book “The Making of a Local Church” on Wednesday, July 22, 2009 at the Centro Pastoral, this city.
Bishop Claver, a Jesuit who was bishop of Malaybalay, Bukidnon and then of Bontoc Lagawe drew from his experiences in Mindanao and as member of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines ( CBCP) these past 40 years. .
Bishop Claver spoke of the Church as rooted in the Basic Ecclesial communities and shedding its image deeply rooted in the western and Roman way.
The widely respected Claver stressed churches, especially in the Philippine setting, need to adopt a ‘Filipino Face’, one which its congregation could relate to and understand better.
The book launch was jointly sponsored by the Archdiocese of Zamboanga and the Ateneo de Zamboanga University.
The book launching is timely as the Archdiocese of Zamboanga City prepares for its centennial celebration in 2010 while the Ateneo is in the midst of the sesquicentennial celebration of the return of the Jesuits to the country.
Copies of the book are now on sale at the Campus Ministry Office and the Ateneo Peace and Culture Institute.
