Because of the ethnic difference of the people of God in
the Diocese of Mymensingh and the particular problems in the area, it is
necessary to have a different pastoral plan.This plan should be an expression
not only of the present situation.
In the Garo Church.
It should be a vision of what the people themselves hope for themselves and the
Garo race as the people of God. The pastoral plan should be the fruit of
planning done by the people of God after analyzing their problems as an ethnic
minority within a small Christian community in a Muslim country. As a Mongolian
minority the Garo community has unique problems maintaining their identity as a
Christian ethnic minority. The constant attempt to take over their lands
because their lands are undocumented has made the community unstable and a
vulnerable target for oppression. With the impoverishment of the Tribe many
young people have migrated to the cities in the garments industry and as domestic
servants or work in beauty parlors. Here they have become victims of corruption
and vice. What is the peoples’ self image and hope for the future should be
reflected in the pastoral plan.
Prophetic
pastoral guidelines:
We the Mandi people, choose the
family in all its expressions as the core of our pastoral ministry. We as Mandi people, make a preferential
option for and in solidarity with the poor and marginalized.
We, as Mandi people make a
preferential option for Mandi youth, so that they will participate at all
levels of pastoral ministry.
We as Mandi people, want to
develop and follow a pastoral plan that responds to our reality.
We, as Mandi people, want to follow a pastoral thrust as
an evangelizing and missionary Church.
We, as Mandi people, want to
follow a thrust of promoting Mandi leadership which is incarnated and
committed.
We, as Mandi people, want to
follow a thrust of integral education sensitive to our cultural identity.
We, as Mandi people want to
follow a thrust as a Church that promotes and exemplifies justice.
We as a Mandi people, wish to
follow a thrust of valuating and promoting women, recognizing her equality and
dignity, and her role in the Church, the family, and society.
Commitments
Evangelization:
We, as Mandi people, commit ourselves to
create and maintain the small ecclesial communities in order to foster and
share Christian gifts incarnated in the Mandi culture, developing the ecclesial
awareness of our people promoting a Church that is prophetic, evangelizing,
communitarian, and missionary; in order to attract those alienated or separated
from the ecclesial structures; in order to continue the catechesis in
accordance with the needs of our people, and in order to encourage prayer and
reflection, sharing our faith, customs, culture, and material and spiritual
resources.
We, as Mandis, commit ourselves to
collaborate in the development of a pastoral plan together that will be adopted
to the diocese by the bishop, priests, catechists, teachers and the laity,
based on the study and analysis of the real needs of the Mandis taking into
consideration their culture, language, and customs.
We
as Mandis commit ourselves to create base communities using gospel values,
giving special attention to the formation of the agents of pastoral leadership.
We, as Mandi people, commit ourselves to
achieve greater authority and power for the offices of the Mandi apostolate in
order that they be authentic evangelizing instruments of our people.
We commit ourselves to develop a style of
evangelization that is more personal orientated toward the formation of small
communities where the integral message of salvation may be lived and
proclaimed.
We, as Mandis commit ourselves to develop
a plan of consciousness raising and analysis of the existing education and
communication systems controlled for materialistic purposes and without a
Christian value system.
We as Christian Mandis, commit ourselves
to create plays, books, stories and other programs, which reflect our
religious, cultural, political and socioeconomic reality, capable of
penetrating it with an integral evangelizing dimension that embraces the
totality of the person. We, as Mandis, commit ourselves to be authentic
evangelizers, promoting Christian values from the family, society, culture and
the Church, in order to eliminate all abuse and exploitation.
Integral Education
We, as Mandis, commit ourselves to
promote the creation of a program for integral education that embraces the
totality of the person within his/her reality and which includes the spiritual,
socioeconomic, political and multicultural formation. This program will give
priority to the family---the primary educator, youth, women, the poor and
marginal (Tribals, peasants, urban workers, prisoners, political prisoners,
undocumented, refuges, migrants, etc.)
We, the Mandi people, commit
ourselves to collaborate in order to achieve the personal awareness and
consciousness raising of our pastoral leaders; clergy, religious, lay directors
of projects, houses of formation, on the importance of our culture, language,
historical reality, and popular religiosity have in our integral formation
(religious, social, economic and political).
We Mandis commit ourselves to acquire,
use, and produce a religious and mass media to develop social justice,
educational programs according to the actual needs of the Mandis.
We Mandis commit ourselves to become
involved in the Catholic and public educational system (managing committees,
parish councils, regional committees, etc.) and to use our influence and
capabilities to advocate:
a)
An educational system that would give mandis a right to
higher education (high school, colleges, university and professional
education).
b)
Orientation and financial aid for students with the
greatest need: youth, farm workers, and women, handicapped, undocumented,
garment workers, beauty parlor workers, new urban workers and the exploited in
Mandi society.
c)
Adult programs for conscious raising with special
emphasis on social analysis, self help, justice and peace issues.
d)
educational programs in the fields of social,
religious, political and human rights.
e) Adult
programs for conscious raising with special emphasis on social analysis,
self-help, justice and peace issues.
SOCIAL JUSTICE
We as Mandi people commit ourselves to
denounce injustices and to struggle for human rights in all their dimensions,
especially:
The inalienable
right of all Mandis to live and work in any place without discrimination.
Tribal lands belong to the Mandis even though, because of historical and
political reasons, lands are undocumented.
The right of
each worker, man or women, farm worker, servants, garment workers, teachers, catechists,
beauty parlor workers, etc; to receive just wages, housing and needed social
services.
The protection
of the law for all those who suffer persecution of any kind: social, economic,
political, or religious.
Respect life
from its conception in all forms and struggle so that it may always be
respected.
We as Mandis
commit ourselves to support the statements and policies of our bishops in Bangladesh
regarding justice and peace issues, birth control and family life.
We support
their statements regarding minority rights and Tribal rights and discrimination
against the marginalized.
We as Mandis,
request that the means of mass communication be used to denounce the violence
and injustice aimed at the family, youth, women, Tribals, minorities, peasants,
factory workers and the imprisoned.
We as Christian
Mandis, commit ourselves to contribute in the development and implementation of
a plan of action for social justice on a national, regional, diocesan, and
parochial level, which should include programs of:
- Conscientization of the injustices that oppress our
people.
- a formation for justice according to the social
doctrine of the Church.
- information, education and legal defense.
- literacy and training.
- civil and political formation
- medical assistance and education in preventive
medicine,
We, as Mandis people commit ourselves to work
so that the Church may set an example of her own social doctrine.
We as Christian
Mandis commit ourselves to work for the renewal of the parish and sub-parishes
in order that we may establish a truly Mandi Christian society based on Gospel
values.
We, as Mandi
commit ourselves to become critically aware of oppressive political and
economic systems, as well as the international issues such as the arms race.
ecological and the drug problems, etc.,following the guidelines of the
magisterium of the Church.
YOUTH
We, as
Christian Mandis commit ourselves to create an office on the diocesan and
parish level on a permanent basis, which
should communicate with regional,
diocesan,
parochial and grassroots levels. This coordination should create integral
programs of formation, guidance and conscientization (religious vocations,
leadership, human relations and so on).
We, Mandis
commit ourselves within the national pastoral plan and local parish plans, a
youth pastoral at parochial, diocesan,
regional and national Tribal levels through an option and concrete actions in
favor of youth which should include:
- integral formation of youth in the rural and urban
areas and help to provide the necessary funds;
- a full time coordinator to be in charge of the mandi
youth pastoral plan;
We, the Mandi
youth commit ourselves to be missionaries to our own youth (peer ministry)
expressing our faith with our own youthful spirit, culture and in the light of
the Gospel.
We, the Mandi
youth commit ourselves to change the educational system to value our language,
cultural values and to receive the necessary education to be integrated into
the national culture and society.
We as Mandi
youth commit ourselves to the creation and implementation of leadership training programs for the youth so that they
can participate with other youths, adolescents, children and adults promoting
associations and ecumenical movements.
We, Mandis
commit ourselves to promote activities in order to seek funds which would help
provide scholarships and youth programs.
We, Mandis
commit ourselves to promote the unity of the Christian family through integral
education for both parents and children.
We, Mandis
commit ourselves to set an example of practical Christianity to youth and to
support their participation, focusing on justice and peace, so that the young
may participate in all Church ministeries, thus giving a renewing vision of
youthful potential and renewing the Tribal values of joy, celebration of life,
honesty, truthfulness and unity.
LEADERSHIP FORMATION
We, as Mandis
commit ourselves to discover, motivate, support, promote, and foster leaders
who come from the people, and live with the people at the grass roots level.
We, as Mandis
commit ourselves to participate in the planning, decision making and in
assuming positions of responsibility in the Church at all levels (national, regional,
diocesan, parochial, village, etc.).
We, as Mandis,
commit ourselves to strive for the creation of centers of integral formation
with mobile teams, which should insure the continual formation of leaders for all ministries and groups with
common interests on diocesan, regional and national levels.
We as Mandi
people commit ourselves to assume as our responsibility the promotion of
vocations to the priesthood, religious life, lay ministry, catechists, and
teachers within the Mandi community, bearing in mind that the candidates be
provided with a formation that responds to the cultural and spiritual needs of
the people, and permits them to be incarnated in our reality in Bangladesh.
We as Mandis
commit ourselves to assume our responsibility for the financial support of the
local Church and take effective means to provide for the education of Mandis to
support their teachers, catechists and local clergy financially.
We as Mandis
commit ourselves to work with our bishops, priests, religious, teachers and
catechists so that they will work together with the people and their lay
leaders in the parish councils and villages by promoting leadership meetings to
unify criteria and bring about mutual support and effective pastoral work.
We as Mandis
commit ourselves to raise the consciousness of civic leaders through various
means. Thus encouraging leadership in our own community to analyse and solve
the problems of the Mandi Church in Bangladesh.
Jishuna Rasong
September 8,
2015
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