Religious formators need to know how to deal with the increasing number of vocations from different ethnic groups, participants at a Holy Cross formators program in Chittagong were told.

“Just 10 years ago, the Holy Cross formation houses in Bangladesh were totally dominated by Bengalis, but now many tribal candidates are enrolling,” said Holy Cross Father James Clement Cruze.

“So the formators need to learn how to cater to them,” said the priest who is director of the Holy Cross Scholasticate for major seminarians as well as professor of Islam at the Holy Spirit Major Seminary. Both institutions are in Dhaka.

Father Cruze was speaking on the sidelines of the Feb. 19-21 Asian Holy Cross Formators’ Session 2010, held at Caritas Bangladesh’s Chittagong regional office, southeast of Dhaka.

Twenty-nine priests, 17 brothers and 25 nuns, both Bangladeshis and Indians from the congregation, attended the program, which had the theme, Cross Cultural Aspects of Formation.

Keynote speaker Holy Cross Auxiliary Bishop Theotonius Gomes of Dhaka told participants that “efforts need to be made to see how best to preserve the … religiosity, sense of community of the tribal peoples, their languages, music and other meaningful cultural aspects.”

Indian formator Father Sahaya Lourdu Raj echoed the message of the Bangladeshi prelate.

Father Raj said, “Living in a cross-cultural community requires a willingness to enter into such a community with its surprises … But that is not enough. It needs specific skills and formators need to learn these.”

Indian Brother Gilbert Lasrado, one of the participants, told UCA News, “In India, we have candidates from different states with each state having its own language and culture.”

The formator has to be “open” to such diversities, he added.

Bangladeshi Father Placid Rozario said that there are many religious vocations in India and Bangladesh. In India, about 10 percent continue with their vocations while in Bangladesh, it is more than 10 percent.

“Candidates who leave the seminary very often say their formators don’t understand them,” said the priest who is the vocation promoter for the Holy Cross priesthood in Bangladesh.

Source: Growing tribal vocations raise cultural issues (UCAN)

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