Inaugural Speech of Major Archbishop George Cardinal Alencherry for the Affiliation of the Faculty of Theology of Good Shepherd Seminary, Kunnoth Right from the inception of the seminary the students had the longing for getting recognition for their academic achievements. For the course in Philosophy this has been partly achieved by the degrees conferred by the secular universities. Now it is the theological faculty that is affiliated to the Paurastya Vidyapitham, Vadavathoor, Kottayam. As you know, Paurastya Vidyapitham has already established international reputations and its certificates are recognized by almost all ecclesiastical universities and Institutes all over the world. Therefore with this affiliation the students who pass out with the degrees in theology get access to all other universities of the Church. Academic excellence will give a pride of place for the faculty in the midst of other Institutes both in the Church and in the Secular Society. The Dharmaram in Bangalore has grown to such an international reputation. Their secular wing has grown to a University. For the Good Shepherd it is only the beginning. You have miles and miles to go. The seed matters much for the growth of the plant. Ever since the publication of Fides et Ratio, the Encyclical letter of Pope St. John Paul II the magisterium has been taking a keen interest in the academic excellence of philosophical and theological researches in the Church. Theological researches and pastoral service should go hand in hand in the formation and the ministry of both diocesan and religious priests. In his encyclical letter Redemptor Hominis, Pope John Paul II called it a “diakonia of the truth”. As Jesus is the way, the truth and the life, it is in his gospel that we have to find the truth and receive the life, the ultimate realities of our life. In Hinduism philosophical thoughts and theological intuitions are intertwined. The rishis, gurus and sannasyins of Hindu tradition were seekers of the Truth. They searched for the fundamental meaning of the cosmos and of man. The Vedas, the Upanishads and even the epics of Mahabharata and Ramayana are results of the philosophical and religious search of these seers. We can say that the tripartite term, Satyam Sivam Sundaram, is really manifesting the end result of their searches for the Truth. These three concepts are really the qualities of the fundamental Being. These would mean that Being is truth, Being is sivam (good), and Being is beautiful. We have the same discovery from the part of Greek philosophers who said that Being is truth, Being is good, and Being is beautiful. Therefore we can say that the Indian and Greek philosophical thoughts converge on their findings of the fundamental Being. It is to these philosophical findings that the Christian revelation would add the Words of Jesus: “I am the way, and the truth and the life” (Jn. 14: 6). Jesus is the way to come to the truth and gain the life. With Jesus we can discover the fundamental truth and attain the eternal life. It is normal that diocesan priests give first priority to their pastoral commitments. But a pastoral service bereft of the application of contemporary theological insights will soon become obsolete. Holy Father Pope Francis has declared the theme of the forthcoming Synod: The Vocation and Mission of the Family in the Contemporary world. Both for theology and the pastoral service, contemporariness is an inevitable orientation that demands subsequent application. It is for this that Pope Francis tells the priests to go to the people. It is in the life situations of the people that the priest has to take Christ the person and his message, thereby making their lives meaningful and leading them to Christian fulfillment. As priests and seminarians of an Eastern sui iuris Church, we have the added responsibility of discovering and fostering the faith traditions of our own Church. The whole Church is involved in this process. As a theological faculty, now getting affiliated to Paurastya Vidyapitham the staff and students of this faculty have the added responsibility to make serious study and scholarly research into the elements that enter into the identity of the Syro-Malabar Church and its liturgical, theological, spiritual and disciplinary traditions. On this historic moment I would like to appreciate the committed service of the former and the present Rectors and members of the staff who have worked strenuously to accomplish the requirements for the affiliation of this faculty to Paurastya Vidyapitham. Your hard work has borne fruits. May God continue to bless your future efforts and may this theological faculty grow continuously and become one day an Institute by itself! With these words I declare that the faculty of theology of Good Shepherd Seminary is affiliated to Paurastya Vidyapitham, Vadavathoor, Kottayam. The Decree to this effect from the Congregation of the Catholic Education, Rome will be now read out by Fr. Antony Kollannur, Chancellor, Major Archiepiscopal Curia, Mount St. Thomas, Kakkanad.
Posted on: Sat, 15 Nov 2014 03:53:49 +0000
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