World’s largest Democracy Presents Challenges to Christians May 12, 2009

Catholics@Work is pleased to announce that Asian Archbishop Dominic Jala, SDB, will be our featured speaker at the Tuesday, May 12, 2009 breakfast forum.

India is often called the world’s largest democracy. To Americans the complexity of Indian democracy would appear unmanageable, a country with 354 million voters, approximately 14,700 candidates, more than 500 parties and nearly 595,000 polling stations. In this democracy there are many religions, but religious hierarchy is based on dominance. Three ancient religions - Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism – are seen as the “molders” of India philosophy. Eighty-two percent of Indians are Hindus, twelve percent are Islam, and about three percent are Christian. Tension between the dominance of Hinduism, the historical influence of Buddhism and Jainism, and the basic principles of democracy often present significant challenges for Christians in India.

Archbishop Dominic Jala, Shillong Archdiocese, India, has worked with Church leaders to address the issue of militancy in the State of Meghalaya in Northeast India. He presently serves as Chairman of the Liturgy Committee, Conference of the Catholic Bishops of India, and serves as its representative to the Vatican. The Archbishop will address the state of the Catholic Church in India, its challenges, with personal stories of Mother Teresa in an interactive interview format.

The event will be held at the Crow Canyon Country Club, 711 Silver Lake Drive, Danville, California on Tuesday, May 12, 2009. A full buffet will be served starting at 7:00am (Mass will be offered at 6:30am at the same location). The costs are $20 dollars for members and $25 dollars for non-members. To register (and to pay online) go to www.catholicsatwork.org. Catholics@Work is a member of the National Catholic Professional and Business Clubs.

Official Website: http://www.catholicsatwork.org