Rev. Fr. Dr Anthony Joby Moolayil, General Secretary – Synodal Commission for Family, Laity & Life and Secretary, KCBC Laity Commission, presented his research paper on ‘Role of Laity’ under the session ‘Pastoral Approach in Proclaiming and Defending Life’. Fr. Dr. Anthony was addressing the intellectual crowd gathered at Animation Renewal Centre (ARC), Panvel, for the major legacy creating event “EVA- Global Symposium on Life”, organized by the Eparchy of Kalyan. In his explanation, he conveyed that to understand more fully how to defend and protect human life, we must first consider who we are at the deepest level.
Rev. Fr. Anthony remarked that “God creates us in his image and likeness, which means we are made to be in loving relationship with him and the essence of our identity and worth, the source of our dignity, is that we are loved by God. This is how we build a culture of life, a culture that joyfully proclaims the truth of God’s love, purpose and plan for each person. When we encounter Christ, experience his love and deepen our relationship with him, we become more aware of our own worth and that of others.” Further, he added, “The Church is clear and consistent in her teachings on the protection of life and the promotion of human dignity, a service of vital importance that the Church must offer humanity is the proclamation of and witness to the Gospel of the family and life. Where life is involved, the service of charity must be profoundly consistent.”
Fr. Anthony Moolayil emphasized that to deepen respect for human life and heighten public opposition to abortion euthanasia and other threats; a twofold educational effort is necessary- one directed specifically to the Catholic community, the other directed to the general public. Rev. Fr. Dr Anthony Joby Moolayil concluded his presentation with a fundamental paradox from the Gospel which says: to find life, one must lose life; to be born, one must die; to save oneself, one must take up the cross.
