Currently, in the districts of Chu Prong and Duc Co, the Salesians are in two communities as well as two elsewhere, and carry out their service in six parishes, 26 public chapels and 15 speakers. In their apostolate, three after-school centres for elementary school students should also be considered.
During the meeting, the General Councillor for the Missions outlined the guidelines for Salesian missionary work among indigenous peoples: the fundamental Salesian option, he insisted, is to promote their integral evangelisation. Similarly, it is necessary to build the local Catholic community by forming lay leaders and grassroots ecclesial communities. This is a top priority with respect to putting up buildings. If buildings are needed, they should be simple and functional, avoiding mega-structures. It is also important to work for the advancement of women, because their influence on the upbringing of their children and family is particularly important.
The General Councillor also stressed that missionaries should pay more attention to the serious study of the indigenous language and cultural practices and those of the J’Rai, although the majority of the population is able to converse in Vietnamese. “The J’Rai need to learn Vietnamese to find work and live in society. However, you missionaries must learn the indigenous language and culture well in order to preach the Gospel in a way that touches the minds and hearts of the J'Rai people " Fr Maravilla said.
He also said that it is the task of Salesian missionaries to promote the appreciation of their own language and culture by indigenous people, as well as to preserve it through the documentation of cultural practices, possibly through a museum of indigenous culture and arts. This also involves liturgical inculturation by promoting indigenous religious icons, vestments, and inculturated rituals.
The General Councillor for the Missions then asked the communities to prioritise learning the indigenous language, sending younger confreres one after the other to study the J'Rai language and culture full-time for a period of at least three months. In the same way, each community was asked to assign a representative in the commission to reflect on the cultural practices of the J'Rai people, describe and evaluate the "seeds of the Gospel" in them, and then make a Salesian pastoral reflection on the indigenous cultural practices of the J'Rai people.
