CBCI plenary boosts first timers| Cathnews India

Published Date: March 4, 2010

Tags: bishops of India, CBCI meeting, Church in India, evangelization

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CBCI meet in Guwahati

Some first timers to biennial plenary assembly of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) say the meeting has given them ideas to govern their dioceses.

“The plenary has encouraged me to promote my people’s culture,” Bishop Selvister Ponnumuthan of Punalur told UCA News on March 3, the concluding day of the plenary.

The prelate from Kerala was one of the 20 bishops who were ordained during the period between the CBCI’S last two meeting. Most of them attended the latest Feb. 24-March 3 plenary at Guwahati in Assam.

“The conference has encouraged me to become sensitive to the needs of my people, especially the youth,” said Bishop Ponnumuthan, who was appointed a bishop on May 8, 2009.

“Youth for peace and harmony” was the major theme of the plenary. The Punalur bishops said he would encourage his youths to use their talents to build up the Church and society.

What impressed Auxiliary Bishop Franco Mulakkal of Delhi, the youngest of 163 prelates at the plenary, was the “collegiality” among the bishops. “As a young boy I used to believe bishops were beyond people’s reach,” he recalled.

The plenary was “a spiritual experience” since he could see God’s hand in its deliberations, said India’s youngest Catholic prelate.

Bishop Emmanuel Kerketta of Jashpur, Chhattisgarh, said the plenary gave him a platform to discuss and exchange new ideas with other bishops.

Such discussions have given him hope and confidence to resolve problems and challenges he is facing as a new prelate, Bishop Kerketta told UCA News.
The tribal prelate said senior bishops shared with him that they too had faced similar problems “All dioceses have problems, some are big and complex,” he added.

He said the plenary also showcased the Indian Church as a good example of unity in diversity. “We are from different cultures, traditions and background, but share the same faith,” he added.

He said the conference rightly chose youth as its theme because they are the future of the Church and the nation. “The youths will triumph if we can plant good virtues and deep Christian faith in them,” he added.

Bishop Devprasad John Ganawa of Jhabua, Madhya Pradesh, said he found the prelates willing to listen to other’s problem and offer help. All bishops rallied behind Archbishop Raphael Cheenath of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar, Orissa, where Hindu radicals killed many Christians last year. “It was morally boosting,” Bishop Ganawa said.

Bishop Sebastian Kallupura of Buxar, Bihar, said the plenary offered “gave me a glimpse of how the Church is growing in various parts of India.” He said lots of openness among the bishops to discuss various issues.

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