A deep Ecclesial experience: CBCI president speaks on the Pope’s election

New Delhi – The president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) and the archbishop of Ranchi, Cardinal Telesphore P. Toppo, who recently returned to India after attending the funeral of Pope John Paul II and taking part in the election process of the new Pope, has called it a “A deep Ecclesial experience.”

“The Conclave was an act of the Holy Spirit who guides and cares for the Church,” the cardinal, who participated for the first time in the Conclave of Cardinals, said.

Citing Pope Benedict XVI, Cardinal Toppo, visibly excited, said, “The Church is alive and the Church is young.”

“The new Pope is a chosen vessel of the Lord. He is a natural successor to Pope John Paul II,” he said.

Expressing a bright future for the Catholic Church under the leadership of Pope Benedict XVI, the cardinal said, “The new Pope is a chosen vessel of the Lord. He is a natural successor to Pope John Paul II.”

“Having served as the right hand of John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI will carry on the profound legacy of Pope John Paul II,” he added. “Christ has given us a shepherd who is simple and kind like the Good Shepherd; and I am confident that Jesus Himself will empower the successor of Peter the Apostle.”

Describing his experience in the recently concluded Conclave, Cardinal Toppo said, “All along the Conclave I felt a deeper experience of the working of the Holy Spirit and a deep intimacy with the Lord who is the Judge.”

Appreciating the wonderful way the modern media helped to bring home the profound experience of the suffering, death and funeral of Pope John Paul II and the joy of the election of the new Pope, the cardinal said, “The challenge for every Christian in India should be to fulfil in India and in Asia the mission of love and service of Jesus Christ, the Saviour.”