CBCI general body meet to focus on Church's crucial issues

The Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI) will be meeting in Bangalore for its 30th general body meeting from February 1-8.

The CBCI assembles every two years to discuss, organize, and plan for pertinent issues concerning the long-range goals of the Catholic Church.

To be attended by over 160 Catholic Bishops of India, the meeting is organized around the theme 'The Church's Role for a Better India' and will be held at the St. John's National Academy of Health Sciences, Bangalore.

Speaking to media persons on Tuesday, the CBCI President Cardinal Oswald Gracias said the week-long meeting would evaluate the Church's ministries, especially in the areas of social work, education, youth, among others.

Cardinal Gracias said the Church will not remain content with the contributions it has made over the years, but will push to offer more to the society.

Pointing out the areas where the Church's efforts were most pressingly needed, the Archbishop of Mumbai mentioned the rampant corruption, ethnic and commercial violence, criminalization of politics and large scale internal displacement of citizens under the pretext of development.

Cardinal Gracias also enumerated the inadequate infrastructure for quality education and health services, massive unemployment and growing divide between the rich and poor.

In the past, the Catholic Church has played a major role in creating socio-political leadership through its educational institutions, he said, adding they had been largely instrumental in leading India on the path of modern democracy and social development.

Despite being just a mere 2.32 per cent of the Indian population, the Church has played a great role in nation building, said Cardinal Gracias.

However, he added, this is not done in isolation, but always and everywhere in collaboration with people of different religious and cultural communities. Further, it also fully collaborates with the government and other organizations in bring social equity and economic justice.

On Tuesday, while fielding questions from reporters, the CBCI rejected the charge of forced conversions in Kashmir and said the political class had remained silent on the Sharia court decree.

The CBCI President Cardinal Gracias remarked that the amoral act went against the teachings of Christ and the Church looked at such matters with great seriousness.

The CBCI has 216 member Bishops from the Latin, Syro-Malabar and Syro-Malankara ecclesial bodies.

Cardinal Peter Turkson, President, Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, and Navin Chawla, former Chief Election Commissioner of India, will be among other eminent personalities attending the Feb. 1-8 event.