New Bangalore Archbishop installed amidst tight security; many voice dissent and disappointment

Bangalore – Amidst tight security, Archbishop Rev. Dr Bernard Blasius Moras was installed as the sixth Archbishop for the Catholic Archdiocese of Bangalore recently.

A large police unit ringed the grounds of St. Xavier's Cathedral in Bangalore as the new Archbishop was installed in office by The Apostolic Nuncio Pedro Lopez Quintana on the St. Francis Xavier’s Cathedral Grounds in the presence of three cardinals, including CBCI president–cardinal Telespore Toppo, 475 priests, six Catholic Archbishops and 34 Bishops.

Archbishop Moras has served as Bishop of the diocese of Belgaum and as administrator of St. John’s Medical College.

In his message to the gathering, the 63 year–old Archbishop speaking in Tamil and Kannada, reiterated his commitment to follow the “path of dialogue” and said, “I am fully aware that this office is not for personal gain, honour or grandeur but for the service of the people of God. I am also fully aware that I have no special merits to hold this office, but it is the will of God that I should lead the people in the Faith.”

He announced that he would focus on dialogue where there is discord and on the initiatives towards ecumenism and inter–faith dialogue. ‘There should be some amount of give and take in the process of dialogue, be it with the priests or with the people,” he felt.

Bangalore Vicar General Father I. Chinnappa, a senior Kannadiga priest, welcomed all those who attended the installation and expressed his loyalty and respect to the new archbishop.

The English–language ceremony started with an entrance song performed in the Kannada language and progressed with important portions translated into Kannada and Tamil. The papal message announcing the appointment was read in Latin and then translated into English, Kannada and Tamil.

The nuncio reminded the gathering that "a bishop is called to bring unity where there is discord." He said the new archbishop's greatest challenge is to establish communion with various language groups in the archdiocese, besides working for peace, love and unity.

Cardinal Ivan Dias of Bombay, who delivered the homily, told the gathering that Rome appoints bishops according to what the "people need, and not what they want."

Besides Cardinal Dias, Cardinals Telesphore Toppo of Ranchi and Varkey Vithayathil of the Ernakulam–Angamaly also attended the function.

Bishops from the CSI Church, Methodist Church and the Orthodox and Syrian Church were also present.

Though the installation ceremony took place peacefully, the city administration in the capital of the southern state of Karnataka had anticipated possible trouble from native Kannada–speaking, or Kannadiga, Catholics. In fact, some of them have been demanding a bishop from their community.

The Kannadiga group in the past had disrupted some episcopal ordinations and installations, sparking police retaliation and arrests.

However, this time, some leaders of the Kannadiga group beforehand announced that they would not protest because they are tired of staging demonstrations. Father Stany Mariappa said their three–decade struggle has gotten them nowhere. Kannadiga Catholics complain prelates from Mangalore dominate the Church in Karnataka.

Mangalore, 350 kilometers west of Bangalore, is a port town in Karnataka. But Kannadiga Catholics do not consider the Mangalore bishops as locals since their mother tongue is Konkani, the official language of neighboring Goa state. They are descendants of Konkani Catholics who settled in the Mangalore area during the 17th century to escape Goa's Portuguese rulers, who tried to Westernize them.

Kannada is the official language of the state, but native Kannada speakers comprise only 20 percent of the archdiocese's 333,000 Catholics. The majority of Catholics speak Tamil, the language of neighboring Tamil Nadu state.

Of the state's nine dioceses, seven are headed by native Konkani–speaking prelates from Mangalore, Karnataka, who also speak Kannada, and the remaining two are headed by natives of neighboring Kerala state.

Kannadiga Catholics have staged periodic protests to demand the appointment of "a son of the soil" as a prelate for their area.

During the past 30 years, Kannadiga Catholics also have fought for prominence of their language in liturgical services in Bangalore. They opposed Tamil dominance in liturgy and archdiocesan administration.

Archbishop Moras' predecessor, retired Archbishop Ignatius Pinto, 79, thanked "everyone" at a public function held after the installation. Speaking in English, Kannada and Tamil, he shared with people "the credit" of his success as an archbishop. "For the failures, I take full personal responsibility," he added.

Incidentally, the Kannadiga Catholics protested when the most recent predecessor, Archbishop Ignatius Pinto, was installed in 2000. Episcopal installations in dioceses such as Shimoga and Mysore also faced protests from members of the community.

However, the group has decided not to create trouble for the latest installation.

"Our people are tired, confused, terribly let down and disorganized," Father Mariappa, who is leading the struggle, explained. He recalled that police arrested several laypeople when they tried to disrupt the consecration of Bishop Gerald Lobo of Shimoga in 2000.

Father Mariappa, a priest of Shimoga diocese, has been accused of organizing several protests. He has denied such charges, but he says the local Catholics now have "lost their voice and they have no energy to protest" anymore.

Visibly upset, he also said his community stopped growing "because of this suppression" and that many Kannadiga Catholics have left the Church for other denominations. Many Kannadiga Catholics also allege that the parish, that led the pro–Kannada struggle in the archdiocese, is now being "punished" by the archdiocese, which has not helped it renovate its old church. Some also allege that Kannadiga youth are denied admission in seminaries.

Father Mariappa said his community is denied prelates on the ground it has no qualified priests to become bishops. "But there is no logic in the argument. All priests are eligible to become bishops," he countered.

"What we need is not power, but an identity through being represented by a local priest," said the priest, who insisted the local Church community has been "crippled" because of the absence of a local bishop.

He alleged that during the past 30 years, little has been done to promote vocations for priesthood from the Kannada–speaking group in his diocese. "It may not happen even in the next 30 years," he added, claiming that he is the lone Kannadiga priest in Shimoga diocese.

Father Anthony Koottunkal, a priest from Kerala managing a rehabilitation program for street children in Bangalore, regretted there "is certainly some deliberate attempts to misinterpret" the Kannada campaign as "anti–Church and immature.” He stressed that the Kannada group deserves some prominence in Karnataka "even if they are a minority."

Bangalore Assistant Police Commissioner Victor Shaw D'Souza commented after the installation that the administration made "sufficient police arrangements" to prevent "any untoward incident" at the cathedral.