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Plenary Assembly of CCBI begins

Staff Reporter

Call to empower Church in all aspects

KOCHI: The 19th Plenary Assembly of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI), national body of the Latin bishops, got underway at St Joseph's Pontifical Seminary, Carmelgiri near Aluva, on Thursday with a solemn inaugural mass led by Cardinal Telesphore Topo, Archbishop of Ranchi.

Cardinal Topo said in his homily that Christians in India, although a minority, had the power to be the leaven in the dough. He called on the assembled bishops to empower the Church in all respects.

Father Udumala Bala, Deputy Secretary-General of the CCBI, welcomed the gathering at the inaugural session between 9 and 11 a.m. Archbishop Daniel Acharuparampil made a presentation on the history of Latin Church in Kerala.

Archbishop Oswald Gracias of Mumbai delivered the presidential address. He said that the CCBI had grown rapidly since its inception in 1987. He also thanked the Pope for choosing Cardinal Ivan Dias to be the Prefect of the Congregation for Evangelisation of Peoples.

He said that the theme chosen for the Plenary Assembly - The Role and Vocation of the Laity in the Life and Mission of the Church - was appropriate as the Church was trying to empower the laity in the vision of the Church. He also read out greetings from the Pope as well as from Cardinal Dias. Bishop Valerian D'Souza of Pune, vice-president of the CCBI, read out a message from Archbishop Pedro Lopez Quintana, Apostolic Nuncio to India.

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