Cardinal Oswald Gracias, Archbishop of Bombay elected as the new CBCI president

( Click here for rare pics of Cardinal Oswald Gracias )

The Catholic Secular Forum (CSF), the Mumbai-based activist national community NGO, while congratulating the office-bearers of the Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI), has called for special prayers for the newly elected president, Cardinal Oswald Gracias, Archbishop of Bombay and Major Archbishop Moran Mar Baselios Cleemis Thottunkal, head of the Syro-Malankara Church, who is elected as vice-president. According to The CSF general secretary, Joseph Dias, "the Cardinal's elevation to the highest position in the land, is a logical conclusion of the leadership he has provided, to the Church in India. The CSF would support the Cardinal and the CBCI in the nation-building tasks ahead and work with the CBCI to maintain the secular fabric of the country". The Cardinal has always been a supporter of The CSF initiatives. The Church in India has great expectation from him, Dias said.

The CBCI is the world’s fourth largest bishops’ conference, with over 200 members, including 30 Archbishops and 125 Bishops. Its objectives are to facilitate coordinated study and discussion of questions affecting the Church, and adoption of a common policy and effective action in all matters concerning the interests of the Church in India. Speaking on the ocassion, the Cardinal said he would strive to make the Church outward looking serving people of all religions in the country. “There is a belief that the Church in India is inward looking as it keeps aloof from mainstream society", he said. The Church leader sees the new post as an opportunity to lead the Church, along with other bishops. “We want to make the Church more vibrant and responsive to various issues confronting the nation,” he added. Another priority for the new leader is to foster better cooperation among bishops of all three ritual Churches in India. He said the current efforts to reorganize the conference will help CBCI to become the face of the Church in India.

The Cardinal said he was involved in CBCI’s reorganization since 1987 when the pope allowed the ritual Churches to have their own separate bishops’ conferences. The reorganization, he explained, is “a logical necessity in the new reality of the ritual Churches taking responsibilities for their people.” The new setup allows the CBCI to respond better to national issues and deal with the country’s government which was not possible in the old structure. The Church official said the bishops’ conference has to protect the interests of the Church and develop “right relations” with other religions. Cardinal Gracias said CBCI would not lose relevance as ritual bishops’ conferences are strengthened.

An appeal by the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India to the Electorate
New Delhi, February 19, 2009

1. Introduction

There are moments that define the destiny of a nation. After over sixty years of our journey as a free nation, we face our own defining moment. India has responded quite successfully to a continual demand to follow the vision of our founding fathers. Our constant struggle and sincere commitment to social transformation and integration, economic progress and political maturity have spurred us to achieve new heights. However, our sovereignty as a nation and our identity as a secular state have been confronted with formidable challenges on all fronts global, national and regional.

Fully aware and convinced that the power to redirect our course is vested in our own hands, we appeal to all the citizens of our country, who are about to go to the polls, to exercise judiciously their right to elect those representatives who will facilitate the emergence of a nation that we want to be through a responsible and accountable governance.

We are invited to introspect and seriously address the unfinished tasks and emerging concerns of our people.

2. Principles to be invoked

Our democratic commitment is founded on the primacy of the individual who is endowed with her/his dignity, rights and freedom that are inalienable, and of social commitment to strive towards the common good. This sacred task is to be performed by means of a system of governance that respects and promotes both the freedom of all individuals and the good of the entire society. The wise maxim that the Father of the Nation has given us, serves as a guiding principle in our efforts to achieve our goal: "Recall the face of the poorest and the most helpless man whom you may have met and ask yourself, if the step you contemplate is going to be of any benefit to him to a control over his own life and destiny".

3. Our Economic Scenario

Increased productivity in industrial and agricultural sectors, rapid growth in trade and commerce, technological and scientific achievements, increase in foreign exchange reserve, better standard of living for many, fast growth in the realm of information technology and communication, are the true healthy signs of our economy. The resilience of our economy in the current global economic meltdown is judged by many in positive terms.

However, a serious question has been raised about the imbalance between India's increasing global attainments and decreasing domestic achievements. The alarming rate of suicide among farmers, growing rate of unemployment, continuation and even growth in the percentage of people below the poverty line, and the increasing divide between the rich and the poor, are disturbing signs of our economic planning and performance. The deplorable practice of child labour, trend to eliminate the girl child, rural and urban displacement of peoples as a result of lopsided understanding of development, increasing restlessness among the rural population in the wake of Special Economic Zones, need our immediate attention. Moreover, due to the unsustainable exploitation of natural resources like ground water, forests, minerals, rivers etc., there is a heavy toll on the ecology and the environment with the dire consequences like global warming and climatic changes. These do forebode ill for the life-system of our small planet.

Lack of sensitivity towards the legitimate grievances of the people such as landlessness, ill governance and massive unemployment have forced people, mistakenly of course, to take to organized violence. Considering such violent protests as a mere law and order problem and controlling them by brute force is a cause of great concern. The much lauded economic growth will be justified if it is socially inclusive and the benefits reach the weakest sections of our nation.

4. Journey of our Parliamentary Democracy

Our national heritage, especially our Constitution, is founded on ethnic, racial, religious and cultural pluralism. Diversity is a distinctive feature of our composite culture. For the past sixty and more years we have succeeded to preserve this identity in spite of serious strains. Our growing conviction has been to preserve and promote our democratic culture with its institutions.

The good functioning of our democratic institutions, namely the Parliament, the Judiciary, the Executive, the Press, give us a considerable degree of satisfaction. Increased participation at the grassroots level, which has been further strengthened with the introduction of the Panchayati Raj, is certainly a main contributory factor. The healthy balance between the federal structure and States' autonomy has been maintained fairly well.

However, the steady decline in credibility in the functioning of our democratic institutions disturbs us. Frequent disruption of Assemblies and Parliament by needless walkouts and adjournments, disrespect for presiding officers, passing of some bills without sufficient discussion and informed deliberation and the criminalization of politics are highly deplorable.

A constant breakdown of the rule of law, mob violence and assault on institutions and organizations, disregard for the life, rights, liberty and property of citizens leading to increasing lawlessness, and absence of timely intervention on the part of law enforcing agencies, aggravate this ailing condition.

5. A Glance at our Socio-Cultural Situation

Diversity in the ethnic, racial, religious, cultural and regional realms has given us a composite culture. Consequently, we, as a nation, have been enjoying a reasonable degree of social cohesion, a necessary component of national integration. Home to over 4000 communities with their distinct socio-cultural ethos, India has achieved in the course of decades of healthy interaction, a fairly commendable level of socio-cultural integration at all levels.

Our country, the cradle of many religions, has given us an impressive list of esteemed values like satyam (truthfulness), ahimsa, (non-violence), karuna (goodwill and compassion), bhuta daya (regard for all forms of life) maitri (amity and fellow-feeling), austerity and simplicity of life, sampradayik samabhavana (spirit of tolerance or peaceful co-existence). These are held in high esteem and considered as the hallmark of our Indian heritage.

However, too frequent has been the threat to our nation's identity and unity by causing disaffection towards a particular race or region or religion. Delay on the part of the State to act on time and deal firmly with individuals and organizations responsible for hate campaigns, mob violence, organized attacks and wanton destruction of precious human life and public property has often been disheartening and disappointing. The increasing communal divide, responsible for the frequent and widespread communal violence, and forced migration where Indians live as refugees in India, are instances of sheer ill-governance.

External and global terrorism, like the recent aggression in Mumbai, is as much a threat to national security, identity and integrity, as internal terrorism, like instigated mob atrocities as in Orissa. Similarly, intolerance towards creative artists, critical writers, dalit leaders, and those who resist mafia culture has to be strongly opposed.

The cancer that affects the healthy functioning of our democracy has been the all-pervasive evil of corruption. The degeneracy it inflicts on social ethics and public morality is openly bemoaned by society at large. Idolizing power and money displaces God and human beings to the fringes of humanity thereby undermining the ethical and moral values.

6. Call to Duty and Responsibility at the Coming Election

After an overview of the state of our Nation we turn to our fellow citizens with an earnest appeal:

Every citizen should ensure that her/his name is registered in the voters' lists and that she/he exercises her/his right to vote for a party/candidate that will ensure the following:

•	Protection and promotion of our secularism and democratic commitment. Be true to the letter and spirit of the Preamble and the Provisions of the Constitution of India without any sectarian/party persuasion.
•	Stand by Constitutional commitment to religious, racial, cultural and linguistic Pluralism.
•	Stand united for enforcing the fundamental Human Rights: to Liberty, Equality and Justice, including the Minority Rights as enshrined in the Constitution of our nation.
•	To select and promote candidates without any criminal record or background and having the genuine concerns of youth, women and particularly of the poor and marginalized at heart.
•	Commit to the eradication of poverty and total elimination of illiteracy from our country, as a top priority with a time-bound program by striving for the overall development of the poor and marginalized and providing compulsory primary education for all.
•	Provide urgently and adequately for all citizens' basic needs like drinking water, housing, health care, literacy and transport facilities.
•	Abolish child labour, helping all children to go to school .with incentives, and helping the indigent parents with viable financial security to attend to their children's schooling.
•	Uphold Gender Equality in all our democratic institutions, as well as in civil and administrative areas by providing appropriate legal assistance and executive measures.
•	Not to discriminate against Christians of scheduled caste origin who demand for equal rights and reservations as provided for others of their same social community under the Presidential Order of 1950.
•	Protect by all means Right to Life in all its stages, as a fundamental human right.
•	Promote communal harmony by scrupulous observance of the Constitutional provisions and guarantees as well as State laws. Immediate preventive steps and punitive action should be taken against any dissemination of divisive, hate generating literature and campaign, communalization of politics, of defence forces, of police and of bureaucracy.
•	Empower the electorate with the right to recall their elected representatives on grounds of non-performance, corruption and lack of personal integrity.

In our journey through democracy, we need to rekindle hope and enthusiasm in our citizens. We should agree neither to leave any one behind nor to write off, however much area of disagreement we may have. Belief in the good intentions can redeem errors and mistakes. Commitment to truth and justice, tempered by tolerance, acceptance and the spirit of reconciliation can help one and all to release all the needed energy for a renewed commitment to continuing the reconstruction of our nation.

Let us cultivate the culture of open dialogue, unbiased and respectful discourse even on disputed issues. As we stand at a moment of great challenge and greater opportunity, let us focus on a governance that brings people together across party lines to work for the common good. No matter how great the challenge or how difficult the situation, change is always possible if we are willing to strive for it and, most of all, believe in it. Let us pledge, with a firm resolve in our hearts, to honour diversity in unity. Let the good of the least and the last citizen of our country be our criterion and starting point in this effort of achieving our goal, as we have it in the vision of the Father of our nation.

Issued by:

Sd/-

Most Rev. Stanislaus Fernandes, S.J.
Secretary General, CBCI &
Archbishop of Gandhinagar

Word of God is Central to Church’s Life - Cardinal Gracias:

BANGALORE, JAN. 28, 2008, 12.40 Hrs (CBCI News): “The Word is central to the life of the Church. Many Christians have felt a fervent desire to understand and minister to the Word even more deeply. On the other hand, Catholics are experiencing the necessity of understanding the Word of God better especially when faced with onslaughts from outside,” said Cardinal Oswald Gracias today in Bangalore.

He was delivering the convocation address this morning at the Dharmaram Vidya Kshetram (Dharmaram Seminary), Bangalore.

Recalling the words of St. Ambrose, Cardinal Gracias said, “Why do you not dedicate your free time to the reading of the Sacred Scriptures? How is it that you do not visit Christ or listen to him? We listen to Christ when we read the Scriptures”.

“Lectio Divina is nothing but seeking Christ in the Scriptures. It is Jesus Christ that I look for in the Sacred Scriptures”, he added quoting St. Augustine.

“Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ”, he warned reminding the words of St. Jerome.

Calling the Vatican II Constitution on Divine Revelation as “a major breakthrough”, he added, “In the sacred books the Father who is in heaven meets His children with great love and speaks to them, and the force and power in the Word of God is so great that it remains the support and energy of the Church, the strength of faith for her children, the food of the soul and the pure and perennial source of spiritual life.” (D.V. 21)

“The Bible is the record of God’s self communication to man and man’s response in history to God’s initiative. Of the many and varied ways of God’s communication, the Word is His supreme form of self-expression,” he continued.

“A distinct feature of the Bible compared to other sacred books of the world is that it is essentially a book of history. While most other sacred books comprise of the teaching of their founders, the Bible is first and foremost a book of the acts of God in history,” he affirmed.

Scripture speaks of the power of God’s Word: “Dabar” in Hebrew is a dynamic reality, a kind of extension of the living personality of the one who utters the word and it has power derived from him, declared Cardinal Gracias, who is also the President of CCBI.

“The Church draws great nourishment from the Word, and this happens in different ways. Sacred Scripture is of the greatest importance in the celebration of the liturgy,” he reminded.

In the spiritual life of the believer, the Word of God has a “unique place”. The prime vocation of the Christian is “to encounter, pray and to live the Word”, he added.

Referring to the communications revolution today, Cardinal Gracias stated, “We are witnessing a communications’ explosion in the world and in India ... But the proclamation of the Word has not kept pace with the developments in the media.”

‘Much, much more use of the media must be made use of to make God’s self communication known,” he insisted.

“The IT explosion opens up great possibilities for the spread of the Word,” he opined.

“In this a big urban-rural divide, an educated-uneducated divide, a rich and poor divide, the liberative force of the Word has much to say,” said the 63-year prelate.

“Times are changing; methodologies are new; means are novel. But the vocation and the challenge remain the same: to know the Word, to understand it, to live it and to minister to it,” he ended.