Card Gracias: Indian Christians should become fully Indian and fully Christian

Cardinal Oswald Gracias, the President of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI) exhorted the Bishops in India to urge the faithful to become fully Indian and fully Christian.

Addressing the 30th Plenary Assembly of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI) of the Latin Church, in Bangalore on Feb 4, the Cardinal said, “The Catholic Church needs our nation and India needs the Church”. He focused on making Gospel values present in society today. He urged the Bishops to make the people not only think about but also discuss Gospel values as an element of evangelization. Quoting Pope Francis he said, the pastors should smell the sheep and added that at the same time they should smell God too.

The one day meeting of the CCBI discussed matters affecting the Latin Catholic Church in India and the role of Christians to be better Indian Christians. The Rituals for Confirmation and Marriage were also released during the meeting.

The Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI) which is the Canonical National Episcopal Conference is the largest in Asia and fourth largest in the world. It consists of 132 dioceses and 183 Bishops. (Archdiocese of Bombay)