Indian Bishops visit England

(April 27, 2006) : Indian Church leaders met with representatives of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales and the Pontifical Mission Societies on Wednesday, to discuss further ways of working together. The meeting in London followed a successful conference on Dalit Christian rights earlier this week, organised by UK charity Voice of Dalit International. Archbishop of Hyderabad Marampudi Joji called for further co-operation, solidarity and support from the Bishops of England and Wales for the oppressed Christian minorities in India. Over 16 million Dalits are Christian, who make up 2.4% of India's population. Mgr Andrew Summersgill, general secretary of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, said: "It was a very cordial and informative meeting, and the Department of International Affairs will take up some of the matters raised." Fr. John Dale, national director of the Pontifical Mission Societies for England and Wales, said the meeting was taking place at a providential time as primary school pupils would be learning about Dalit Catholics this week as part of their religious education syllabus.