Cardinal Oswald Gracias Re-elected As President of CCBI

(February 19, 2009) Over 120 bishops and six lay leaders attended a week-long CCBI general body meeting in Mysore, South India that ended on 18th February. Latin rite bishops in India have re-elected Cardinal Oswald Gracias of Mumbai as their president at the end of the meeting. Archbishop Most Rev. Vincent Concessao was re-elected Vice-president for the second time and Bishop Prakash Mallavarapu of Vijayawada was elected Secretary General for a third time. The Bishops discussed the theme, "Word of God in the Life and the Ministry of the Church" and condemned what they called as “Biblical fundamentalism”, alluding to a literal verse by verse interpretation of the Bible. The Bishops want that every Catholic should own a Bible, handle with reverence and read it regularly. In the final message, the CCBI Bishops appealed to the priests, nuns, especially the Catholics and all the people of the country to live in unity and fellowship, according to the sacred writings, the press release said. Archbishop Pedro Lopez Quintana, Apostolic Nuncio and Papal representative in India stressed the need of inter-religious dialogue at a felicitation meeting for Indian bishops in Mysore, where the prelates gathered for their annual general body meeting. Some 10,000 people including priests and nun joined to felicitate Latin rite bishops of India, whose meeting discussed the relevance of Bible-based life in the modern world. The meeting stressed the need of inter-religious dialogue for a peaceful life in the country, particularly in Karnataka, which has witnessed some anti-Christian violence in last September. Archbishop Pedro Lopez Quintana, Apostolic Nuncio in India, the messenger of the Pope, called for inter-religious collaboration so that harmony and justice may prosper. “Concentrate on what unites us,” he appealed to members of all religions, “and think of what we can do together to alleviate the suffering of humanity.” The archbishop, a Spaniard, delighted the audience by beginning the Mass in Kannada. He also later greeted the people in well pronounced Kannada words.