Indian rector’s arrest prompts Church leaders to be more selective

(April 9, 2010) The arrest of a seminary rector following the suicide of his student in central India has prompted bishops to become more rigorous about admitting students into seminaries. “We want to look beyond just the recommendation of the parish priest for the selection of a candidate” to seminaries and formation houses, said Archbishop Joseph Augustine of Raipur in Chhattisgarh state. Bishops of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh states in their regional meeting on April 6 discussed seminary admission after Fr. Thomas Philip, rector of Bhopal archdiocesan minor seminary, was arrested and sent to jail on March 23 on charges of abetting the Jan. 29 suicide of a seminarian. The priest was released on bail April 1. The boy’s father, a Hindu, also accused the priest of trying to convert his son to Catholicism. Archbishop Augustine told UCA News on Thursday, the incident calls for more caution in selecting seminarians, including the candidate’s faith formation and family background. Dioceses now would insist on having students, whose both parents are baptized and practicing Catholics. Archbishop Leo Cornelio of Bhopal said such an insistence has now become necessary in changing situations. Bishop Chacko Thottumarickal of Indore also said “more precautions” are needed in selecting candidates for priesthood.