Church in India serving women, including non-Christian women, says Card Toppo

(March 09, 2011) “The Catholic Church in India, through centuries of selfless service in the fields of education and health care, has pioneered woman’s empowerment in India,” said Card Telesphore Placidus Toppo, Archbishop of Ranchi, India. Speaking about the Church’s role in women’s emancipation in India on International Women’s Day, the archbishop of Ranchi, who is of tribal origin, noted that the contribution of the Catholic Church was especially significant among “the most deprived and marginalised Dalit and Tribal in the remotest and unreached areas of India”. “The Catholic Church has had a long history of education of women and girls. Today, tens of thousands of women and girls are being educated in church-run institutions, at Catholic primary schools, secondary schools, Catholic colleges or universities. Most importantly, Catholic students account for a tiny minority of the beneficiaries of Christian educational institutions.” Indeed, “The Church has been selflessly providing services, without discrimination of caste or creed, to tens of thousands of girls and women,” the Prelate explained. Shaken by scandals involving its weakest members around the world, “the Catholic Church advocates zero tolerance towards sexual abuse of women and children in the Church. We have seriously taken note that sexual abuse in the Church is a violation of human rights and that it is therefore a crime punishable under Indian law,” the archbishop said. Beyond the issue of abuses, a wider problem touches women’s dignity. “Women, like men, are made in the image of God,” but “equality of dignity does not mean being identical to men. “We are partners. Men and women are complimentary. Each of us has a role to play in society, family and the nation, Archbishop Toppo said.