Catholic Council of India Study Youth, Current Concerns
(January 14, 2010) Christians must strive to make the church a living force and work
towards transforming the world, said Cardinal Telesphore P.Toppo, Archbishop of Ranchi.
He was inaugurating the 10th General Assembly of the Catholic Council of India, the
apex body of the Catholic Church in India consisting of representatives of the CBCI,
CRI, various national Catholic organisations and lay leaders at Pallotine Animation
Centre, Nagpur, held from January 9th to 12th . Some 250 people
representing 160 dioceses in India attended the meeting. Speaking on the major theme
of youth which the assembly chose for study, the Cardinal said “the youth as gift
of God. They are our sons and daughters; they are not a problem but our strength.
Everyone must accept responsibility to take care of them.” Urging the members of the
CCI to be agents of change in society, the Cardinal said, “Society will not be transformed
by laws, but by people who are led by the power of God under the guidance of the Spirit.”
Archbishop Cleemis Mar Baselios, CBCI Vice President addressing the gathering said,
youth are the source of dynamism in the church but are also affected by the maladies
of our times such as conflict, terrorism and violence. Youth must be at the heart
of the church and must enjoy the confidence of the hierarchy and the elders, he added.
A number of youth leaders from the Indian Catholic Youth Movement (ICYM), Jesus Youth,
AICUF, YCS and other youth movements and organisations attended the meeting.