Indian Church’s birthday wishes for Pope

(April 17, 2010) Greetings and good wishes for Pope Benedict XVI on his 83^rd birthday on Friday came from the Catholic Church of India. “The Church in India greets our Most Holy Father on this happy occasion of his birthday and we wish our beloved Pope all God’s blessings and strength to continue to lead and guide the Church,” wrote Cardinal Oswald Gracias, archbishop of Bombay, in a message conveying the wishes of India’s 18 million Catholics. “The Church in India gives grateful thanks for his leadership and defence of Gospel values. Our hearts are filled with joy and pride for our beloved Pope who is a visionary and one, who leads the Church Universal in the way taught by our Lord and as a faithful descendant of the apostle Peter,” said Cardinal Gracias, who is the president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India, CBCI. The prelate who is also the president of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI) belonging to the bishops of Latin rite, particularly lauded the German-born Pontiff’s special concern for human dignity and rights, the environment and ecumenism. “The Church in India, the Bishops and the faithful are praying for the Holy Father in these challenging times and pray that God gives a long life to our Beloved Pope,” Cardinal Gracias wrote.