Indian Bishops begin four phase Ad Limina pilgrimage

“We are looking to the Holy Father for guidance on how to live Jesus in a society that is pluri-religious, pluri-cultural and has many different values. I see this as the biggest challenge, how to live and present Jesus in such an inter-religious society”, says Cardinal Oswald Gracias of Mumbai India.

The fourth largest Bishops Conference in the world began the first of a four phase Ad Liminia pilgrimage to the Holy See. The first group, led by H. B. Baselios Cleemis Thottunkal, Major Archbishop of Trivandrum of the Syro-Malankars, met with Pope Benedict XVI Monday morning in the Apostolic palace.

The Indian Church has a total of 30 ecclesiastical provinces, the majority of which are Latin Rite with five Syro-Malabar and two Syro-Malankara rites. The Indian bishop’s pilgrimage will run until September 2011.

India is the second most populous country in the world, with over 1.18 billion people. Catholics count for a mere 2% , yet their influence on Indian society, in the words of Cardinal Gracias, President of the Bishops Conference, “is felt far beyond this 2%, largely thanks to the Churches commitment in the fields of education, healthcare and outreach to the poor and marginalised in Indian society”.

Speaking to Vatican Radio’s Robin Gomes ahead of the pilgrimage, he outlined the issues he and his fellow bishops hope to bring to the Holy Father and Roman Curia’s attention. “One of the things that we really should face [in India] is one of the things which the Pope himself has repeatedly spoken of, the necessity of re-evangelisation. Although India seems to be far away from Europe, and the West because of globalisation and the new media the explosion of communications all over the world and the fast pace in which IT is moving in India we are also being influenced by secularisation and relativism I can see that very clearly in my own city in Mumbai”.

The Cardinal said that the bishops will also be looking to guidance from the Pope in the question of Faith formation for lay Catholics as well as on how to proceed in the area of interreligious dialogue and inculturation. Cardinal Gomes also reflected on the roots of Christianity in the world’s second most populous nation and on recent violence against Christians in some of its states: Listen to the full interview: