Vatican official urges Indian Church to usher in God Kingdom of justice

(February 03, 2012) A leading Vatican official on Thursday urged India’s Catholic Church to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit as it seeks to close the growing disparity which increases the sense of marginalization among the people in the country. Cardinal Peter Turkson, President of the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace was addressing the 30th General Body meeting of the Catholic Bishops Conference of India, CBCI, currently in session in Bangalore city, Feb 1-8. Some 170 bishops, priests and lay people are attending the 30th biennial plenary on the theme, “Church’s role for a Better India.” Citing the United Nations figures he said that India was the fourth largest economy in the world but ranked 126th among the 177 countries in the index of poverty. He drew the attention of the Indian bishops to the Church’s social teachings saying the mission of the Church in India demands that she be in communion with the universal Church in striving to remove poverty and restore dignity to people. He said Christians are incurably optimistic that a more just and peaceful world is possible. Christ himself was the agent of the Kingdom of God and he constituted successors, the Apostles. The Bishops as well as every Christian are apostles of the kingdom, and hence, agents of building a better India, Cardinal Turkson added.