Andhra Pradesh Church resolves to foster the spirit of Vatican II in the Year of Faith

November 16, 2012 - The Church in southern India’s Andhra Pradesh state held the first general body meeting of the Catholic Council of Andhra Pradesh (CCAP), the regional unit of Catholic Council of India (CCI). Over 100 delegates from the 13 dioceses of Andhra Pradesh, including 2 Archbishops, 2 Bishops, 40 priests, 20 sisters and 40 lay people, attended the meeting at St John’s Regional Seminary, Hyderabad. Among them were 15 regional secretaries of the commission of the Andhra Pradesh Bishops' Council APBC. The meeting began with a prayer service celebrating Jesus Christ the light of the world, on the day India celebrated the Diwali festival. Bishop Gali Bali of Guntur, president of APBC and ex-officio President of CCAP spoke about what the Second Vatican Council says about developing deeper fraternal relationships within the Church and other Churches, and with other religions and the world. The Pastoral Letter of the Bishops of A.P. to mark the Year of Faith was read out. At a workshop participants heard reports from various parts of Andhra Pradesh and suggested ways to promote the spirit of Vatican II and deepen the spiritual life of the faithful at the parish and diocesan levels. The highlight of the meeting was a Mass presided over by Archbishop Thumma Bala of Hyderabad. It was also an occasion to release the electronic version of the Telugu Bible, which can be downloaded to the mobile phone.
The CCAP is the regional unit of Catholic Council of India (CCI) consisting of the bishops and the representatives of priests, religious and laity. It is an advisory and consultative body that functions as the Regional Pastoral Council. The purpose of CCAP is to make suggestions and recommendations to the Andhra Pradesh Bishops’ Council for enabling the Church fulfill its mission better in the region.