Indian Catholic bishops to deliberate on elections
Delhi, 25 January 2014: Some 235 bishops, members of the Catholic Bishop Conference
of India (CBCI), will come together in Palai, in the Southern Indian state of Kerala,
for their biennial meeting scheudled for February 5-12, few months ahead of the national
elections.
The bishops are to discuss the political stand the Church should
take in the coming Lok Sabha elections, Bishop Joseph Kallarangatt of Palai told Deccan
Chronicle. “The stand the Church should adopt in the coming general elections will
be discussed at the plenary meeting, which will see the third biggest assembly of
Catholic bishops in the world," said Bishop Kallarangatt, the newspaper reported.
Besides
the elections, the bishops are expected to discuss the stand the Church in Kerala
needs to take on the Kasturirangan report on the Western Ghats and various other socio
political issues.
The participants for the 31st national meeting include bishops
of 167 dioceses, 12 auxiliary bishops, two Kuria bishops and 56 retired bishops of
the three ritual Churches--the Syro-Malabar, Syro-Malankara and Latin churches--across
the country. Source: UCAN