Pope urges harmony among India’s Latin and Eastern
rite bishops
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Tuesday urged for a
"fruitful and harmonious cooperation” among the bishops of the
three ritual Churches of India, as they reach out to provide pastoral care to
their respective faithful, spread out in various parts of the country.
“In India itself, overlapping jurisdictions should no longer be problematic,
for the Church has experienced them for some time, such as in Kerala,” the Pope
wrote in a letter the Indian Bishops.
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) is the apex
body of the Catholic Church of India, that is composed of three ‘sui
iuris’ Churches: the Latin rite and the two
eastern rites – the Syro-Malabar and Syro-Malankara Churches,
which claim their origin from St. Thomas the Apostle. Of the 172 dioceses
in India, 132 belong to the Latin rite.
“In a world where large numbers of Christians are forced to
migrate, overlapping jurisdictions have become customary and are increasingly
effective tools for ensuring the pastoral care of the faithful while also
ensuring full respect for their ecclesial traditions,” the Pope wrote. He
thus authorized the Vatican Congregation for the Oriental Churches to erect two
eparchies (dioceses) for the the Syro-Malabar Church and to extend the
boundaries of two others.
Please find below the full text of Pope Francis letter
to the bishops of India:
Letter of His Holiness Pope Francis to the Bishops of India
Dear Brother Bishops,
1.
The remarkable varietas Ecclesiarum, the result of a long historical,
cultural, spiritual and disciplinary development, constitutes a treasure
of the Church, regina in vestitu deaurato circumdata
variegate (cf. Ps 44 and Leo XIII, Orientalium Dignitas),
who awaits her groom with the fidelity and patience of the wise virgin,
equipped with an abundant supply of oil, so that the light of her lamp may
enlighten all peoples in the long night of awaiting the Lord’s coming.
This
variety of ecclesial life, which shines with great splendour throughout lands
and nations, is also found in India. The Catholic Church in India has its
origins in the preaching of the Apostle Thomas. It developed through
contact with the Churches of Chaldean and Antiochian traditions and, from the
sixteenth century onward, through the efforts of Latin missionaries. The
history of Christianity in this great country thus led to three
distinct sui iuris Churches, corresponding to ecclesial expressions of
the same faith celebrated in different rites according to the three liturgical,
spiritual, theological and disciplinary traditions. Although this
situation has sometimes led to tensions in the course of history, today we can
admire a Christian presence that is both rich and beautiful, complex and
unique.
2. It
is essential for the Catholic Church to reveal her face in all its beauty to
the world, in the richness of her various traditions. For this reason the
Congregation for the Oriental Churches, which celebrates its centenary year,
having been established through the farsightedness of Pope Benedict XV in 1917,
has encouraged, where necessary, the restoration of Eastern Catholic
traditions, and ensured their protection, as well as respect for the dignity
and rights of these ancient Churches.
3.
The Second Vatican Council embraced this vision of the Church and reminded the
faithful of the need to protect and preserve the treasure of the particular
traditions of each Church. “Moreover, within the Church particular
Churches hold a rightful place; these Churches retain their own traditions,
without in any way opposing the primacy of the Chair of Peter, which presides
over the whole assembly of charity (cf. Ignatius of Antioch, Ad Rom.,
Praef.), and protects legitimate differences, while at the same time assuring
that such differences do not hinder unity but rather contribute toward it”
(Lumen Gentium, 13).
4.
As Lumen Gentium teaches, it is for the Bishop of Rome to promote
unity in the diversity of the Body of Christ. In this task, the Roman
Pontiffs faithfully interpret and apply the voice of the Second Vatican
Council, which expressed the ardent desire that the Oriental Churches,
venerated for their antiquity, should “flourish and with new apostolic vigour
execute the task entrusted to them” (Orientalium Ecclesiarum, 1).
Their responsibility is not only to become ever more effective
instruments of that “special duty of promoting the unity of all Christians,
especially Eastern Christians” (Orientalium Ecclesiarum, 24), but also to
promote their “equal dignity […] for they enjoy the same rights and are under
the same obligations, also in respect of preaching the Gospel to the whole
world” (Orientalium Ecclesiarum, 3).
Thirty
years ago, my beloved predecessor Saint John Paul II wrote a Letter to the
Bishops of India. Drawing on the Second Vatican Council, he sought to
apply the conciliar teaching to the Indian context. In India, even after
many centuries, Christians are only a small proportion of the population and,
consequently, there is a particular need to demonstrate unity and to avoid any
semblance of division. Saint John Paul II also stated that the need for
unity and the preservation of diversity are not opposed to one another: “This
need to be faithful to the traditions and patrimony of one’s own rite must not
be interpreted as an interference with the Church’s task of ‘gathering into one
the children of God who are scattered abroad’ (Jn 11:52) or with the
mission of the Church to promote the communion of all people with the Redeemer”
(Epistula ad Indiae Episcopos, 28 May 1987).
5.
Five decades ago, when the Syro-Malabar Church expanded to some central and
northern parts of India with “missionary eparchies”, it was generally thought
by the Latin Bishops that there should be just one jurisdiction, that is, one
bishop in a particular territory. These eparchies, created from Latin
dioceses, today have exclusive jurisdiction over those territories, both of the
Latin and Syro-Malabar faithful. However, both in the traditional
territories of the Eastern Churches, as well as in the vast area of the
so-called diaspora (where these faithful have long been established), a
fruitful and harmonious cooperation between Catholic bishops of the
different sui iuris Churches within the same territory has taken
place. This cooperation not only offers an ecclesiological justification
for such a solution, but also demonstrates its pastoral benefits. In a
world where large numbers of Christians are forced to migrate, overlapping
jurisdictions have become customary and are increasingly effective tools for
ensuring the pastoral care of the faithful while also ensuring full respect for
their ecclesial traditions.
6. In
India itself, overlapping jurisdictions should no longer be problematic, for
the Church has experienced them for some time, such as in Kerala. Saint
John Paul II’s Letter authorized the erection of a Syro-Malabar eparchy in the
Bombay-Pune region, which became the Eparchy of Kalyan. In 2012 the
Syro-Malabar Eparchy of Faridabad was erected in the region of Delhi and its
neighbouring states, while the boundaries of the Eparchy of Mandya were
extended in 2015 to include the metropolitan area of Bangalore. In the
same year, an Eparchy and an Apostolic Exarchate were erected for the
Syro-Malankar faithful, so that by these ecclesiastical circumscriptions the
Syro-Malankar Church could provide pastoral care for its faithful throughout
the territory of India. All these developments show that, albeit not
without problems, the presence of a number of bishops in the same area does not
compromise the mission of the Church. On the contrary, these steps have
given greater impetus to the local Churches for their pastoral and missionary
efforts.
7. In
2011 my predecessor Benedict XVI wished to provide for the pastoral needs of
the Syro-Malabar faithful throughout India, and I confirmed his intention
following the plenary session of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches in
2013. Archbishop Raphael Thattil is currently the Apostolic Visitor for
those Syro-Malabar faithful in India who live outside their own territory, and
he has provided detailed reports to the Apostolic See. This issue has
been examined in meetings at the highest levels of the Church. Following
these steps, I believe the time is now right to complete this process.
I have
therefore authorized the Congregation for the Oriental Churches to provide for
the pastoral care of the Syro-Malabar faithful throughout India by the erection
of two Eparchies and by the extension of the boundaries of the two already in
existence.
I decree
also that the new circumscriptions, as with those already in existence, be
entrusted to the pastoral care of the Major Archbishop of Ernakulam-Angamaly
and to the Synod of Bishops of the Syro-Malabar Church, according to the norms
of the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches.
8. I
hope that my decision will be welcomed with a generous and peaceful spirit, although
it may be a source of apprehension for some, since many Syro-Malabars, deprived
of pastoral care in their own rite, are at present fully involved in the life
of the Latin Church. I am convinced, however, that all those involved
will understand that there is no need for concern: the Church’s life should not
be disrupted by such a provision. Indeed it must not be negatively
interpreted as imposing upon the faithful a requirement to leave the
communities which have welcomed them, sometimes for many generations, and to
which they have contributed in various ways. It should rather be seen as
an invitation as well as an opportunity for growth in faith and communion with
their sui iuris Church, in order to preserve the precious heritage of
their rite and to pass it on to future generations. There is already an
instruction by the Congregation for the Oriental Churches to the Eparchy of
Faridabad, which indicates that a member of the Syro-Malabar faithful, by
virtue of the same law, is also a member of the Syro-Malabar parish where he or
she is domiciled (Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, Can, 280
§1); yet at the same time, he or she can remain fully involved in the life and
activities of the parish of the Latin Church. No dispensation is required
from the law currently in force for the faithful to practice their faith
serenely, and they may do this with the pastoral care of either Latin or
Syro-Malabar pastors (cf. Prot. No. 197/2014, 28 January 2016).
9. The path
of the Catholic Church in India cannot be that of isolation and separation, but
rather of respect and cooperation. The presence of several bishops of the
various sui iuris Churches in the same territory will surely offer an
eloquent witness to a vibrant and marvellous communion. This is the
vision of the Second Vatican Council, which I quote once again: “Between all
the parts of the Church there remains a bond of close communion whereby they
share spiritual riches, apostolic workers and temporal resources. For the
members of the people of God are called to share these goods in common, and of
each of the Churches the words of the Apostle hold good: ‘According to the gift
that each has received, administer it to one another as good stewards of the
manifold grace of God’ (1 Pet 4:10)” (Lumen Gentium, 13). It is
in this spirit that I urge all the beloved Churches in India to be generous and
courageous as they witness to the Gospel in the spirit of fraternity and mutual
love. For the Syro-Malabar Church, this continues the valued work of
their priests and religious in the Latin context, and sustains their
availability for those Syro-Malabar faithful who, although choosing to attend
Latin parishes, may request some assistance from their Church of origin.
The Latin rite Church can continue to generously offer hospitality to members
of the Syro-Malabar communities who do not have church buildings of their
own. The cooperation among all the sui iuris Churches should
continue, for example in the area of retreats and seminars for clergy, Bible
conferences, celebrations of common feast days and ecumenical endeavours.
With the growth of spiritual friendship and mutual assistance, any tension or
apprehension should be swiftly overcome. May this extension of the
pastoral area of the Syro-Malabar Church in no way be perceived as a growth in
power and domination, but as a call to deeper communion, which should never be
perceived as uniformity. In the words of Saint Augustine, who sang the
praises of the Trinity and of the wonderful communion of the Father, the Son
and the Holy Spirit, I also ask you: dilatentur spatia
caritatis (Sermon 69, PL 5, 440.441). May there be a
growth in love, communion and service.
Dear
brother Bishops, I commend all of you to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin
Mary and I assure you of my closeness in prayer. To all of you, the
Church and the faithful in India, I impart my Apostolic Blessing, and I ask
that you pray for me.
From the Vatican, 9 October 2017
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