ASIA/INDIA - Six new bishops for India

by Gianni Valente

Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - Six new Catholic bishops for India, all appointed on the same day by Pope Francis. This took place today, Saturday, January 13, as reported in the daily bulletin of the Holy See Press Office.
The news of the simultaneous appointment of six bishops to serve the Church in the same country is in itself an unusual event in the practice of the Holy See. And in today's 'multiple appointment', other elements of ecclesiastical significance can be recognized in addition to the numerical fact. Factors related to the heterogeneous profiles of the new bishops, to the different contexts in which they will be called to exercise their episcopal ministry, and also to the process that led to their episcopal appointment, carried out under the competence of the Section for the First Evangelization and the New Particular Churches of the Dicastery for Evangelization.

The six dioceses in which the new bishops will serve are scattered in regions far away from each other, embedded in the different contexts that characterize the different areas of the Indian Sub-Continent: from the south-western State of Katamaka (which has a recent history of violence against Christians communities) to Tamil Nadu, from the populous northern State of Uttar Pradesh to central Madhya Pradesh.
Three of the six dioceses that received new Pastors (Karwar, Kuzhithurai and Meerut) had already been without a bishop for several years (“Sedes Vacantes”). In two other dioceses (Jabalpur and Kumbakonam), the Ordinary bishop was already 75 years old.
The situation of the ecclesiastical districts entrusted to the care of the Dicastery for Evangelization appears to be very different. Problems and complex contexts of various kinds related to individual situations can slow down the processes selecting new candidates for the episcopate.

The new bishops are on average less than 56 years old, and their individual lives suggest different profiles that belong to different sensitive ecclesial situations.

Duming Dias (54), the new Bishop of Karwar, has among other things, a Master's degree in Business Administration from the Karnataka State Open University. For more than ten years he also worked as a lecturer and head of the Sacred Heart College in Shimoga Shimoga.

Albert George Alexander Anastas (57), the new bishop of Kuzhithurai was awarded a doctorate in theology from the Catholic University in Leuven (Belgium) and after his priestly ordination, was, in addition to various positions in parishes and seminaries, also director of the Rural motivation programme (Diocesan Social Service Society) of Kottar and Professor at Saint Paul's Seminary, Tiruchirappalli;

Bhaskar Jesuraj (57), the new Bishop of Meerut, lived during his time as a seminarian at Saint Joseph's Regional Seminary in Allahabad (1989-1993) choosing to become a missionary in northern India for several years, and since 2013 has been director and head of educational institutions such as Saint Clare's Senior Secondary School in Agra.
Valan Arasu (56), the new Bishop of Jabalpur, was awarded a doctorate in economics from Rani Durgavati University and was also secretary for the Commission for Dialogue among Religions in Jabalpur (2008-2012).
Jeevanandam Amalanathan (60), the new bishop of Kumbakonam, was awarded a doctorate in pastoral theology from the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome in 2008. After returning home, he was appointed rector and parish Priest of the Basilica of Poondi, and since 2016, he has served as vicar general of Kumbakonam.

Justin Alexander Madathiparambil (51), the new auxiliary bishop of the diocese of Vijayapuram, was awarded a diploma in philosophy from the University of Kerala and studied philosophy and theology at Saint Joseph’s Pontifical Seminary, Carmelgiri, Alwaye. He subsequently obtained a licentiate in liturgy from the Pontifical Saint Anselm Athenaeum and a doctorate in dogmatic theology from the Pontifical Urbanian University of Rome. Since his ordination in 1996 for the diocese of Vijayapuram, he has served, among other things, as president of the Vijayapuram Social Service Society and the diocesan Corporate Educational Agency and diocesan director of the Pontifical Mission Societies.

The diversity of the profiles of the new Indian bishops confirms that the process that concluded with their appointment was not animated by the intention of selecting pastors profiled according to a prefabricated and homologizing stereotype. The criterion applied valued the different sensibilities and talents of priests called to the episcopate and took into account the potential of the different profiles to adapt to different conditions and contexts.

The process leading to the appointment of new bishops requires increasing collaboration between the local Churches, the Pontifical Representatives in Countries across the globe and the Dicastery for Evangelization. A collaboration that takes the form of a synodal path that is implemented in the definition of concrete decisions. When it comes to choosing the new bishop to preside over a diocese, the process and exchanges that the dicastery carries out with the dioceses entrusted to it are primarily aimed at responding to the inspirations and urgencies of the people of God in relation to the Pastors who are called to serve it on the common journey of faith.

In order to serve the Pope and the Churches according to the criteria set out in the Apostolic Constitution Praedicate Evangelium, the Dicastery for Evangelization in the current phase wants to shorten the time for the selection of new bishops, taking all precautions so that the apostolic succession in individual dioceses, is not interrupted by "temporary interruptions" due to the state of "sede vacante", and is handed over to Pastors worthy and suitable to assume the tasks and obligations associated with the mandate of the Successors of the Apostles.

Today, January 13, 2024, Pope Francis not only appointed the six new Indian bishops, but also accepted the resignation of Bishop Kannikadass Antony William of Mysore, who, given the situation in which the diocese in question finds itself, is resigning from the diocese for pastoral reasons .
In this context, the Apostolic Nunciature in India clarified that this resignation "should not be considered a disciplinary measure against Bishop William" but "constitutes a decision "pro bono Ecclesiae" (for the good of the Church) in order to provide for the appointment of a new Bishop'.
The current status of Bishop Kannikadass Antony William is - as the Nunciature's statement states - "that of 'Bishop Emeritus of Mysore'. At present, this renunciation does not constitute a canonical limitation on his ministry."

Now the new Indian bishops, with their limitations and talents, like all their brothers in the episcopate, will be called upon to preserve and make fruitful the unity in the local Church and with the Bishop of Rome, asking to be themselves kept in the faith by the prayer of the people of God. (Agenzia Fides, 13/1/2024)

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