Six new Catholic bishops for India, all appointed on the same day by Pope Francis.
This took place on 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.
On 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.