By Matters India Reporter
Bengaluru, Feb 17, 2020: Cardinal Oswald Gracias, Archbishop of Bombay, on February 17 reelected president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India for a second term.
The election took place on the fifth day of the conferences’ 34 plenary assembly at John’s Medical College in Bengaluru, capital of Karnataka.
The 75-year-old cardinal is among the six advisers of Pope Francis. The Pope had extended Cardinal Gracias’ term as the Bombay archbishop last December. The Indian prelate had submitted his resignation in November as he was about to cross 75, the mandatory year of retirement.
Cardinal Gracias will now lead the Indian Catholic Church for another two years, a stressful period for the country.
The bishops also reelected Syro-Malabar Archbishop Mar George Njaralakatt of Tellicherry as the first vice president and Syro-Malankara Bishop Joshua Ignathios of Mavelikkara the second vice president for another term.
The CBCI statues stipulate that the three office bearers should represent India’s three ritual Churches – Latin, Syro-Malabar and Syro-Malankara.
Archbishop Felix Machado, the bishop of Vasai, was elected as the CBCI secretary general.
The bishops congratulated the new office-bearers.
The first draft of the final statement was presented to the participants by the drafting committee. The final statement will be released on February 19, the last day of the assembly.