New Delhi: The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) has appointed a tribal priest from Jharkhand in eastern India as its new public relations officer.

Fr. Gyanprakash Topno of Jamshedpur diocese is the first tribal to become the spokesperson of the country’s more than 18 million Catholics. The appointment comes in the backdrop of allegations against the Church that it indulges in conversion of poor Dalit and tribal communities in India.

The post was held by CBCI Deputy Secretary General Monsignor Joseph Chinnayyan for after the last PRO’s term ended a few years ago.

Father Topno’s appointment was effective from August 1, but the CBCI headquarters announced it 28 days later.

The appointment was approved by CBCI Standing Committee when it met April 22-24 at St. John’s Medical College, Bengaluru.

The standing committee, the executive body of the bishops’ conference that meets twice in a year, also appointed Fr Varaprasad Marneni of Hyderabad archdiocese as the Secretary for CBCI Office for Social Communications. He replaced Salesian Father George Plathottam, whose term ended on May 31.

Other appointments included Fr. Mathew Perumpil of the Congregation of Camellians who replaced Father Mathew Abraham as the secretary of the CBCI Office for Health Care and Fr. Stephen Fernandes of Bombay archdiocese as the secretary to the Office for Justice, Peace and Development. He would succeed Fr. Charles Irudayam on September 22.

The new secretary for the CBCI Council for Youth is K J Thomas Deepak, a member of the Order of Discalced Carmelites. He took over from Fr. Franky D’Souza on August 14.

The CBCI took up its media relations seriously in 1993 when it set up a media desk to coordinate the countrywide network of Church communications centers and to liaise with secular media. The desk was under plan for two years.

The media desk which was later raised as an office of public relations aims to tell the world what the Church is doing, and tell the bishops what the world thinks of our activities.

Father Jude Botelho of Bombay archdiocese was appointed its secretary. He was succeeded by Divine Word Father Dominic Emmanuel. Fr Babu Joseph, another Divine Word priest, succeeded Fr Emmanuel.