By Matters India Reporter
Bengaluru, March 9, 2020: Pope Francis on March 9 accepted the resignation of Bishop Sebastianappan Singaroyan of Salem diocese in Tamil Nadu.
The pontiff has appointed Bishop Lawrence Pius Dorairaj of Dharmapuri as the apostolic administrator of Salem, according to a press note from the Conference of Catholic Bishops in India.
In a March 9 letter to the clergy, religious and laity of Salem diocese, Bishop Singaroyan, who completed 68 years on January 18, says he had resigned for health reasons.
The retirement age for a bishop in the Catholic Church is 75.
The retired bishop directs priests, religious and laity to immediately stop mentioning his name in Eucharistic prayer in the diocese.
He also says with his resignation the office of the vicar general and vicars forane and the council of priests, diocesan pastoral council and diocesan finance council become vacant.
“All appointments made and programs fixed with me for various liturgical and other functions in Salem Diocese stand cancelled,” the letter adds.
Bishop Singaroyan’s letter thanks “wholeheartedly” all the clergy, religious and laity for their “kind collaboration for the past 19 years in my service to Salem Diocese.”
Bishop Singaroyan was born at Elathagiri in the Dharmapuri district of Tamil Nadu. He studied philosophy and theology at St. Peter’s Pontifical Seminary, Bangalore (now Bengaluru). He was ordained a priest on May 27, 1978, for the diocese of Salem. He was only 48 when he was appointed the fourth bishop of Salem on October 18, 2000.
The retired bishop had obtained a doctorate in theology from Pontifical Lateran University, Rome, in 1995. He has master’s degrees Tamil language, and Public Administration, Master of Science in Psychology – all from the University of Madras.
He was the professor of theology and director of pastoral ministry at Good Shepherd major seminary, Coimbatore. He was the chairman of the CCBI Commission for Proclamation from 2011 to 2015. He is a priest for 41 years and a bishop for 19 years.