By Sunil Rozario

Baruipur, May 5, 2020: The first son of the soil to become the bishop of Baruipur says his priority is to make young people in his West Bengal diocese efficient and self-reliant so that they do not have to migrate to other states for jobs.

Bishop Shyamol Bose, a native Bengali, says he has seen entire families migrate to other states to work as cheap laborers in farms and construction sites. This has forced them to cut off from their language, culture and moorings.

Bishop Bose, who was the coadjutor bishop of the diocese until now, was promoted by Pope Francis on May 4. His elevation came as thousands of migrant workers from West Bengal and other eastern and northern state struggled to return home in the wake of a nationwide lockdown to contain the coronavirus pandemic.

Bishop Bose was born on March 24, 1961, at Gosaba in Baruipur diocese. He was ordained a priest on May 5, 1991. He was appointed coadjutor bishop on May 17, 2019. He is the third Bishop of Baruipur diocese, erected in 1977. He succeeds Bishop Salvadore Lobo, now emeritus and appointed administrator in the diocese of Asansol. The first prelate of Baruipur was Jesuit Bishop Emeritus Linus N. Gomes.

Father Sunil Rozario of Calcutta archdiocese interviewed the new bishop for Matters India. Excerpts:

What were your immediate thoughts on being appointed Baruipur bishop?

I was happy and at the same time, a little nervous thinking whether I shall be able to do justice in the responsibility entrusted to me by the Lord. However, immediately I thought that why should I be afraid, as I am just an instrument in the hand of the Lord. I am like an earthen vessel in the hand of God in which the power of God will work (2 Cor 4:7). After all, I am not alone. I shall have the members of the Board of Consulters who will advise me how to go about. We will have the members of the Finance Committee who are efficient in the matters of the finance and they too will advise me.

What are your dreams, aims and objectives for Baruipur?

I have completed 29 years as a priest. Prior to that, I had 10 years of training to be a priest. In this long period, I have had a good experience about the diocese. When I worked in parishes or in the social service society I have noted that our people, especially Christians, are very poor. They are neglected by the government and the NGOs. We need to focus on the education of our people.

Our good schools are situated in the urban areas, towns and cities and only those who can afford high cost education get admission thre. The poor students from villages do not get sufficient facilities for education. My vision is to create opportunities for a holistic education for them. This could be done through our existing institutions and our parishes. My main focus is to improve the education of village students, especially girls.

Likewise, we need to develop the vocational skills for jobs of our young people so that they could earn for their livelihood and become self-dependent in their villages. We have a huge challenge of supporting our migrant workers. Lack of education and skill has forced our young people to migrate to different states to work as cheap labor for constructions of building and roads or in farms. I have seen the entire family migrating to thousands of miles away from their homeland. They have to give up their language, culture, food habit and adopt the culture of their working place. It is sad that they are uprooted from their home of origin. We need to make our youth efficient in various skills so that they gain self-confidence and avoid going to other states for their livelihood.

How are you going to achieve these goals?

Firstly, we, our priests, religious and faithful need to work hand in hand. I believe in collaborative and participatory leadership. We shall work as a team. Every priest and religious will own the diocese and all should feel that it is our diocese and we all should work hard to promote our diocese spiritually, pastorally, economically, educationally and culturally.

A sense of belongingness to the diocese will enhance our solidarity and commitment to face the challenges jointly. We have the pastoral perspective plan of the diocese and we have different commissions. All the commissions will work together in coordination with each other. I have experienced that the members of all the commissions are efficient and dedicated. Certainly, they will do much better service for the ongoing growth of the diocese, when the sense of belongingness grows. I am very hopeful, with the blessings of God and support of all the members of the diocese to make our diocese vibrant and effective in achieving our goals.

Any other specific challenges you would like to highlight.

Yes, we do have challenges. The first challenge is that the need is vast and to achieve the goals we need both money and personnel. But I am hopeful. We need to develop the infrastructure for schools in the parishes especially those in villages. We need to set up the long term vocational training centers and so on. For all this, we need sufficient financial resources. I trust in the Lord, He will guide us with his Spirit.