By Stanislaus Alla
New Delhi, Jan 10, 2023: Congratulations to Archbishop Raphael Thattil that began to pour in from 4:30pm on January 10 will go on for weeks and months. Wishes and prayers are certainly in order for the person as well as for the mission that he is entrusted with.
As the new head of the Syro-Malabar Church, and simultaneously as the archbishop of a large archdiocese, he will have a lot to be busy with. While he will have several qualified and able persons to assist him, as both pastor and administrator he will be holding several important responsibilities.
While he is both rooted in the soil and is exposed to Rome and to the larger world, his life in the missions (be it in the Eparchy of Shamshabad or elsewhere) would come as a blessing. In the missions, as a priest and then as a bishop, he must have developed a greater sensitivity to listen to the faithful, to learn and to discern –the virtues that are highlighted in Synod on Synodality.
The bishops who chose him must have seen in him the pastoral qualities that Pope Francis embodies and often refers to: to be prayerful and hopeful, to be humble and joyful, to be kind and merciful, and to meet the faithful where they are and not where the Church expects them to be – in sum, a bishop with the smell of the sheep!
Kerala’s Catholic Church, Syro-Malabar Church in particular, has a lot to be grateful to God and much to advance in ushering in God’s reign in these dramatically changing times and contexts. Apart from the other things that the archbishop would be occupied with, both the routine ones and the pressing concerns, he can let fresh air come in, which can make a difference on many fronts.
In his Letter that confirms the appointment of the Major Archbishop, Pope Francis said something that needs to be acknowledged and highlighted, lest it goes unnoticed. Here is that line: “I likewise urge you especially to remember the poor, and those most in need.”
What is intended here is not merely helping the poor and the needy, which the clergy and the laity of Syro-Malabar Church have been doing well but there is a larger intent: expand your ideas of the Church, of the missions, of evangelization.
Since he began his ministry, Pope Franics has been asking the Churches and the faithful to go beyond their older ideas of the Church and make it a Church of the poor (even, a poor Church, in the Franciscan sense), and not get fossilized. Through this simple appeal, arguably, the Pope is requesting the Syro-Malabar Church, not only the archbishop but all, to be open for some paradigmatic shifts and changes. Recall that when Bergoglio was elected as Pope, a fellow cardinal reminded him not to forget the poor.
The Pope’s similar reminder to Archbishop Thattil, to keep the poor and the needy in front his eyes, is more than helping some poor across the road. Spiritually, contained in this vision are the notions of the Church, of the community, of the leadership in the Church.
As mentioned, certainly, the Pope’s words are not meant exclusively for the archbishop: those of us who rejoice at having a new archbishop are invited to think of what it is to be a Church today, and, in what way can I become an authentic follower of Christ! Maybe, we are the poor and the needy in our contexts, and that we all need each other to renew ourselves, to build up the Church, and reach Christ.
In reminding the people to call him ‘achhan’ (Father) as they were accustomed to, Archbishop Thattil has already revealed his pastor’s heart. May his ministry be blessed and become effective and fruitful!