Bangalore: The Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI) on Sunday elected new Chairmen for its 16 Commissions during its 34 Plenary Assembly.
The newly-elected chairmen are:
- Bishop Selvister Ponnumuthan, Bishop of Punalur, Kerala: Chairman, Commission for Basic Ecclesial Communities;
- Bishop Antonysamy Savarimuthu, Bishop of Palayamkottai, Tamil Nadu: Chairman, Commission for Canon Law and Legislative Texts;
- Bishop George Palliparambil, S.D.B., Bishop of Miao, Arunachal Pradesh: Chairman, Commission for Catechetics;
- Bishop Theodore Mascarenhas, S.F.X., Auxiliary Bishop of Ranchi, Jharkhand: Chairman, Commission for Ecology;
- Bishop Barthol Barretto, Auxiliary Bishop of Bombay, Maharashtra: Chairman, Commission for Family;
- Archbishop Peter Machado, Archbishop of Bangalore, Karnataka: Chairman, Commission for Laity;
- Archbishop Sebastian Durairaj, S.V.D., Archbishop of Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh: Chairman, Commission for Proclamation;
- Bishop Vincent Aind, Bishop of Bagdogra, West Bengal: Chairman, Commission for Theology and Doctrine;
- Bishop Varghese Chakkalakal, Bishop of Calicut, Kerala: Chairman Commission for Vocations, Seminaries, Clergy and Religious;
- Bishop Kishore Kumar Kujur, Bishop of Rourkela, Odisha: Chairman, Commission for Women;
- Bishop Ignatius D’Souza, Bishop of Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh: Chairman, Commission for Youth.
The following Bishops were re-elected:
- Bishop Peter Abir Antonysamy, Bishop of Sultanpet, Kerala: Chairman, Commission for Bible;
- Bishop Francis Serrao, S.J., Bishop of Shimoga, Karnataka: Chairman, Commission for Ecumenism;
- Bishop Peter Paul Saldanha, Bishop of Mangalore, Karnataka: Chairman, Commission for Liturgy;
Archbishop Victor Henry Thakur, Archbishop of Raipur, Chhattisgarh: Chairman, Commission for Migrants. - His Eminence Cardinal Filipe Neri Ferrão, the President of the CCBI, is the ex-officio Chairman of the CCBI Commission for Boundary, which deals with the bifurcation of dioceses, creating new Archdioceses and elevating shrines or churches to the status of Basilica.
On the sixth day of the 34th Plenary Assembly of the CCBI, Abp. George Antonysamy, Vice President and the Archbishop of Madras-Mylapore, was the main celebrant of the Holy Mass. During the business session, the Bishops voted and approved the Complementary Legislation of the Code of Canon Law. There are 43 new/revised laws which were approved for the Church in India and the same will come into effect after obtaining the confirmation from the Holy See.
The 34th Plenary Assembly will conclude on Monday (30 January 2023) at 1pm. The assembly discussed the theme “Telling the Story of Jesus in our Context: The Synodal Way.” The Conference of Catholic Bishops of India consists of 132 dioceses and 190 Bishops. The CCBI animates the Church in India through its 16 Commissions, 6 Departments and 4 Apostolates. Its main Secretariat is in Bangalore with extensions in Goa, Delhi and Pachmarhi (MP). The Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI), which is the Canonical National Episcopal Conference, is the largest in Asia and the fourth largest in the world.
Fr Gilbert New Secretary to the Commission for Theology
On Friday, Rev. Dr. Gilbert De Lima (67) from the Archdiocese of Bombay was appointed as the new Executive Secretary to the CCBI Commission for Theology and Doctrine. The appointment was made by the 90th Executive Committee meeting of the CCBI held on 23 January 2023 at Bangalore. Currently he is the professor of systematic theology at Pius X College, Mumbai.
Fr Gilbert was born on 15 January 1956 in the Archdiocese of Bombay. He did his philosophy and theology at Pius X seminary and was ordained priest on 16 April 1983. He holds B. Com from the Mumbai University. He had a doctorate in Systematic Theology from Pontifical Urban University, Rome. His doctoral dissertation entitled “The Local Church and Basic Christian Communities in the Service of the Kingdom of God.” He had 33 years of teaching experience in various ecclesial universities in India and abroad.
He is the author of following books: (1) “The Local Church and Basic Christian Communities in the Service of the Kingdom of God”; (2) “Evangelization in India Through Basic Communities” and (3) “Inculturation through Basic Christian Communities and Basic Communities.”