• “Gone are the days of a one-man show. Synodality is the only option for
  proper church leadership.”
• Bishop Thomas Mathew Kuttimackal
  Bishop of Indore

What is the motto you wish to take as bishop, and why this?
“To Serve in Gratitude”: I strongly believe that whatever I am, and whatever I have is all given to me by God out of His generosity (cf. l Cor. 4:7). Hence my response would be nothing but to serve Him and His people in a spirit of utmost gratitude.

What will be your pastoral priority as the bishop of Indore diocese?

There have been efforts already to consolidate all the personnel & resources to make the diocese a vibrant faith community. I would want to continue to focus on the same.
How will you describe the Catholic community of Indore and the real difficulty of the people at large?
The Catholic community of Indore Diocese consists mostly of people who have come from outside and settled. We have a good bulk of tribal catholics migrated from the neighbouring dioceses of Jhabua and Khandwa as well as from Chhota Nagpur belt (parts of Chhttisgarh, Jharkhand & Orisa). We have also people who have their roots from the South Indian states and other parts of the country. Apart from parishes, we have a number of mission stations where the catholic presence is negligible.

You are leading the diocese as bishop with 17400 Catholics, 119 priests, 406 religious nuns; what style of leadership do you wish to follow? Pope Francis is speaking of Synodality, what does it mean to you?

Gone are the days of a one-man show. Synodality is the only option for proper church leadership.

Yours is a mission diocese in Madhya Pradesh and how is mission activity possible and how do you work?

As a mission diocese, our ministries are directed to all sections of the society, irrespective of religion or caste. There is ample scope and need for social / philanthropic services.

How do you understand the missionary mandate of Christ and the future of the Church in India?

The missionary mandate of Christ is loud and clear, hence it cannot be side­lined, come what may. We may need to improvise new ways and means to adapt ourselves to the challenging situations that are emerging in the country.
India has been a land of caste divisions and out-castes, has the Code of Manu has become more important than the Constitution of India? How to defend fraternity in this country?
As the Constitution itself appears to be in a precarious predicament, promoting and defending fraternity is going to be a challenging task. However we must be optimistic. We should hope and pray that good sense may prevail.

India with its Hindutva ideology is accused of being caste ridden and even fundamentalist, what do you think is the future of Indian democracy?

Hindutva is a century old ideology. It got a new impetus in the present political scenario, which could be a threat to our democracy. But we shoudn’t lose heart because not all Hindus in India are Hindutva-vadis.

What is in Christ which challenges you most? How do you pray and what is prayer for you?

Christ was all the time amidst the people teaching and serving, but constantly in touch with the Father. Maintaining a Christ-like balance between Service and Prayer is indeed a challenge. For me, apart from all the formal and routine prayers, I try to keep up a connect with the Lord at all odd hours such as while travelling, working and some times even when I wake up between the sleep.