Archbishop Andrews Tha-zhath of Trichur has been ele-cted president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI), the national body that represents more than 22 million Catholics in the country.
The conference’s general body that met in Bengaluru Nov 6-11 also elected Archbishop George Antonysamy of Madras-Mylapore and Bishop Joseph Thomas of Batheri as the first and second vice presidents of the conference.
The meeting reelected Archbishop Felix Machado as the secretary general. The elections took place on November 10, the penultimate day of the plenary meeting.
Under the 1987 papal directive on the rites in India, the post of the CBCI has been rotated among India’s three ritual Churches – Latin, Syro-Malabar and Syro-Malankara.
Pope John Paul II´s May 27, 1987, letter asked the three rites to set up their own bishops’ conferences and directed the CBCI to continue with “questions of common concern and of a national and supra-ritual character.” Hailed now as “a watershed” in the Indian Church, the letter sought to resolve inter-rite rivalry and help the Church present a united witness to Christ in the multireligious country.
Archbishop Thazhath from the Syro-Malabar Church replaces Cardinal Oswald Gra-cias of the Latin Church.
The first vice president and the secretary general belong to the Latin Church while the second vice president repre-sents the Syro-Malankara Church.
Cardinal George Alencherry, head of the Syro-Malabar Church, was expected to be elected the CBCI president,
The cardinal also faces several court cases in connection with the sale of land belong to the Archdiocese of Ernakulam-Angamaly. On November 9, the Kerala High Court asked Cardinal Alencherry to appear before a court in connection with cases related to a land sale.