In a statement sent to Crux, the Apostolic Nunciature in India said it wanted to make “clarifications” about a February 2 meeting of the Dalit Christian Liberation Movement (DCLM) with the Apostolic Nuncio, Italian Archbishop Leo-poldo Girelli.
Dalits were formerly known as “Untouchables,” the lowest level on the Hindu caste system. In India, it is common for caste discrimination to exist even in non-Hindu religions, including Christianity.
The DCLM had said it was “highly disappointed” with the meeting, which touched on the situation of the Church in the jurisdictions of Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry, a former French colony that was taken over by India in 1954. Dalit Catholics comprise about 70 percent of the Catholics in Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry, but there is only one Dalit bishop now among the 18 dioceses in this region. During their meeting with the nuncio, the DCLM stated that much progress was made in the appointment of bishops between 1993-2007, when four Dalit bishops were appointed in Pondicherry and Tamil Nadu.
“It all happened only because of the conscious decisions and efforts of then Apostolic Nuncios and the Vatican Dicasteries concerned. It was a historical moment for the Dalit Catholics,” the Dalit group said in a letter given to the nuncio.
“But unfortunately, in the next fifteen years from 2007, even this progress initiated was reversed by the two Nuncios during this period and so we are now left with only one Dalit Bishop representing the Dalit Catholics who comprise more than 70 percent of the Catholics here. Your Excellency, we recall to you that historical moment, only to appeal that this progress initiated is continued now during your tenure,” the letter continued.