The Catholic Church in Orissa has reaffirmed its commitment to dalits (former untouchables) and tribals who make up the majority of Catholics in the eastern Indian state.
The All-Orissa Pastoral Mission Consultation Jan. 31-Feb. 2 stressed interdiocesan collaboration and unity among Christians to make the Church in the state "a sacrament of salvation."
To accomplish this, the meeting then decided to set up faith formation teams for the state´s five dioceses and a state-level liturgical commission.
"The consultation was the culmination of a systematic yearlong preparation starting from each village, parish and diocese," reported Satyabani (voice of truth), the Cuttack-Bhubaneswar archdiocesan newsletter.
The consultation aimed at deepening "Church consciousness" through reflection on the Catholic community´s life, mission and activities, and charting future priorities, the newsletter added.
Five bishops and 70 delegates from the five dioceses attended the meeting at Jharsuguda, some 1,400 kilometers southeast of New Delhi.
"Being aware the Church is predominantly a Church of dalits and tribals, we reaffirm our commitment to this section of our society," they said. The state has some 316,000 Catholics, just 1 percent of its entire population.
Fifty-seven percent of the Catholics are in predominantly tribal Rourkela diocese. The other dioceses are Balasore, Berhampur and Sambalpur.
The interdiocesan pastoral meeting also resolved to collaborate with "all people of goodwill" to create "a just and human society" and continue Christ´s mission of "liberation from sin and all that is evil."
It decided to set up a training center for student competitive exams, a teacher-training college, a Christian college with hostel and an education board for Orissa, 10th largest and 11th most-populated of India´s 25 states.
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