Church officials during the release of a handbook on ecumenism in New Delhi on Aug. 31. (Photo: Bijay Kumar Minj/UCA News)
A handbook on a better understanding of ecumenism has been released by Archbishop Leopoldo Girelli, the apostolic nuncio to India and Nepal, in India’s capital New Delhi.
The book titled May They All Be One: Ecumenism in Catholic Perspective has been compiled by the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI) to help re-establish unity among all Christians.
“The book proposes a common call for Christian unity made by the Second Vatican Council through prayer and dialogue. Adequate formation for the ecumenical dialogue needs to be fostered among all the churches in India,” Archbishop Girelli said during the book's launch on Aug. 31.
Addressing members of the clergy, laity and faithful from different church denominations, the Vatican ambassador said that “the Church is open to ecumenical endeavor for the witness of unity among all people.”
Archbishop Anil Thomas Joseph Couto of Delhi said the handbook “will surely be an indispensable and immensely helpful textbook and contribution.”
“If ecumenism is to make any progress in India, the theological formation imparted in faculties of theology, seminaries and formation houses of the religious should have an ecumenical thrust,” added Archbishop Couto, who is a former chairman of the CCBI's Commission for Ecumenism and an ardent promoter of ecumenism.
The book targets Indian Christians who make up 2.3 percent of the nation’s 1.35 billion people
Father T.J. Jose, a professor at the Holy Trinity Major Seminary in Jalandhar, said the handbook is comprehensive, practical and handy.
“The 322-page book is to help Christian faithful and pastors in their day-to-day ministry of building up the Body of Christ in the local Church by healing the wounds of division inflicted by history,” said a press release by the commission.
It is to further achieve the goal of bishops and pastors of the Church to promote the unity of all Christians by supporting activities and initiatives undertaken for the purpose. It is to fulfill the long desire to be one single vine — as one.
The book tries to answer some challenging questions: Haven’t divisions weakened the Body of Christ? Are we not all in some way responsible for the mistrust and often even open hostility toward members of churches other than our own?
The book targets Indian Christians who make up 2.3 percent of the nation’s 1.35 billion people. The handbook traces the long history of both unity and division in the Church due to lapses on the part of its leaders and members.
Father Stephen Alathara, deputy secretary-general of the CCBI, said: “India is a land of several churches that many people are not aware of. This book will clear that lacuna and will help understand all our churches including the sister churches.”
The book launch was also attended by Archbishop Kuriakose Bharanikulangara of Faridabad; Bishop Subodh C. Mondal, Delhi Episcopal Area, Methodist Church in India; Bishop John Mor Irenaeus, Believers Eastern Church, Delhi Diocese; and Father Jervis D’ Souza, deputy secretary-general of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India.
