All India Jurisdiction

[Mathew Moothasseril]

Pope urges harmony among India’s Latin and Eastern rites
Published on: 9:57 pm, October 10, 2017 by: mattersindia.com



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Pope Francis on October 9 urged for a “fruitful and harmonious
cooperation” among the bishops of the three ritual Churches of India,
as they reach out to provide pastoral care to their respective
faithful, spread out in various parts of the country.

“In India itself, overlapping jurisdictions should no longer be
problematic, for the Church has experienced them for some time, such
as in Kerala,” the Pope wrote in a letter the Indian Bishops.

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) is the apex body of
the Catholic Church of India, ‎that is composed of three ‘sui iuris’
Churches: the Latin rite and the two ‎eastern rites – the Syro-Malabar
and Syro-Malankara ‎Churches, which claim their origin from St. Thomas
the Apostle. Of the 172 dioceses in India, 132 belong to the Latin
rite.

“In a world where large numbers of Christians are forced to migrate,
overlapping jurisdictions have become customary and are increasingly
effective tools for ensuring the pastoral care of the faithful while
also ensuring full respect for their ecclesial traditions,” the Pope
wrote. He thus authorized the Vatican Congregation for the Oriental
Churches to erect two eparchies (dioceses) for the the Syro-Malabar
Church and to extend the boundaries of two others.

Please find below the full text of Pope Francis letter to the bishops of India:
Letter of His Holiness Pope Francis to the Bishops of India
Dear Brother Bishops,

1. The remarkable varietas Ecclesiarum, the result of a long
historical, cultural, spiritual and disciplinary development,
constitutes a treasure of the Church, regina in vestitu deaurato
circumdata variegate (cf. Ps 44 and Leo XIII, Orientalium Dignitas),
who awaits her groom with the fidelity and patience of the wise
virgin, equipped with an abundant supply of oil, so that the light of
her lamp may enlighten all peoples in the long night of awaiting the
Lord’s coming.

This variety of ecclesial life, which shines with great splendour
throughout lands and nations, is also found in India. The Catholic
Church in India has its origins in the preaching of the Apostle
Thomas. It developed through contact with the Churches of Chaldean and
Antiochian traditions and, from the sixteenth century onward, through
the efforts of Latin missionaries. The history of Christianity in this
great country thus led to three distinct sui iuris Churches,
corresponding to ecclesial expressions of the same faith celebrated in
different rites according to the three liturgical, spiritual,
theological and disciplinary traditions. Although this situation has
sometimes led to tensions in the course of history, today we can
admire a Christian presence that is both rich and beautiful, complex
and unique.

2. It is essential for the Catholic Church to reveal her face in all
its beauty to the world, in the richness of her various traditions.
For this reason the Congregation for the Oriental Churches, which
celebrates its centenary year, having been established through the
farsightedness of Pope Benedict XV in 1917, has encouraged, where
necessary, the restoration of Eastern Catholic traditions, and ensured
their protection, as well as respect for the dignity and rights of
these ancient Churches.

3. The Second Vatican Council embraced this vision of the Church and
reminded the faithful of the need to protect and preserve the treasure
of the particular traditions of each Church. “Moreover, within the
Church particular Churches hold a rightful place; these Churches
retain their own traditions, without in any way opposing the primacy
of the Chair of Peter, which presides over the whole assembly of
charity (cf. Ignatius of Antioch, Ad Rom., Praef.), and protects
legitimate differences, while at the same time assuring that such
differences do not hinder unity but rather contribute toward it”
(Lumen Gentium, 13).

4. As Lumen Gentium teaches, it is for the Bishop of Rome to promote
unity in the diversity of the Body of Christ. In this task, the Roman
Pontiffs faithfully interpret and apply the voice of the Second
Vatican Council, which expressed the ardent desire that the Oriental
Churches, venerated for their antiquity, should “flourish and with new
apostolic vigour execute the task entrusted to them” (Orientalium
Ecclesiarum, 1). Their responsibility is not only to become ever more
effective instruments of that “special duty of promoting the unity of
all Christians, especially Eastern Christians” (Orientalium
Ecclesiarum, 24), but also to promote their “equal dignity […] for
they enjoy the same rights and are under the same obligations, also in
respect of preaching the Gospel to the whole world” (Orientalium
Ecclesiarum, 3).

Thirty years ago, my beloved predecessor Saint John Paul II wrote a
Letter to the Bishops of India. Drawing on the Second Vatican Council,
he sought to apply the conciliar teaching to the Indian context. In
India, even after many centuries, Christians are only a small
proportion of the population and, consequently, there is a particular
need to demonstrate unity and to avoid any semblance of division.
Saint John Paul II also stated that the need for unity and the
preservation of diversity are not opposed to one another: “This need
to be faithful to the traditions and patrimony of one’s own rite must
not be interpreted as an interference with the Church’s task of
‘gathering into one the children of God who are scattered abroad’ (Jn
11:52) or with the mission of the Church to promote the communion of
all people with the Redeemer” (Epistula ad Indiae Episcopos, 28 May
1987).

5. Five decades ago, when the Syro-Malabar Church expanded to some
central and northern parts of India with “missionary eparchies”, it
was generally thought by the Latin Bishops that there should be just
one jurisdiction, that is, one bishop in a particular territory. These
eparchies, created from Latin dioceses, today have exclusive
jurisdiction over those territories, both of the Latin and
Syro-Malabar faithful. However, both in the traditional territories of
the Eastern Churches, as well as in the vast area of the so-called
diaspora (where these faithful have long been established), a fruitful
and harmonious cooperation between Catholic bishops of the different
sui iuris Churches within the same territory has taken place. This
cooperation not only offers an ecclesiological justification for such
a solution, but also demonstrates its pastoral benefits. In a world
where large numbers of Christians are forced to migrate, overlapping
jurisdictions have become customary and are increasingly effective
tools for ensuring the pastoral care of the faithful while also
ensuring full respect for their ecclesial traditions.

6. In India itself, overlapping jurisdictions should no longer be
problematic, for the Church has experienced them for some time, such
as in Kerala. Saint John Paul II’s Letter authorized the erection of a
Syro-Malabar eparchy in the Bombay-Pune region, which became the
Eparchy of Kalyan. In 2012 the Syro-Malabar Eparchy of Faridabad was
erected in the region of Delhi and its neighbouring states, while the
boundaries of the Eparchy of Mandya were extended in 2015 to include
the metropolitan area of Bangalore. In the same year, an Eparchy and
an Apostolic Exarchate were erected for the Syro-Malankar faithful, so
that by these ecclesiastical circumscriptions the Syro-Malankar Church
could provide pastoral care for its faithful throughout the territory
of India. All these developments show that, albeit not without
problems, the presence of a number of bishops in the same area does
not compromise the mission of the Church. On the contrary, these steps
have given greater impetus to the local Churches for their pastoral
and missionary efforts.

7. In 2011 my predecessor Benedict XVI wished to provide for the
pastoral needs of the Syro-Malabar faithful throughout India, and I
confirmed his intention following the plenary session of the
Congregation for the Oriental Churches in 2013. Archbishop Raphael
Thattil is currently the Apostolic Visitor for those Syro-Malabar
faithful in India who live outside their own territory, and he has
provided detailed reports to the Apostolic See. This issue has been
examined in meetings at the highest levels of the Church. Following
these steps, I believe the time is now right to complete this process.

I have therefore authorized the Congregation for the Oriental Churches
to provide for the pastoral care of the Syro-Malabar faithful
throughout India by the erection of two Eparchies and by the extension
of the boundaries of the two already in existence.

I decree also that the new circumscriptions, as with those already in
existence, be entrusted to the pastoral care of the Major Archbishop
of Ernakulam-Angamaly and to the Synod of Bishops of the Syro-Malabar
Church, according to the norms of the Code of Canons of the Eastern
Churches.

8. I hope that my decision will be welcomed with a generous and
peaceful spirit, although it may be a source of apprehension for some,
since many Syro-Malabars, deprived of pastoral care in their own rite,
are at present fully involved in the life of the Latin Church. I am
convinced, however, that all those involved will understand that there
is no need for concern: the Church’s life should not be disrupted by
such a provision. Indeed it must not be negatively interpreted as
imposing upon the faithful a requirement to leave the communities
which have welcomed them, sometimes for many generations, and to which
they have contributed in various ways. It should rather be seen as an
invitation as well as an opportunity for growth in faith and communion
with their sui iuris Church, in order to preserve the precious
heritage of their rite and to pass it on to future generations. There
is already an instruction by the Congregation for the Oriental
Churches to the Eparchy of Faridabad, which indicates that a member of
the Syro-Malabar faithful, by virtue of the same law, is also a member
of the Syro-Malabar parish where he or she is domiciled (Code of
Canons of the Eastern Churches, Can, 280 §1); yet at the same time, he
or she can remain fully involved in the life and activities of the
parish of the Latin Church. No dispensation is required from the law
currently in force for the faithful to practice their faith serenely,
and they may do this with the pastoral care of either Latin or
Syro-Malabar pastors (cf. Prot. No. 197/2014, 28 January 2016).

9. The path of the Catholic Church in India cannot be that of
isolation and separation, but rather of respect and cooperation. The
presence of several bishops of the various sui iuris Churches in the
same territory will surely offer an eloquent witness to a vibrant and
marvellous communion. This is the vision of the Second Vatican
Council, which I quote once again: “Between all the parts of the
Church there remains a bond of close communion whereby they share
spiritual riches, apostolic workers and temporal resources. For the
members of the people of God are called to share these goods in
common, and of each of the Churches the words of the Apostle hold
good: ‘According to the gift that each has received, administer it to
one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God’ (1 Pet
4:10)” (Lumen Gentium, 13). It is in this spirit that I urge all the
beloved Churches in India to be generous and courageous as they
witness to the Gospel in the spirit of fraternity and mutual love. For
the Syro-Malabar Church, this continues the valued work of their
priests and religious in the Latin context, and sustains their
availability for those Syro-Malabar faithful who, although choosing to
attend Latin parishes, may request some assistance from their Church
of origin. The Latin rite Church can continue to generously offer
hospitality to members of the Syro-Malabar communities who do not have
church buildings of their own. The cooperation among all the sui iuris
Churches should continue, for example in the area of retreats and
seminars for clergy, Bible conferences, celebrations of common feast
days and ecumenical endeavours. With the growth of spiritual
friendship and mutual assistance, any tension or apprehension should
be swiftly overcome. May this extension of the pastoral area of the
Syro-Malabar Church in no way be perceived as a growth in power and
domination, but as a call to deeper communion, which should never be
perceived as uniformity. In the words of Saint Augustine, who sang the
praises of the Trinity and of the wonderful communion of the Father,
the Son and the Holy Spirit, I also ask you: dilatentur spatia
caritatis (Sermon 69, PL 5, 440.441). May there be a growth in love,
communion and service.

Dear brother Bishops, I commend all of you to the intercession of the
Blessed Virgin Mary and I assure you of my closeness in prayer. To all
of you, the Church and the faithful in India, I impart my Apostolic
Blessing, and I ask that you pray for me.

From the Vatican, 9 October 2017

(Source: Vatican Radio)
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*GATHER THE SCATTERED*

Fr Mathew Moothasseril
Sant Thoma Bhavan
Post Box 306
RAMAN MALA
Kolhapur,416 003
Maharashtra
INDIA