Stephen Alathara

The Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI)

The Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI) i s a National Episcopal Body that enables the Latin Catholic Bishops of the country to exchange ideas and information, deliberate on the Church's broad concerns and take care of the pastoral needs of the faithful. It is one of the four biggest Bishops' Conferences of the world. It has 132 dioceses and 180 active and retired bishop-members. The Conference is to assist the Bishops both in pastoral care and in evangelization the twin duties of a Bishop. One of the main purposes of the CCBI according to its statutes is "to promote that greater good which the Church offers humankind especially through forms and programmes of the apostolate which are adequately adapted to the circumstances of time and place." (Statutes, art. 3:1).

In 1944 a Conference of Indian Bishops known as "Catholic Bishops' Conference of India" (CBCI) was established. When the National Episcopal Conferences got juridical and structural recognition in Vatican Second, the CBCI began to reorganize itself with infrastructures such as National Commissions, Regional Councils of Bishops and National Organizations working under its guidance and directives. The promulgation of the Latin Code of Canon Law in 1983 contributed to the debate about establishing a Conference only for the Latin Rite Bishops. The Holy Father, after his visit to India in 1986, wrote an apostolic letter to the Indian Bishops on 28 May 1987. An important text of which reads thus: "The Bishops of each of the three Rites have the right to establish their own Episcopal Bodies in accordance with their own ecclesiastical legislation. The CBCI which is an Assembly of the bishops of India of the three rites is to continue for matters of common concern and of national and supra-ritual character. These areas are to be determined in the new statues of the CBCI".

Hence in compliance with the above directive of the Holy Father, the CBCI in its General meeting in April 1988 decided that all the three ritual Churches could have their own Episcopal bodies. Accordingly, the Bishops of the Latin Church started their own Episcopal Conference in the same meeting and named it "Conference of Catholic Bishops of India – Latin Rite" (CCBI-LR). In January 1994, the Holy See approved its statutes. Hence, the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India is an organization having its legal foundation in the Canon Law, which applies to the Catholic Church of the Roman Rite throughout the world. Therefore, according to Canons 447-459, the CCBI is the Central Church body of the Bishops in India and its purpose is to deliberate on matters of concern for the whole Latin Church in India and encourage activities in accordance with the needs of the times. The members of the CCBI are: 1) The diocesan Bishops, their coadjutors, and auxiliaries, 2) The administrators of the dioceses when the Episcopal See is vacant, 3) The retired Bishops and, 4) those honorary bishops appointed by the Holy See or the Bishops' Conference for particular tasks.

The Bishops' Conference is headed by a President, who is overall charge and represents the Conference, a Vice-President and a Secretary General to assist him for a term of two years. The Bishops' Conference, in addition to Plenary Assemblies, has an Executive Committee to handle ordinary matters, the Commissions and The Secretariat. Currently, the CCBI comprises 132 dioceses and 180 bishop-members.

Archdiocese of Verapoly

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Verapoly (Verapolitana) is located on the Malabar Coast in India. It became a metropolitan see in 1886. Verapoly is now officially named Varapuzha. The Archdiocese of Verapoly was originally known as the Vicariate of Malabar. It has its origin in 1657, with the arrival of Carmelite Missionaries, most prominent among whom was Father Joseph of St. Mary, better known as Joseph Sebastiani. They had been deputed under Father Hyacinth as Apostolic Commissar, by Pope Alexander VII to effect a reconciliation of St. Thomas Christians of the Syro-Chaldaic Rite, who had seceded from their Archbishop Francis Garcia S.J. The majority of them had in 1653 revolted against the Archbishop and forsaking his authority by taking an oath for the purpose at the foot of a cross-thereafter called the "Coonen Cross" situated in Mattancherry, had made their own Archdeacon the Archbishop. By the efforts of Sebastiani a large number of seceders were brought back to the true fold. Nevertheless, they refused to be under the authority of their lawful Archbishop or under any prelate of the Jesuit Order known as the "Paulists". Rome, being informed of the situation by Sebastiani in person, decided to entrust the Carmelites with the spiritual care of the Syro-Chaldaic Rite. For this purpose the Vicariate of Malabar was erected by Pope Alexander VII on 3 December 1659. Sebastiani was consecrated Titular Bishop of Hierapolis on 15 December 1659 and sent back to Malabar, with the title of Vicar Apostolic and Administrator of the Archbishopric of Cranganore. The new Vicariate eventually established its headquarters in the island of Verapoly. The conquest of Portuguese territories in Malabar and especially of Cochin in 1663 by the Dutch and the consequent expulsion of al Catholic Missionaries from the territories occupied by the Dutch and elsewhere, threatened the very existence of the Malabar Vicariate. Nevertheless, it survived under the Indian Prelate Parambil Chandy (Alexander de Campo) whom Sebastiani had consecrated as his successor before he left Malabar in 1663. Before long Carmelites were allowed to resume their ministration which was by then extended also to the Catholics of the Latin Church who were under Portuguese protection. On 13 March 1709 by a Brief of Pope Clement XI Malabar Vicariate was suppressed and the Vicariate of Verapoly took its place with Bishop Angelo Francisco as its first Vicar Apostolic. By the Brief "Multa Praeclara" of Pope Gregory XVI, dated 24 April 1838, the Sees of Cranganore and Cochin which at that time included also Quilon, were annexed to the Vicariate of Verapoly which thus came to comprise the whole of Malabar. However, in 1845, Quilon was severed from Verapoly as a Suffragan Vicariate. When by the famous Apostolic Letter "Humanae Salutis Auctor" of Leo XIII dated 1 September 1886, the Hierarchy of India was established, the Vicariate of Verapoly was raised to the status of an Archdiocese with the Most Rev. Dr. Leonard Mellano of St. Louis O.C.D. as its first Archbishop who was the 17th in the line of the Vicars Apostolic. Along with this in 1886 the diocese of Cochin was resuscitated and reconstituted with 34 Latin Churches taken from the Archdiocese of Verapoly and the "Diocese of Quilon." On 19 March 1887 the Catholics of the Syrian Rite were separated from those of the Latin Church and placed under an Administrator Dr. Marcelino Bernard of St. Teresa OCD, who was consecrated Co-adjutor to Archbishop Mellano. By brief "Quod Jam Pridem" of Pope Leo XIII dated 20 May 1887, the Syrians were exempted from the jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of Verapoly and the two Vicariates of Trichur and Kottayam were erected with Dr.Adolpus E. Medlycott and Dr.Charles Lavigne as their Vicars Apostolic. Thus the Archdiocese of Verapoly came to consist exclusively of Latin Catholics.

Kerala Catholic Bishops Council

The Kerala Catholic Bishop's Council (KCBC), the Regional Bishops' Council for the State of Kerala, is constituted under the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI) to cater the special needs of the apostolate in the State. It is to be understood as an assembly in which all the Catholic Bishops of Kerala, "conscious of their unity and solidarity, received by virtue of the Episcopal consecration" (CD 3), "jointly exercise their pastoral office in order to promote that good which the Church offers all mankind" (CD 38), "and thus foster unity of action and strive together to meet their common tasks" (OE 4), on questions of common concern to the Episcopal Bodies of three Churches sui iuris of Kerala, and of a statewide and supra-ritual character and importance, questions involving the Catholic Church and other bodies, and any other matter which the three Episcopal Bodies desire the Council to deal with (cfr. Statutes of KCBC, Art. 2)

The decisions and resolutions of the Council are recommendatory in nature, the competence of each diocesan and eparchial bishop remaining intact, except in cases where legislative power is given to it by the Apostolic See. The Council is a juridical person recognized both by the civil and the Canon Laws and therefore has all the rights, privileges, duties and responsibilities and competencies accorded to such juridical entities in civil law and Church law. The registered office and the Secretariat of the Council are headquartered in the Pastoral Orientation Centre (POC), Palarivattom, Kochi 682 025. As the central secretariat of the KCBC, the POC is in constant interaction with the society facilitating social justice, communal harmony and peace and fighting for the interest of the poor and protecting environment.