by Nirmala Carvalho

Ordination ceremony takes place in the Archdiocese of Mumbai. Diocesan spokesman says the event was very important, enriching the mission of the Church.

Mumbai (AsiaNews) – The Catholic Church of India ordained its first married deacons. Last Sunday, Card Ivan Dias, archbishop of Mumbai, presided over the ceremony that saw Lyod Dias and Elwyn D'Souza, both 60, acquire the right to celebrate religious functions such as marriages, funerals, baptisms and administer the sacraments, except for mass and confession.

In an interview with AsiaNews Fr Anthony Charangat, spokesman for the Archdiocese of Mumbai, explained that "this is first time a married person has been ordained deacon. No other diocese in India is known to have ordained a permanent deacon."

For the clergyman, this is a "very important" event for "this ordination shows how the laity has its rightful place in the life of the Church."

"The ordination of permanent married deacons brings back into use an old sacrament that had fallen into disuse. Today, however, it is something we need in these areas," he said.

Deacons will be ordinary ministers of the Word of God. After the Second Vatican Council, the Latin Church restored the deaconate "as a proper and permanent order in the hierarchy [. . .] enriching the mission of the Church," he said.

The ordination of married deacons has been practiced for decades in Europe and Latin America. The Indian Church was authorised to do the same in 1983, but it was never implemented till now.

This, Father Charangat explained, was largely due to the need "to prepare people to accept the novelty and set up programmes to train candidates."
Fr Babu Joseph, spokesman for the Bishops' Conference of India, expressed similar views. "Married deacons have always been part of the Church's tradition, though at some points in its history their visibility declined."

• india
• mumbay
• ordination
• married
• deacons