Indian bishop: Church must focus on priestly training
Mgr George Palliparambil is the bishop of the Diocese of Miao, Arunachal Pradesh. Yesterday, he celebrated the ordination of five new priests in Eluru from to the Missionaries of Compassion. In addition to India, they operate in Australia, Venezuela and the United States. The prelate spoke with concern about several suicide cases among Indian priests.
Eluru (AsiaNews) – Mgr George Palliparambil, bishop of the diocese of Miao (Arunachal Pradesh), celebrated the ordination of five new priests in Eluru, in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.
Speaking during the ceremony, he said, "We gain a lot from courses and academic studies. However, in spite of our knowledge and experience, we fail to recognise the shepherd’s voice and lead our people to the shore of fullness of life.”
With sorrow, he noted, “suicide among priests in India in the past five months is a matter of great concern for the Church.” For this reason, he urged Church leaders to "reflect on the gravity of the situation in our country,” which “calls for introspection to reflect on the training of future priests.”
The five deacons whose ordination Mgr Palliparambil led belong to the Missionaries of Compassion (MOC). One of them, Fr Samuel, will travel to the mission in Tanzania, where he will study medicine.
Fr Jojo, rector of the major seminary of the Holy Spirit in Eluru, said that new priest’s goal "is to become a doctor and help in the hospitals of the African country."
The Missionaries of Compassion are a religious institute founded in 2003 by the Archdiocese of Hyderabad. Today, it has 80 priests and 180 seminarians, active in 14 dioceses all over India.
In addition, the missionaries are also serving the poor in South Africa, Italy, United States, Venezuela, and Australia.
Speaking about the "power of the Gospel that brightens the darkest moments in human life", the bishop of Miao urged priests to avoid the temptation of "locking yourself in yourself.”
In its place, “You should place yourself in service of others, and love your neighbour. The only requirement is to follow the teacher who said, ‘As I have loved you, so you also should love one another’.”
This is especially poignant since Mgr Palliparambil expressed deep concern for recent cases of suicide among priests.
“Priests, who are supposed to be the beacons of life, extension of life unlimited, have resorted to the extreme measure of taking their own lives when in crisis,” he lamented.
“Men dedicated to God and to his people, instead of preparing themselves to be sent out, are going out on their own to nowhere and become a nobody.”
In light of this, the prelate stressed the need to "obey the Church and the superiors, who assign duties and tasks" and who vet the "conviction of faith" of future "shepherds of souls".
* Missionary of the Immaculate, a women’s congregation associated with the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions (PIME)
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