by Prakash Dubey

Mgr Thomas Thuruthimattam, the newly-appointed bishop of this northern Indian diocese, urges Catholics to build bridges of cooperation with the faithful of other religions. He says evangelisation is every Christian's mission.

Gorakhpur (AsiaNews) – Inter-faith dialogue "is the only path to stop violence and hatred between religions in northern India," but it "should not be followed only by leaders of good will but by the faithful as well as," said Mgr Thomas Thuruthimattam, the new bishop of Gorakhpur, last Friday in the diocesan cathedral.

During his first homely as bishop (of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church), Mgr Thuruthimattam said that religious fanaticism and violence were permeating the psyche of the people and that "the real challenge for us is to stem them and instil love and fraternity which are the inalienable hallmarks of our human life. Above all, this is our imperative and even divine mandate."

The new bishop, 59, was appointed to the diocese in July to replace Mgr Dominic Kokkat who resigned on health grounds. His new diocese has barely 3000 Catholics in a population of nearly 20 million. But they play an important role in education and social services in a place where the literacy rate barely reaches 40 per cent.

"We must build brides between the faithful who can, together, improve education for the weaker strata of society and help their social progress," the prelate said.

Bishop Thuruthimattam's mission will pursue such goals and for this reason he chose "Liberation of human beings" and "Manifestation of God's Glory" as his guiding mottos.

Cardinal Varkey, bishop of Ernaculam, celebrated the ordination before some 20 bishops and 300 priests and nuns.

During his homily, Mgr Patrick D'Souza, the bishop of Varanasi (Gorakhpur's 'mother' diocese) said: "Jesus called his disciples to be with Him and to be sent out for His mission. The Lord called Bishop Thomas Thuruthimattam to be sent out to this part of Uttar Pradesh to shepherd His people because the Lord loves His people of this area."
Bishop D'Souza said that in the current environment of social and spiritual unrest and alienation "evangelisation and sharing the word of God is a Christian duty. We need to present the Church to people in the right perspective [. . .]. Fostering relations with the people of other faiths is a prime need in our context."

Father Jaison, a priest in charge of local Church-run developmental projects, told AsiaNews that the "diocese runs 34 schools and several development projects in more than a thousand local villages thanks to the commitment of some 70 priests and 300 nuns."

• india
• gorakhpur
• varanasi
• thomas
• thuruthimattam
• syro-malabar
• catholic
• church
• ordination