Catholic Council meets to discuss Vatican II

The four-day meeting is scheduled for next month.

New Delhi:  Catholic Council of India, the representative body laity, clergy and bishops in India, will discuss the renewal of the Church in the background of 50 years of Second Vatican Council when its members meet in a fortnight.

Council president Cardinal Oswald Gracias, who is also the chair of national bishops' body, is scheduled to open the Nov. 14-17 meet at Nav sadhana Pastoral Centre in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.

Union Minister for Road and Transport Oscar Fernandes will be the chief guest.

The council is considered the pastoral council of the Indian church and has representatives of bishops, priests, religious and laity as members. The council members will deliberate on how far the renewal of the church, as envisaged by II Vatican Council, has taken place in India, said a press note from the council.

Theologians and experts like Errol D’lima, Rekha Chennatt, Thomas Dabre, Paul Pulikkan and A. Pushparajan are expected to discuss the theme "Renewed Church according to Vatican II," a press note from the council said.

Specific themes such as Church’s concern for the poor, the role of the laity and dialogue with religions in the Indian context are chosen for common reflection.

The meeting will include a sharing of the lived experiences of the people from different regions of India, as to how the council impacted their lives, the note said.