By Verghese V Joseph –
Bengaluru: The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) opened its 37th General Body Meeting (GBM) in Bengaluru on Wednesday with a strong reaffirmation of the Church’s resolve to uphold and promote India’s constitutional vision in a time of heightened social and moral scrutiny.
Gathering under the theme “Faith and the Nation: The Church’s Witness to India’s Constitutional Vision,” more than 200 Catholic bishops from 174 dioceses across the country convened at St John’s National Academy of Health Sciences for a week of prayer, reflection, and deliberation on questions of faith, nation-building, and the Church’s public witness.
The meeting was solemnly inaugurated by His Grace Archbishop Leopoldo Girelli, Apostolic Nuncio to India and Nepal, who presided over the opening Eucharistic celebration at 9.00 a.m., setting a deeply spiritual tone for the days ahead. Rooted, as Church leaders underlined, in the Gospel and in the love of Christ, the assembly is being projected as a moment of collective discernment on how the Church can more credibly strengthen faith, foster unity among India’s diverse communities, and advance justice, peace, and harmony in society in fidelity to the country’s constitutional ethos.
In his homily at the inaugural Mass, Archbishop Girelli invited the bishops to become “light and salt of the earth,” urging them to be filled with the fruits of the Holy Spirit and to embody joyful, kind, faithful, and humble service. He called the bishops to witness Christ’s human love in concrete ways, especially through outreach to the poor and marginalized, making clear that pastoral leadership must remain closely tied to the lived realities of those on the peripheries.
The Eucharist was concelebrated by a broad spectrum of senior Church leaders, including Archbishop Mar Andrews Thazhath, President of the CBCI; Cardinal Filip Neri Ferrao, President of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI); His Beatitude Mar Raphael Thattil, Major Archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Church; Cardinal Baselios Cleemis, Major Archbishop of the Syro-Malankara Church; Cardinal Oswald Gracias, Archbishop Emeritus of Bombay; Archbishop George Antonysamy, Vice-President I; Archbishop Joseph Mar Thomas, Vice-President II; and Archbishop Anil Joseph Thomas Couto, Secretary General of the CBCI.
Welcoming the participants at the Eucharistic celebration, Rev. Dr Mathew Koyickal, Deputy Secretary General of the CBCI, underscored the significance of the GBM as the highest decision-making assembly of the bishops in India, bringing together hierarchs from Latin, Syro-Malabar, and Syro-Malankara traditions. He noted that the days ahead would be dedicated to prayerful discernment and frank discussions on issues of national and ecclesial concern, including the Church’s mission in a rapidly changing social and technological landscape.
The formal inaugural session commenced at 11.00 a.m. with the traditional lighting of the lamp, invoking God’s blessings on the deliberations and symbolically expressing the Church’s call to be a beacon of hope in society. The Archbishop of Bangalore, host of the GBM, welcomed the assembly and stressed that the central theme reflects the Church’s deep and enduring commitment to the core values enshrined in the Constitution of India: dignity of every person, equality, freedom of conscience, and respect for pluralism. He underlined that, for the Church in India, bearing witness to faith necessarily entails defending these values and working collaboratively for the common good.
During the session, Archbishop George Antonysamy read out the message of the Holy Father, Pope Leo XIV, conveying the Pope’s closeness to the Church in India and his encouragement for its mission in a complex social environment.
In his inaugural address, Archbishop Girelli conveyed the Apostolic Blessings of the Holy Father and reflected on how the ideals expressed in the Preamble of the Indian Constitution resonate deeply with the Church’s social doctrine, especially in areas such as human dignity, social justice, and solidarity. He observed that, even amid contemporary challenges, the Church in India continues to serve the nation through humane development—especially in education, healthcare, and social outreach—and by contributing to the moral conscience of society.
The Nuncio called on Church leaders to seek new pathways to live and practice faith in harmony with constitutional values, encouraging creative initiatives that integrate spiritual conviction with civic responsibility.
Delivering the Presidential Address, Archbishop Mar Andrews Thazhath painted a candid picture of the context in which the Church is operating today, stating that the Church stands at a critical juncture where conscience is tested and faith is increasingly scrutinized in the public square. He described the GBM theme as both a “profound spiritual confession” and a “public responsibility,” stressing that bishops are called to be missionaries of hope and empowerment in a climate marked by polarization, misunderstanding, and new forms of exclusion.
The CBCI President appealed to the bishops to deepen their pastoral closeness to people, especially those experiencing fear, marginalization, or injustice, and to ensure that the Church’s presence in public life remains transparent, credible, and rooted in the Gospel.
Significantly, Archbishop Thazhath devoted a section of his address to emerging technologies, with particular reference to Artificial Intelligence, noting that technological progress brings both opportunities and ethical challenges. He stressed the need to humanize technology and to safeguard the centrality of the human person, warning against any tendency to reduce people to data or to allow algorithms to shape society without moral discernment. In this context, he urged the Church in India to become “digital missionaries,” using digital platforms responsibly for evangelization, dialogue, and accompaniment, while forming critical and ethically grounded engagement with the digital culture.
He further underlined the urgency of deepening the synodal journey in the Church, forming leaders for public life, and empowering the laity, youth, and women to take up their rightful roles in the life and mission of the Church and in society at large.
The session also featured the presentation of the Biennial Report of the CBCI, covering the period from February 2024 to January 2026, by Archbishop Anil J. T. Couto, Secretary General of the CBCI. The report offered an overview of the various commissions, initiatives, and interventions of the CBCI during this period, including responses to social issues, pastoral priorities, and national concerns. It situated the current GBM within a continuum of ongoing efforts to articulate the Church’s mission in India in a way that is faithful to both the Gospel and the constitutional framework of the nation.
A particularly poignant moment in the inaugural proceedings was the felicitation of thirty-one newly appointed bishops from across India, who were honoured by the Apostolic Nuncio with a shawl and memento. The gesture was followed by a solemn moment of silence in remembrance of bishops who had passed away in recent years, linking the memory of past shepherds with the responsibilities now entrusted to a new generation of leaders.
Messages from Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Oriental Churches, and Cardinal Luis Antonio G. Tagle, Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization, were also read out, expressing solidarity from the universal Church and encouragement for the Church in India to persevere in its mission.
The inaugural session concluded with a vote of thanks proposed by Archbishop Joseph Mar Thomas, Vice-President II of the CBCI, who acknowledged the presence and contributions of Church leaders, collaborators, and the host institution. He expressed gratitude to St John’s National Academy of Health Sciences for hosting the assembly and to the various teams involved in organizing the liturgical, logistical, and pastoral dimensions of the event. Following this, Rev. Fr Jesudoss Rajamanickam, Director of St John’s National Academy of Health Sciences, outlined the practical guidelines for the participants’ stay on the campus, ensuring that the environment would be conducive to prayer, reflection, and constructive deliberation in the days ahead.
As the 37th General Body Meeting gets underway, the CBCI is clearly positioning this gathering as a decisive moment to renew its collective commitment to India’s constitutional vision, even as it discerns how to respond to emerging social, cultural, and technological realities. With its theme “Faith and the Nation: The Church’s Witness to India’s Constitutional Vision” and its motto “United in Witness,” the assembly signals the Church’s desire to stand firmly at the intersection of faith and public life—serving the nation by defending human dignity, promoting peace and justice, and forming communities that live in harmony with both the Gospel and the Constitution.
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