I Owe Everything To Priests, Says Tamil Nadu MLA Peter Alphonse

VELANKANNI, Tamil Nadu, Feb. 11, 2010, 10.20 Hrs (SAR News):

“I salute the (Catholic) priests for their commitment and dedication of their precious life and energy for the flock. Today, I owe everything to the priests who have ‘designed and manufactured me,’” said Peter Alphonse, Member of Tamil Nadu Legsilative Assembly, addressing an Indian Priests Congress at Velankanni, one of world’s most popular Christian pilgrim centres, February 9.

Alphonse, an MLA from Kadayanallur constituency, said: “Priests who have come from the length and breadth of the country--from the serenity of the Himalayas to the rough seas of Kanayakumari, the deserts of Rajasthan, the backward regions of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Orissa to the developed IT corridors of Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai--have toiled hard to spread the roots of the Indian Catholic Church. We cherish and admire your presence in different parts of the country,” told the priests.

The Catholic MLA appreciating the clergy said: “Priests are great a blessing to the Catholic Church. This conference has given an opportunity to the laypeople to understand the life and sacrifices of priests.”

He urged Claudio Cardinal Hummes, Prefect, Congregation for Clergy, Vatican, to convey to the Holy Father that he (Alphonse) as a representative of the lay Catholics together with the faithful in India held priests in high esteem for their sense of mission and service.

The MLA also reminded the priests that the Catholic faithful want their pastors to be “caring, compassionate and kind.” “Today in this artificial world, we get everything, but when it comes to spirituality, the spiritual nourishment comes from priests. We want our priests to pray and bless us,” he said.

He also sought the bridging of the gap between the role of the priests and the laypeople in the Church. “The difference between the clergy and the laypeople should only be functional and not structural. The Church should open its door to the laypeople to make it more a participatory Church. The priests’ role should be a non-dominating leadership in bringing out the best from the laypeople,” he said.

The politician also requested the priests to incorporate “secular spirituality to recognise and celebrate God without the brand name of religion. This will enable us and others to undertake and appreciate other religions,” he said.