Catholic Bishops Release Gender Policy

GUWAHATI, Assam, Feb. 26, 2010, 10.00 Hrs (CBCI News):

The Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI), the apex body of the Catholic Church in the country, has brought out a Gender Policy for the Catholic Church in India. Cardinal Telesphore P.Toppo, Archbishop of Ranchi and former President of the CBCI, released the Gender Policy at Don Bosco Institute, Guwahati, February 24.

The 50-page document is the result of two years of deliberations and study following the General Body of the Bishops Conference of India which had for its theme “Empowerment of Women in the Church and Society” in 2008 at Jamshedpur, Jharkhand. The project was headed by Bishop John Baptist Takhur, Chairman, CBCI Commission for Women, and its Executive Secretary, Salesian Missionaries of Mary Immaculate Sister Lilly Francis.

Cardinal Toppo who presented the first copy of the Policy to Cardinal Oswald Gracias, CBCI Vice-President and officiating chairman of the 2010 General Body in Guwahati, described the publication of the policy as a great milestone in the life and mission of the Church in India.

President of the CBCI Cardinal Varkey Vithayathil in a written message said the Gender Policy is a “very important step towards the empowerment of women in our country. This policy took shape through the earnest desire o women and men of the country to bring equality and harmony among all according to the divine plan. Through it we share the vision of Jesus Christ, the champion of the anawim, the oppressed, the exploited and the marginalised of society. It is inspired by Christ in whom “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus (Gal.3:8). Cardinal Vithayathil urged the Church in India to translate the policy into concrete action. He urged the whole body of the church to “graciously wish and will” the execution of the policy in every sphere of life.