Six New Priests Ordained for Bellary; “Church Renewal Demands Renewal of Priesthood”: Bishop

BELLARY, May 07, 2010, 09:50 Hrs (CBCI News):

Bishop of Bellary Henry D’Souza ordained six new priests and three new Deacons for the Diocese of Bellary on May 3 at St Anthony Cathedral.

A large gathering of priests, the religious and the lay faithful participated in the “solemn and the deeply spiritual celebration”.

“The Church of today which faces many challenges such as scandals and lure of materialism, needs renewal, which can be made possible only through renewal of priesthood”, declared Bishop Henry D’Souza in his address to the priests.

“The Second Vatican Council ushered in a new way of being church in the modern world. That experience of a second Pentecost should be perused relentlessly for the effective renewal of the Church”, added Bishop D’Souza.

“Today’s priests need to shed all that is inconsistent with their priestly state of life and contribute to the renewal of the Catholic Church right from the grassroots level”, Bishop stated.

“Also, we need to shed excessive clericalism and move towards a church which is the ‘People of God’ as understood by Vatican II”, Bishop added.

“Priests of today need to promote dignity of all humans, especially of women, children and the marginalized. There is no quarter for indignity to any person”, he affirmed.

“Priests need to bring down the walls of casteism, linguistic sectarianism and narrow groupism”, Bishop urged.

“Priests with an understanding of the church as a community of love and service, which is inclusive and dialogical, open and transparent, can contribute to the much needed renewal”, Bishop added.

The newly ordained priests are: Frs. Anand Emmi, Anand Kumar, Anand Prasad, Mariswamy, Sunder Raj and Vijay Raj Gantyal. The new Deacons are: Bros. Amal, Basil Raj and Martin.