THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Cardinal Baselios Cleemis Catholicos, the president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India, has said the Synod of Bishops on Family and Marriage recently held in Vatican will revitalise the church in India.
At a press briefing, he said serious efforts would be made to strengthen families based on the publication of the Apostolic Exhortation (official document) containing recommendations it submitted to Pope Francis.
The CBCI president presented the Pope the funds the Kerala Catholic Church raised for persecuted Christians in the Middle East.
“I appreciate your generosity and goodwill towards the suffering brothers and sisters even when you also have various sufferings,” the bishop quoted the Pope as saying.
The Synod concluded with a papal call to work together to achieve this goal. It discussed the pressures the families face due to the abandonment of core values that knit the family together.
The 49-page document contained 94 propositions the delegates approved. After evaluating each proposal, Pope Francis will publish a formal Post-Apostolic Exhortation giving instructions to members on strengthening families. Pope stressed on families with love and mercy.
“It was a special blessing that the Pope was present in all sessions except on Wednesday,” he said.
There were 270 bishops, 55 laymen and experts, including 12 representatives from the sister churches, gathered there for three weeks discussing the role of families in the church and society.
Three cardinals and eight bishops, besides three laymen, including Prof Jacob Abraham of Kerala, represented the Indian church. Each one got three minutes to talk and the discussions were held in 14 language groups.
The representatives from India spoke of the style of family life here and the spiritual basis that sustains and nourishes the families.
At the invitation of the patriarch, Cleemis will also attend the Episcopal Synod of the Syrian Catholic Church in Beirut on October 28, representing the Indian church.
