Indian cardinal calls for greater unity among Latin and Eastern rites

Published: 2004-01-15

TRICHUR, India (CNS) -- The new president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India said his first priority will be to achieve "greater unity" among the three rites that constitute the church in India. "There must be greater understanding and greater respect for one another," Cardinal Telesphore Toppo of Ranchi told reporters Jan. 13. In a separate interview with Catholic News Service, Cardinal Toppo said recent attacks against Christians in India were a sign that the church needed greater unity. Although the attacks "might appear as problems from a human perspective," he said, they were "providential for the Christian (Catholic) community, forcing us to unite. We have been speaking too much about our differences. We must put our house in order first before preaching unity to other Christians. It is now time for us to respect each other and work together," Cardinal Toppo said. Cardinal Toppo was elected president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India -- which includes all three rites -- Jan. 12 during the bishops' general meeting in Trichur.

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