The elevation of a Dalit to the rank of cardinal is a positive recognition and affirmation of this community, forming the majority of Christians in India.
Newsroom (31/05/2022 9:43 PM Gaudium Press) On May 29, the Vatican announced the elevation of Archbishop Anthony Poola of Hyderabad among 21 new cardinals created by Pope Francis. Another Indian prelate, Archbishop Filipe Neri Antonio Sebastiao di Rosario Ferrao of Goa and Daman, is also to become a cardinal.
“It is a proud moment for all Indians irrespective of their caste and creed,” Franklin Caesar Thomas, coordinator of the National Council of Dalit Christians (NCDC).
Archbishop Poola’s elevation comes after decades of protests by Dalit Catholic groups seeking the appointment of their community people to “greater servanthood.” There was also a demand for an Indian Dalit rite in the Catholic Church.
The protests had grown shriller with a group of Dalit Catholics in the southern state of Tamil Nadu objecting to installing a non-Dalit archbishop for Pondicherry-Cuddalore Archdiocese.
In March 2022, the Dalit Christian Liberation Movement (DCLM) organized street protests against the appointment of Bishop Francis Kalist of Meerut as the metropolitan archbishop of Pondicherry-Cuddalore.
Archbishop Poola will be the first Dalit and also “the first Telugu [native of Andhra Pradesh state] in the history of the Catholic Church to be appointed as cardinal, the second biggest title after pope,” Father S. Bernard, vicar general of Hyderabad, told the Hindustan Times on May 30.
Father Bernard further called it “an honor and recognition for the oppressed sections of Christianity.”
“It is a proud moment for the Archdiocese of Hyderabad and for the Telugu-speaking people,” said Father T. Victor Emmanuel, procurator and chancellor of the Archdiocese of Hyderabad.
Archbishop Poola will now be part of the College of Cardinals. It comprises 229 cardinals, with 131 of them eligible to be electors of the pope.
Archbishop Poola was born in Chindhukur, Andhra Pradesh, on Nov. 15, 1961. He joined the minor seminary in Kurnool and then studied at St. Peter’s Pontifical Major Seminary in Bangalore.
He was ordained a priest on Feb. 20, 1992. He was 46 years old when appointed as the bishop of Kurnool on Feb. 8, 2008, and named archbishop of Hyderabad by Pope Francis on Nov. 19, 2020. Archbishop Poola was installed as the 11th archbishop of Hyderabad on Jan. 3, 2021.
He earlier served as assistant parish priest at Amagampalli and as parish priest at Tekurpet, Correspondent RCM Elementary Schools, Chinayarasal and Kappalapalli and Our Lady of Fatima Church, Badvel.
The Future
The elevation of a Dalit to the rank of cardinal will be a positive recognition and affirmation of this community, forming the majority of Christians in India. Years before, India witnessed the elevation of Cardinal Telesphore P. Toppo of Ranchi from among the tribal people and the sterling leadership he has given not only to them but to the whole country as president of the national bishops’ conference. Observers note that given the opportunity, a leader of that rank from the Dalits will bring in the renewal of the Church in India and open up new paths to the Gospel.
The appointment comes when Christian Dalits are fighting against discrimination from the state, as they are denied the same rights as Hindu Dalits. Creating a cardinal from among them may strengthen the cause and send a clear message to civil authorities with the Church on higher moral grounds to defend the rights of the Dalits in the face of the state. Moreover, the creation of a cardinal may further awaken the consciousness of the entire Christian community regarding the issue of the Dalits and help it overcome the spirit of casteism.
Previously, the Church has created cardinals based on rite’s identity, including the Syro-Malabar Church and more recently, the Syro-Malankara Church. However, the unique social identity of the ones stigmatized as “untouchables” may have, sooner or later, to be taken into account. Following the nominations, expectations seem to run high as the universal Church shows awareness of the deeper and more complex issues of Indian society and the Indian Church.
(Via UCAN News)
Compiled by Raju Hasmukh