Pune, May 29 (PTI) Pope Francis’ Sunday announcement that 21 churchmen, including two from India, will be elevated to the rank of cardinal in a ceremony at the Vatican this summer was greeted with great joy among the faithful in the country.
The two names from India the Pope announced are Filipe Neri Antonio Sebastao di Rosario Ferrao, Archbishop of Goa and Daman, and Anthony Poola, Archbishop of Hyderabad.
Senior journalist Camil Parkhe said the announcement is a great honour for the Indian Christian community and is also an acknowledgement of the presence of a significant number of Church institutions in this country as well as the role the Indian Church has to play in the Universal Catholic Church.
“This will be the first cardinal from Goa, which has a history of 450 years of Christianity, and may the first from Hyderabad (in Telangana) as well. The number of cardinals in the Catholic Church should be increased in proportion to the community’s population in a country. This will facilitate election of an Indian as Pope in the future,” Parkhe opined.
The Pope already had Cardinal Oswald Gracias as one of his advisers and the appointment of two more cardinals from India in the College of Cardinals will be welcomed by the faithful in the country, Parkhe said.
Pope John Paul II, during his visit to India in 1999, had said the 21st century belongs to Asia, meaning the Church will have a greater role to play in the future, Parkhe said, adding that people of the continent and our country would be happy if the prophesy comes into reality soon.
As per the Papal announcement, among the churchmen set to receive the prestigious red hat will be two prelates from India and one each from Mongolia, Ghana, Nigeria, Singapore, East Timor, Paraguay, and Brazil.
The Pope said he will conduct the consistory, as the ceremony to elevate churchmen to cardinal’s rank is known, on August 27. PTI COR BNM BNM
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