INDIA
Times of India
Bella Jaisinghani, TNN | Apr 14, 2013
VATICAN CITY/MUMBAI: India’s Oswald Gracias is among eight high-ranking cardinals who were on Saturday appointed by Pope Francis to an advisory council to look into ways of reforming the Vatican bureaucracy. The council will help the Pope revise the Apostolic Constitution and Church administration which helps him in daily governance, the Vatican said in a statement.
Gracias, 68, is archbishop of Bombay (Mumbai), having been appointed by Pope Benedict XVI in 2006. He was raised to the cardinalate in 2007.
In Mumbai, there was elation at the gathering of priests at Holy Name Cathedral for a special function to mark the ordination of permanent deacons when the news broke on Saturday evening. A loud round of applause went up as Cardinal Gracias walked down the aisle and blessed the assembly.
“The secretary of state, who is the second in command, called me last Sunday to seek my consent for the appointment. This means that the Pope is looking to set up a different style of governance and reorganize the universal Church. Of course, it is a good sign that India is being taken seriously and that our feedback is being sought. When I was in Rome recently, I said India should be taken seriously and it is nice to see it happening,” Cardinal Gracias told TOI after the function.
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