syro-malabar-catholic-bishops

"When young people come to a World Youth Day, they also receive the strength of that enthusiasm, joy and creativity."

"We are pleased to be joined to be of one body and mind, to pray together, work together and build the kingdom of God here on earth."

"Any particular Church should have its own liturgy, spirituality, theology and discipline. We don't have them. We become a self-governing Church only when we develop all these."

"I am disappointed by the majority of politicians. They enter politics for selfish and personal motives. I don't think they are interested in serving society."

"India is a country with a heritage of ancient cultures, traditions, religions that no government can damage. Christians are part of all this and are proud. It is true that small extremist groups sometimes use violence against Christians: but are deviations which do not alter the reality of a nation that is democratic and tolerant and has a long tradition of harmony between different, ethnic, cultural and religious components."

"Spirituality is very much related to liturgy. This is a major characteristic of the Oriental Churches in general. The SMC is no exception."

"I cannot but be thankful for the strong Christian context I come from. It has always been my source of inspiration for my theological thinking. However, there is a danger of identifying oneself too much with one's own context so that one takes for granted his/her everyday life - whether it be religious or otherwise. There is the danger of theology being very self-complacent."

"This is part of an ongoing campaign against Christians to discredit their work among the poor and the downtrodden. The diocese carries out several welfare programs among the poor, especially educating poor children and providing them with hostels and other facilities. When they get educated, they begin to oppose atrocities, exploitation and other social evils and therefore some vested interest groups opposed to their growth are targeting our institutions."

"If we are God's people can we guide people to God. That can happen only by the proper formation of laypeople."

"Our church and Pope Francis truly believe and back such acts of organ donations. It's in the spirit of the church. I believe this should be a strong message for people around me, to be open to donate organs."

"I never expected this assignment. It was certainly not my will, not my plan, but I had given a promise to obey my superiors, and I have to think this was also the will of God."

"Every individual Church or which is called the sui iuris Church exists for proclaiming the Gospel, through her unique and rich heritage or patrimony of liturgy, theology, spirituality and discipline. Moreover, evangelization and pastoral care are two integral dimensions of one and the same mission - preaching the Gospel to the whole world. Without pastoral care, those evangelized cannot be formed into a community of believers and cannot be nourished in their faith through the ministry of the Word and the Sacraments."

"The communication of faith is the principal duty of every Bishop. To proclaim Jesus as Saviour and to guide the work of the proclamation from the frontline is our most important task. Like the apostles who assumed the task of proclaiming the Good News, and even gave their lives for this cause, the Bishops, as their successors, should also be prepared to give their lives if necessary."

"A long dream has come true."

"We have failed in portraying historical events in an incorrect manner. Moreover, in allowing for the destruction of Churches and historic monuments, in someway we have allowed for the destruction of our own history."

"The Lord has blessed me greatly in my academic and professional endeavors. Even though I prioritized him over "climbing the ladder," he has proven how he takes care of his children. Following him, I have been blessed with many genuine friendships, have received healing and love beyond measure, an amazing spouse, beautiful children, the list goes on and on. He has fulfilled desires or dreams of my heart that I would not dare pursue otherwise."

"With everyone's sincere cooperation, this can be done and if I fail, it will be the failure of the archdiocese."

"The Church is with you in spite of all the vulnerable situations in which it is entrapped. We are with you and we wish to learn your life and enthusiasm and don't be afraid of your faith."

"We must realize that sustainable development comes only through eco-friendly living. God created man and put him in Eden as its custodian, but he sinned against God. The first sin is the first attempt of man against God and nature."

"The insistence of the personal rather than territorial aspect of evangelization is essential for the very existence and flourishing of Oriental Churches. Accepting this reality we should allow all these Churches to grow hand in hand with mutual respect and collaboration so that the territorial demarcations do not suffocate the Christian message which these Churches are trying to communicate, each in its own way, naturally adding new dimensions to the cultural and ethnic diversity of Asia."

"I want to entrust everything of what I am and what I do in the hands of God. Unless God works nothing will work both in my life as well as in the lives of the people of my diocese."

"Each of these Churches, including the Latin Church, has its own genius. The beauty is to learn from each other without destroying the uniqueness of each one."

"If universal jurisdiction over our faithful is recognized to us, we can help foster this energy so that its strength is in the service of the universal Church. Otherwise what we lose the universal Church will lose."

"Christmas should be for all people, an occasion to rejoice because the message of Christmas is that God loves all of us, so out of love for us, Jesus became man identifying himself with the poor. But He preferred to be born in a manger as a very low state. He became the poorest of the poor that means that God has a special concern and love for the poor people. The divine child in the manger has absolutely nothing even not a place of his own to be born. Through this example, Jesus teaches us that the true greatness of a person lies not in what one has but in what one is. God is the creator of all things but it is not anything of this world that can make him great."

"A relationship is always based on the way we communicate."

"At a time when fewer women opt for religious life, intercongregational collaboration is the future. Sanjoepuram brings together congregations with different charisms to work for a common cause. Our experience has been very positive."

"We have appealed to Indian premier Modi to look at the matter and do the needful as it is a very serious matter of concern and if not taken seriously it may give a wrong message. Our papers on church land are complete and there was no such issue in the past. The incident has extremely saddened our people, who are in a state of shock."

"There is exploitation. Covering up such issues is not right."

"Knowing nature closely and intimately enhances faith. So loving and caring for nature is a way of protecting your faith."

"The only way to overcome this crisis is to have more babies and honor the sanctity of life."

"When the intention is to spread Islam and annihilate non-Muslims, two widely discussed methods are love jihad and narcotics jihad. There is a section of people who want to establish that no such thing exists in our society today. They are trying to conceal the truth and reality."

"Christ gave the message of love to the world and preached brotherhood, and that all are children of God and hence we must treat each other as brothers and sisters. Christmas is the most awaited Holy period in the calendar for the followers of Christ. Christmas means the celebration of God's incredible love towards mankind. God sent his Son to the mankind to spread the message of peace and love."

"We don't want favors from the government but we need social justice."

"The religious also are today tempted to use rich temporal means. But the effort should be to live up to their religious vows and not to rely on rich temporal means. Prayer, asceticism, self renunciation, poverty and suffering should resume their hold on religious life, or else, the religious will be less effective in their apostolate. We all have to be ready to preach the Gospel without any secular interests motivating us."

"I am deeply convinced that faith and gifts are not merely for "preserving," but for sharing and celebrating. Knowing ourselves and others, without fear and misunderstanding, are an integral part of Christian love and spirituality."