Catholic Bishops' Conference of India
CBCI logo
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| Abbreviation | CBCI |
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| Motto | United in Witness |
| Formation | September 1944 |
| Type | Permanent association of bishops |
| Legal status | Civil nonprofit |
| Purpose | To support the ministry of bishops |
| Headquarters | New Delhi |
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Region served
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India |
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Membership
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Active and retired Catholic bishops of India |
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Secretary General
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Auxilliary Bishop Theodore Mascarenhas |
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President
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Moran Mor Baselios Cardinal Cleemis Catholicos |
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Vice President I
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Archbishop Andrews Thazhath |
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Vice President II
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Patriarch Filipe Neri Ferrão |
| Affiliations | Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences |
| Website | cbci |
The Catholic Bishops' Conference of India or CBCI is the permanent association of the Catholic bishops of India. It was established in September 1944, in Chennai. The CBCI Secretariat was located in Bangalore until 1962, when it was shifted to the national capital, New Delhi. The CBCI is a member of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences.
The CBCI is technically not an episcopal conference as prescribed in canon 447 of the Code of Canon Law; that role is fulfilled by the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India. Rather, the CBCI is similar to the 'assembly of bishops' described in 322§2 of the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches.
Pope John Paul II in a letter in 1987 directed the three rites to set up their own bishops' conferences. Nevertheless, the CBCI is the face of the Catholic Church in India and addresses the Church's "questions of common concern and of a national and supra-ritual character", while the episcopal body that heads each rite deals with internal issues.
The statutes of the CBCI were approved by the Holy See on 21 April 1976. The statutes were revised in 1996 by the CBCI.
The ordinary members of the CBCI comprises all diocesan and eparchial bishops in India and those considered equal to them by canon law, as well as co-adjutor and auxiliary Bishops, and other titular Bishops performing a special work in India entrusted to them by the Apostolic See or by the Conference. Retired bishops and other titular bishops, not ordinary members of the Conference, and residing in India, are honorary members of the Conference. As of February 2014, the CBCI had around 180 members and 59 honorary members and it serves 167 dioceses.
The objectives of the CBCI are to facilitate coordinated study and discussion of questions affecting the Church, and adoption of a common policy and effective action in matters concerning the common interests of the Catholic Church in India. The CBCI reviews the position of the Church in India, and also undertakes a variety of activities covering, for example, the youth, health care and media. Another role of the CBCI is to foster the communion among the three sui juris Churches. The CBCI is the face of the Catholic Church in India promotes advocacy on national issues, makes representation to Government, liaises with the Government and networks with other Christian Churches, organizations, associations of civil society and people of other religions.
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