| VARANASI, India (UCAN) -- An Indian bishop has told his fellow bishops
that their failure to end caste discrimination in the Church has driven away many
Catholics of low-caste origin. "Discrimination within the Church is a painful experience,"
Bishop George Punnakottil of Kothamangalam told the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India
(CBCI) plenary assembly here March 24.
[...]
"It is all because of the Church's wrong
attitude toward them," added the bishop,
[...]
The bishop decried apparent discrimination
against dalit Catholics with respect to vocations to the priesthood and religious life.
"We understand that vocations are from
God, but why he would choose his priests only from among non-dalits baffles us," he
said.
[...]
Bishop Malayappan Chinnappa of Vellore, a
dalit prelate, said he had to face upper-caste anger as he rose in life. He said he still
notes resentment among Christians in Tamil Nadu against giving dalits equality in the
liturgy.
[...]
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