Catholic leaders stress on accountability

Religious from the North-Ecclesiastical region have stressed upon the need for evangelical accountability by Church ministers.

"We are accountable to the people in our commitment to evangelization," said Franciscan Brother Lawrence, President of the regional Conference of Religious of India (CRI).

The region's 35 religious leaders, including four bishops and 24 Major Superiors, working in the area met at the CRI House, Delhi, on July 30.

They assessed the situation of the Church on the issue and made plans for new orientation during their annual general body meeting.

The main theme of the day was the question of accountability of Church personnel especially in the context of sex abuse cases which are destroying the credibility of our evangelization worldwide.

It was felt that the Indian Church must take proactive measures to reduce such cases and put in place proper mechanisms to address the issue.

Brother Lawrence emphasised the need to have proper guidelines in dealing with abuse cases.

Elaborating on the issue, Archbishop Vincent Concessao of Delhi spoke of the overall accountability. "We have to be seen as credible apostles of Jesus Christ addressing people's concerns," he said.

Sister Agnes, a Medical Mission Sister and the main resource person, spoke of her experience of working as a counselor in India and abroad. She said the need of the hour was to help the persons in difficulty in relation to sex abuse.

Noting that religious life and priesthood are faced with the situation of having candidates who have been abused, she said the issue should be addressed by competent persons. The nun recommended that every congregation should train persons to respond to the needs in this sector.

Many participants expressed their concerns and shared views on the ongoing process of formulating guidelines. It was regretted that the national effort by the Catholic Bishops Conference of India and CRI is yet to find the light of the day.

The CRI's regional secretary, in her report, spoke of the achievements of the new team that took charge a year ago. She made special mention of the successful conduct of the Young Religious Convention and its impact in the region.

The local presidents and secretaries from Jammu and Kashmir, Jalandar and Delhi spoke about their activities and plans for the coming year. They were unanimous in expressing the need to improve the working of the organization.

The regional executives assured them of cooperation to revitalize the local units where a large numbers of religious gather regularly.