Nepal gets its first Catholic bishop

It is official. Nepal, the small nation surrounded by the Himalayas which has for centuries been a Hindu kingdom, has finally found its first Catholic bishop.

Anthony Francis Sharma, 69, has been ordained as the country's first bishop during a time the impoverished and debt–ridden nation is trying to rebuild itself.

The ordination took place, May 5, at the newly renovated premises of Kathmandu's Assumption Church, attended by 3,000 worshippers, including Catholic priests, believers and a handful of Hindu and Buddhist well–wishers.

A few bishops from Japan, Hong Kong and Malaysia also attended the ordination ceremony.

The ceremony was officiated by Archbishop Pedro Lopez Quintana, the Apostolic Nuncio to both India and Nepal, and two Indian co–consecrators, Archbishop Benedict Osta of Patna and Bishop Thomas D'Souza of Bagdogra.

The ceremony began with the parish priest of Assumption Church, Father Justin Lepcha, welcoming all and reading out a brief history of the bishop–elect.

After he took his solemn vows, Bishop Sharma, wearing the miter and gold ring while holding the pastoral staff of his office, faced the audience, to thunderous applause.

"A bishop is the image of Christ, the model of holiness," Archbishop Quintana said, outlining a bishop's ideal characteristics.

Bishop Anthony Francis Sharma, born as Amulya Nath Sharma on December 12, 1937, originally belonged to a Hindu Brahmin family who were the priests of the royal family of the former Gorkha kingdom of Nepal. He embraced Christianity at the age of four along with his mother, a widow, who converted in India's Assam district to obtain a better life for both of them.

He entered the Society of Jesus, or the Jesuits, on July 29, 1956, and was ordained the first ethnic Nepalese Jesuit priest on May 4, 1968.

For many years he taught in Catholic schools in Darjeeling in India and was rector and principal of St. Joseph's College in this hill station. He was appointed the Ecclesiastic Superior of Nepal Catholic Mission on April 9, 1984.

Exactly 10 years after Nepal was elevated to apostolic prefecture by the Vatican on February 12, 1997, the Pope announced the elevation of the apostolic prefecture of Nepal to the rank of apostolic vicariate on February 10, 2007.

Largely mountainous and hilly Nepal has a population of 28 million, 80 percent of whom are Hindus, and most of the rest are Buddhists. There are 1 million Christians.

The country on April 24 celebrated its first anniversary of the end of absolute monarchy. The "People's Movement" last year forced Nepal's King Gyanendra Shah to restore the dissolved Parliament on April 24, 14 months after he seized power in what he said was a bid to crush a Maoist revolt that had been raging in the country.

Weeks later, the restored Parliament declared Nepal, then the world's only Hindu country, a secular state.

Before the pro–democracy movement of 1990, conversions were punished and even the discovery of a Bible among one's possessions was liable to be treated harshly by the authorities.

According to Bishop Sharma, the apostolic vicariate of Nepal has 6,972 Catholics. Its six parishes, two quasi–parishes, 38 mission stations and 26 schools are served by 13 diocesan and 52 religious priests from five congregations. A total of 131 Catholic nuns representing 17 congregations, live in 36 convents around the country and help run the Catholic institutions.

The Catholic Church runs a variety of day–care centers, schools and literary programs, as well as centers for the poor and disadvantaged.

Caritas Nepal, the social arm of the local church, is now running programs in 60 of Nepal's 75 districts. It works mainly through local NGOs and organizations such as Jesuit Refugee Service, with poor children and women as the priority. Bishop Sharma has been Caritas Nepal's founding president since its inception in 1989.

The new bishop plans to devote his tenure to the education, healthcare and empowerment of women. "Education is the best means of fighting the caste system prevalent in Nepal," Bishop Sharma said.

According to the bishop, Christians in Nepal should join politics now that the country has "opened up" and take active role in development of the nation.

"I do not mean a Christian party but lay Christians joining any existing party they feel welcomed in and that follows Christian principles. The Christian principle is people's welfare,” he said. "Christians have in the past been falsely accused of conversions though our work lies in development. People who are capable should come forward from the Christian community to work for their own community and contribute to the development of the nation."