Call for Punjabi Bishop in Jalandhar

Kottayam: The diocesan priests and the local Catholic followers of Jalandhar have demanded the appointment of a Punjabi as their bishop. This comes in the wake of the arrest and imprisonment of bishop Franco Mulakkal, which had deeply pained the  followers, the local priests told  Deccan Chronicle. They said that the priests from Kerala were not taking much interests in the affairs of the local population and hence urged Vatican to consider their demands.

Among the over 90 priests belonging to the diocese, only 14 are Punjab natives and the others are from Kerala. The priests said they have the support of the local faithful, who want a Punjab native as their bishop.

The Vatican has appointed Angelo Rufian Gracias, former  auxiliary bishop emeritus of Mumbai, as the apostolic administrator of Jalandhar. A group of 10 Punjabi priests who assembled at the Holy Trinity Church on September 24 had  discussed the issue. "We welcome the decision of Vatican to appoint  an apostolic administrator. However, we also demand the appointment of a Punjab

native as our next bishop. The Kerala priests have not come up to the expectations of the people here," Father Martin Sadique, parish priest of the Holy Trinity church, Jalandhar, told DC.

The arrest of Franco Mulakkal had tarnished the image of the Church in Jalandhar, he said but refused to comment on the sexual harassment allegation against the bishop saying that the matter is in the court now. Mr Roshan Joseph, secretary of the SC/ ST laity mission of the Jalandhar

diocese, told DC that owing to the differences in culture, the priests from Kerala cannot properly communicate with the locals and understand their concerns. "In the rendition prayer also, the Kerala priests' lack of proficiency in the

Punjabi language is apparent. They do not follow the culture of Punjab. Most are scheduled caste and scheduled tribe people and hence they are not able to assimilate the culture of the people of Punjab," he said.

Moreover, despite having many schools, no high-level  government employees, doctors or other high-ranking professionals have come up from the local followers though the diocese was established 47 years ago.

Father John Griewal, another parish priest, said that Vatican has to take the final decision about a local bishop. Vatican granted Jalandhar the status of a diocese in 1971 and Symphorian

Keeprath, a native of Kerala, was appointed as the first bishop. Anil Couto became the second bishop in 2007 and Franco Mulakkal in 2013.