PANAJI
Appreciating the work of the Church for the poor and downtrodden, President Ram Nath Kovind emphasised the importance of spirituality in development and appealed to the Church leaders of India to continue this spiritual development.
The president was interacting with church leaders of India, when a group of Catholic Church leaders led by Cardinal Baselios Cleemis, President of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI), made a courtesy call on him at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Thursday, a CBCI press
note stated.
The church leaders who were part of the delegation included four Goan Prelates, Cardinal Oswald Gracias (Archbishop of Bombay), Archbishop Filipe Neri Ferrão (CBCI Vice-President and Archbishop of Goa), Archbishop Anil Couto of Delhi and Bishop Theodore Mascarenhas, (Secretary General of CBCI), as well as Cardinal Telesphore Toppo (Archbishop of Ranchi), Archbishop Abraham Viruthakulangara of Nagpur and Archbishop Albert D'Souza of Agra.
On behalf of the CBCI, Cardinal Cleemis offered a bouquet of flowers, Cardinal Gracias presented a garland and Cardinal Toppo gifted a photo frame of the Sacred Heart of Jesus to the president.
Thanking him for sparing his time to meet the authorities of the Church, Cardinal Cleemis conveyed to him the best wishes and prayers of the whole Catholic Church of India.
He said the Christian Community, though a small minority, has always served the country and would continue to serve the country in healthcare, education and other areas, in particular, serving the poorest of the poor and the marginalised.
"We pray", he said, that "God may bless you that you may continue to serve the country through your
ministry."
Addressing the Prelates, Kovind described India as a great country, "because of its diversity, not just religious diversity, but linguistic and cultural diversity."
"India is a secular country. It is one Country and there is no minority and majority. To govern the country, we require a political system and this system cannot be based on vote banks. We are all part of one country," he said.
The church leaders who were part of the delegation included four Goan Prelates, Cardinal Oswald Gracias (Archbishop of Bombay), Archbishop Filipe Neri Ferrão (CBCI Vice-President and Archbishop of Goa), Archbishop Anil Couto of Delhi and Bishop Theodore Mascarenhas, (Secretary General of CBCI), as well as Cardinal Telesphore Toppo (Archbishop of Ranchi), Archbishop Abraham Viruthakulangara of Nagpur and Archbishop Albert D'Souza of Agra.
On behalf of the CBCI, Cardinal Cleemis offered a bouquet of flowers, Cardinal Gracias presented a garland and Cardinal Toppo gifted a photo frame of the Sacred Heart of Jesus to the president.
Thanking him for sparing his time to meet the authorities of the Church, Cardinal Cleemis conveyed to him the best wishes and prayers of the whole Catholic Church of India.
He said the Christian Community, though a small minority, has always served the country and would continue to serve the country in healthcare, education and other areas, in particular, serving the poorest of the poor and the marginalised.
"We pray", he said, that "God may bless you that you may continue to serve the country through your
ministry."
Addressing the Prelates, Kovind described India as a great country, "because of its diversity, not just religious diversity, but linguistic and cultural diversity."
"India is a secular country. It is one Country and there is no minority and majority. To govern the country, we require a political system and this system cannot be based on vote banks. We are all part of one country," he said.
