Catholic Church in India ordains its first married deacons

Married deacons will be the spiritual providers for the vast underserved regions of the world.

We'll wait for SOLDIEROFJESUSCHRIST to fill us in on the details here and how this is being received by the laypeople.

My twin Daughters where christened this month by a married deacon in our church.

From what I have read, if you are married first, you can become a deacon. If you are single and are ordained a deacon, you take a vow of celibacy. Is that correct?

Yes, that is correct.

I got a question for SOLDIER (and NYer if you know too, since this is connected with the Antiochene Church)...what Rite do Indian Catholics use? The Syro-Malabar or Malankara Rite or the Latin Rite, or both?

I know the former rites were suppressed in the 1600s or whenever, but what is their status now?

and if your wife passes on you may not remarry.

and if your wife passes on you may not remarry.

Also correct.

<< From what I have read, if you are married first, you can become a deacon. If you are single and are ordained a deacon, you take a vow of celibacy. Is that correct? >>

Around the world there are also lots of married former Anglican priests who've converted and who've been ordained as Catholic Priests.

what Rite do Indian Catholics use? The Syro-Malabar or Malankara Rite or the Latin Rite, or both?

While I have never attended a Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, the following seems to give a very detailed description of the rite used in their churches. It is written by a priest and was published in the Catholic Herald.

Syro-Malabar Rite

Holy Mass

OFFICIAL WEB SITE - Syro Malabar Catholic Church

Attention x5452 - here is another Eastern Catholic Church where the bishop wears a Roman mitre.

Here's a link to the sad history, until the past two years, of this Church with the Latin Church.

http://www.thesyromalabarchurch.org/history.htm

It does seem, thank God, that times are changing for this very ancient Church and the way that Rome treats it. Perhaps in the near future the Latin mitre on an Indian bishop of a sui juris Church will go the way of Latin domination of this Church.

"For the clergyman, this is a “very important” event for “this ordination shows how the laity has its rightful place in the life of the Church.”

This is misinformed. A deacon IS a clergyman, not a layman. He has received the sacrament of Holy Orders.

The laity's proper place in the life of the Church is the sanctification of the WORLD, principally through participation in family, work or profession, political responsibility, culture, the arts.

The sanctification of the WORLD. No minor role, that.

We'll wait for SOLDIEROFJESUSCHRIST to fill us in on the details here and how this is being received by the laypeople.

He already has filled in.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1560810/posts

lots

< 700 hardly qualifies as "lots".

what Rite do Indian Catholics use? The Syro-Malabar or Malankara Rite or the Latin Rite, or both?

Actually they use all 3 -- Christianity arrived in india with St. Thomas the Apostle in Kerala. Then, the were under the Syriac rite. When the Portuguese came in, vast numbers became Catholic -- and these (mostly from Goa or Maharashtra) are Latin Rite. The Keralites are primarily Syriac rites.

His head clothing I should hope are the last of his concerns.

Dear All,

I am sorry I was not able to make any comments on this article much earlier than I usually tend to make. I have been having some problems with my P.C. and a certain email address has disappeared with hundreds of emails in it.

In any case, I trust in the Lord that this is nothing serious.

With regard to the article, concerning the ordination of two deacons in the Catholic Church in Mumbai, I will first post two recent articles -- one is from The "Examiner" and the other is from the "Mumbai Mirror".

The Article from the Mumbai Mirror is an article which talks about exactly what I have been harping about that Catholic Youth and Young Adults are possibly leaving the Catholic Church in cities in large numbers and joining Pentecostal Churches or House Churches as they are called in certain Asian countries.

The Article has been aptly titled "A Crisis of Faith".

The Second Article is with regard to the ordination of two deacons both of whom who are 60 years old. I wish they were younger as the Catholic Youth, Young Catholic Adults, and Young Catholic Married Couples and Families sorely need individuals who can relate to them.

For Example, I was watching E.W.T.N. on Sunday Night where there was this Program on a young catholic married couple "Jason Evert and Crystalina Padilla Evert" who are famous in the United States for their Chastity talks at a number of Schools throughout the United States.

In India, We do not have individuals such as these specially given the fact that PreMarital Sex, Live-In-Relationships, Abortion, etc have been on the increase for the past 5 years or more.

What I consider as quite disappointing is the fact that these two Deacons will be under the exclusive control of the Archbishop of Mumbai and that means they will not be able to tackle a problem area among the faithful unless the Cardinal gives the nod.

What to me is unacceptable is the fact that a large number of Catholic Priests in Mumbai(Bombay) are in denial with regard to the exodus of Catholics from all the ethnic groups that exist in Bombay and from all age groups to a variety of Pentecostal Churches.

By the way, I am a Latin Rite Catholic from the Former Portuguese Territory of Goa.

In Jesus and Mary,

P.S.- More Comments later tomorrow. I will be posting more information tomorrow about the different kinds of Ethnic Communities that Catholics in Mumbai come from specially for the attention of Claud.

Claud, I have something in common with you. I lived in Philly for a couple of years, before moving down South to Atlanta. I notice you are from Bucks County-- I am quite familiar with that place.

A CRISIS OF FAITH ? (1/03/2006)

A study conducted by the Don Bosco order of priests finds that Catholic youth are in danger of moving from the community to groups that offer a greater sense of belonging

Manoj R Nair

A study of Catholic youth in India has warned that young people in the community could be heading towards a ‘crisis of faith’ and that they might move away from the Church to join groups that offer a more vibrant sense of community and belonging.

The study conducted by priests of Don Bosco’s Salesian order as part of the centennial celebrations of their presence in India says that the views of Catholic youth on birth control, sexuality and violence seem to be drawn from the general society they live in rather than from the Catholic faith, which has strong views on these issues.

However, the three-year long all-India study, makes a distinction between faith and belief and added that there is no ‘crisis of belief’. The study said that while the Church was successful in ‘transmitting its religious dogma’, it had not been effective in helping to conveying an appropriate faith.

“Hence, the danger could be that in a crisis situation, these young Catholics may easily fall away from the religion and join other groups that offer them better prospects of internalisation and a more vibrant sense of community,” the study said.

Therefore, the study concludes that the challenge the Catholic Church has to face is to convert its “believing and belonging youth” into “faith-ful youth”. They have to be helped to move from an inherited religion to a personally appropriated ‘living out’ of their Catholic religion, the study suggested.

“This means that while the youth think that faith is important, when it comes to practising the faith, there are difficulties,” said father Darryl D’Souza, director of Tej Prasarini, the communications wing of Don Bosco.

Bandra resident Richard D’Souza, father of a 20-year-old said that while most churches had plenty of youth groups, the young “have a tough schedule with jobs, academics and sports like my daughter had,” he said.

The Don Bosco order, founded in Italy in AD 1859 by St John Bosco, is known for its work among the young.

The study was initiated by father Adolph Furtado in July 2002 and then continued by father Cyril de Souza and social activists Josanthony Joseph and Johny Joseph. The study proposed to draw up the religious profile of contemporary Catholic youth in India to find out what they think and know about their religion, and whether they feel they live it out in practice.

The study targeted boys and girls between 12 and 25 years. Questionnaires were sent to 5,000 people across India, in 10 languages; only 3,609 responded.

The findings, compiled in a book “Lord I believe. Increase my Faith” - The Response of Catholic Youth to Religion will be released later this week in Bangalore.

THE YOUTH SAY

In my parish in Orlem, there are a lot of activities for the youth. A lot of young people are also active in the programmes. However, I do feel that many of them do not necessarily practice what is taught in the church.
— Lyndon Rodriques, 13
Orlem, Malad

In my parish, the youth is very involved in church activities. I am part of the choir and I feel that there is a sense of belonging.
— Caroline Santos, 21
Vakola, Santacruz

I do not mind missing the weekly mass as long as I pray at home or elsewhere. But I do not think that the youth lack a sense of belonging. It varies from person to person. I believe that as long you are a good human being, attending prayer meetings does not really matter.
— Alison D’Souza, 20
Bandra

THE STATISTICS SAY

* Only 29.2 per cent of the youth claim to go to church everyday, while 82.8 per cent claim to pray every day.

* 15.5 per cent feel that religion is hardly important or not important.

* However, 99.5 per cent pray, implying that they make a distinction between religion and their relationship with God.

* 5.3 per cent have questions about the existence of god, while 8.7 doubt whether God cares for them.

* 68 per cent said that they would choose to be a Catholic given a choice, 24 per cent a Christian (not necessarily Catholic) and 6 per cent choose to be free of any religion.

2)A Landmark in Bombay Church History

Bishop Bosco Penha

The Archdiocese of Bombay takes a historic step in restoring the diaconate to the permanent rank of the hierarchy by the ordination of Lloyd Dias and Elwyn de Souza.

We will have arrived at a landmark in Bombay Church History when, on the morning of Sunday, January 22, 2006, Cardinal Ivan Dias ordains the first two permanent deacons in the presence of the other bishops, the deans and the families, relatives and friends of the two deacons. It will also be a landmark in Indian Church history because, as far as we know, no other diocese in the country has initiated the Permanent Diaconate although the permission from Rome to establish the Permanent Diaconate in the Church of India was received by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India as far back as 1983.

The Permanent Diaconate – A Great Gift of God to the Church

Already in the Dogmatic Constitution on The Church, the Second Vatican Council had recommended the revival of the Permanent Diaconate when it said :

“Since these duties” (of the Permanent Deacons) “so very necessary to the life of the Church, can be fulfilled only with difficulty in many regions in accordance with the discipline of the Latin Church as it exists today, the diaconate can in the future be restored as a proper and permanent rank of the hierarchy. It pertains to the competent territorial bodies of bishops, of one kind or another, with the approval of the Supreme Pontiff, to decide whether and where it is opportune for such deacons to be established for the care of souls. With the consent of the Roman Pontiff, this diaconate can, in the future be conferred upon men of more mature age, even upon those living in the married state. It may also be conferred upon suitable young men, for whom the law of celibacy must remain intact.” (No.29)

In his address on December 30, 1995, to the Plenary Assembly of the Congregation for the Clergy, which had met to discuss the training, ministry and life of the Permanent Deacons, Pope John Paul II expressed his view that the vocation of the Permanent Deacon is a great gift of God to the Church and for this reason is an important enrichment for the Church’s mission. A similar view has been expressed by the Congregation for the Clergy and the Congregation for Catholic Education in their joint declaration on the Permanent Diaconate:

“One of the fruits of the Second Vatican Council was the desire to restore the diaconate as a proper and stable rank of the hierarchy”. On the basis of the “historical circumstances and pastoral purposes noted by the Council Fathers, the Holy Spirit, protagonist of the Church’s life, worked mysteriously to bring about a new and more complete actualisation of the hierarchy which traditionally consists of bishops, priests and deacons. In this manner the Christian community was revitalised, configured more closely to that of the Apostles which, under the influence of the Paraclete, flourished as the Acts of the Apostles testifies.

**acquire the right to celebrate religious functions such as marriages, funerals, baptisms and administer the sacraments, except for mass and confession.**

Permanent deacons can not administer the Sacrament of the Annointing of the Sick also.

You are so right, Mrs. Don-o!!

There are three steps to the Sacrament of Holy Orders:
Diaconate -- Being ordained as a permanent deacon
Presbyteral -- Being ordained as a priest
Episcopal -- Being ordained as a bishop