His Excellency Bishop Franco Mulakkal of Jalandhar diocese, in the Indian state of Punjab, has made an appeal for an end to modern slavery going on in the state and highlighted that many Christian Dalits and non-Christians still work as bonded labors and their families are pledged to landlords as security for their loans. His Grace Bishop Franco Mulakkal, 52, is the chairman of the Youth Commission of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India and is marking every attempt to educate and enlighten the citizens in the state to empower them with their rights.
As reported by ucanews.com, His Grace Bishop Franco Mulakkal remarked that “We try to reach out to Christians and poor people of every religion living without human dignity and without equal opportunity as they also have the right to a good life.” When asked about the increasing vocations in the state, His Grace said that, “People in the state see us working and living for others and that encourages them.”
Church vocations in the diocese are on the rise, last year, 107 girls were elected to become nuns and 55 boys volunteered for the priesthood. Christians, 1.1 percent of the population, are mostly poor Dalits- members of the former untouchable castes.
