Bangalore 30 January 2020 (CCBI): The diocesan priest’s congress was held from 28 to 31 January 2020 at Vailankanni, Tamilnadu, which discussed the theme “The Joy of Priesthood.” His Eminence Oswald Cardinal Gracias, Archbishop of Bombay was the main celebration of the inaugural Holy Mass and delivered the keynote address during the inaugural ceremony.
The congress was organized by CDPI, the association of diocesan priests, which functions under the guidance of the Vocation, Seminary, Clergy and Religious Commission (VSCR) of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI). The priests’ conference was attended by 700 priests, representing 91 diocese of 132 diocese of Latin Church in India.
CDPI began in 2001 and it was recognized as an association of diocesan priests in 2008 by CCBI and its revised statutes were finally approved in 2014. The objectives of CDPI are to strengthen the relationship by building up unity among priests and to deepen fraternity between bishops and priests, to continue ongoing formation in accordance with pastoral spirituality and signs of the time and to widen the pastoral bond among priests beyond the borders of the respective dioceses and create a web of mutual support in realizing the reign of God locally and in the universal church.
The program kicked off with the session for sharing the joy of priesthood by priests from all the regions and the four-panel discussions. The first one is on the self-identification of the joy of priesthood, secondly identification of priesthood by others, third on the role of diocesan priests in building up joyful communities and the fourth will be on diocesan priests in alternative new ministries today.
