The Vatican has appointed an Indian lay leader to the 18-member Catholic Charismatic Renewal International Services, known as CHARIS. Cyril John, a former Indian bureaucrat, is one of the two Asians appointed by the Vatican’s Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life. The other Asian is Brother James Shin San-Hyun from South Korea.
The dicastery, a department of the Roman Curia, on October 31 announced that Pope Francis has erected a new body, CHARIS, to provide a new, single, international service for the needs of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal in the Church. John, a native of Kuravilangad in Kerala, got involved in Charismatic renewal movement in 1982. He has been the chairman of the renewal in the Archdiocese of Delhi, chairman of Indian National Service Team, Chairman of ICCRS Sub-Committee for Asia-Oceania since 2006 and was Vice-President of ICCRS Council from 2007 to 2015, according to a press release from K P Shaji, administrator of the National Charismatic Office based in New Delhi.
Cyril worked as joint secretary and chief protocol in the secretariat of Lok Sabha (people’s council), the lower house of the Indian Parliament until his retirement in 2016. He also authored books titled, ‘Spurred by the Spirit’, ‘Come, let us Celebrate the Holy Eucharist’, ‘The Catholic Charismatic Renewal in India – An Appraisal’, ‘Pray Lifting Up Holy Hands and ‘Prophetic Intercession.’
CHARIS is the international body for all expression of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal that began in 1967 as an outcome of the Second Vatican Council.
