MIAO, Arunachal Pradesh (Indian Catholic News) — Pope Leo has appointed Bishop George Pallipparambil of Miao from a frontier Indian diocese known for its missionary work among indigenous communities to a Vatican council shaping catechetical initiatives for the universal Church.
The appointment of Salesian Bishop Pallipparambil to the International Council for Catechesis was announced by the Vatican Dicastery for Evangelization.
The appointment is for a five-year term and was confirmed in a July 30 letter from Archbishop Salvatore Rino Fisichella, pro-prefect of the Dicastery’s Section for Fundamental Questions Regarding Evangelization in the World.
The letter said the Vatican Secretariat of State formally advised the Dicastery of Pope Leo’s approval on July 5, following a request from the Dicastery.
Bishop brings frontier missionary experience
The International Council for Catechesis is a consultative body supporting the Dicastery for Evangelization’s work on catechesis, offering guidance and reflection on catechetical initiatives across the “global Church.”
In his letter, Archbishop Fisichella expressed hope that Bishop Pallipparambil’s experience would allow him “to make a valuable contribution to the reflection and initiatives of this body in the important and sensitive field of catechesis.”
Bishop Pallipparambil leads the in India’s northeastern Arunachal Pradesh state. The diocese covers a “largely tribal and mission territory” near the borders with Myanmar and China and is known for its “missionary character” and work among indigenous communities in “one of India’s more remote regions.”
The Diocese of Miao was established in 2005, with Bishop George Pallipparambil as its first bishop, serving a largely tribal and remote region of Arunachal Pradesh.
His appointment brings pastoral experience from what the Diocese of Miao describes as a “frontier missionary diocese” to a Vatican council “tasked with shaping catechetical policy for the universal Church.”
The people of Miao have expressed joy at his appointment and assured him of their prayerful support as he takes up his duties on the international council of the Holy See, Father Felix Anthony from Miao Diocese’s Office of Social Communication, said in an August 7 statement.
A missionary Church in a remote region
Laypeople played a key role in early evangelization, even smuggling missionaries into what was once a forbidden area for Catholic missionaries.
Arunachal Pradesh’s first encounter with Christianity came in 1854, when French missionaries were martyred in Somme village while travelling to Tibet.
Salesian missionaries arrived in Assam in 1922, beginning a new phase of the Church’s presence in the region through religious and educational institutions.
The government introduced the Arunachal Indigenous Freedom of Religion Bill in 1978, saying it was intended to protect tribal culture from outsiders.
At the time, churches were reportedly demolished or burned, Christians imprisoned and clergy denied entry. Bibles, candles and other religious objects, including sacramental wine, were also banned.
Christians make up 30.26% of Arunachal Pradesh’s 1.38 million people, the largest religious group in the state, according to the 2011 census.
Read the Vatican’s appointment letter and the Diocese of Miao’s statement.
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