India’s Catholic leaders seek parliamentary review of funding bill

New Delhi (Indian Catholic News) — India’s top Catholic leaders have expressed support for transparency, accountability and the national interest in foreign contributions while urging the government to refer the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026, to a joint parliamentary committee for dialogue.

The appeal comes from senior Catholic leaders, including Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) President Cardinal Anthony Poola of Hyderabad, CBCI Secretary General Archbishop Anil Joseph Thomas Couto of Delhi, and retired Cardinal Oswald Gracias of Bombay who held top national leadership designations, including serving as CBCI president.

Cardinal Poola said the Catholic Church in India has “always stood alongside our nation” through “education, health care, social service and humanitarian assistance,” particularly for “the most vulnerable and marginalized.”

“We fully support transparency, accountability and the national interest,” Cardinal Poola said. However, he urged the government to “reconsider and roll back the FCA amendment bill 2026,” saying some provisions “may create serious operational challenges for genuine grassroots charitable organizations.”

“We therefore humbly request that the bill be referred to a joint parliamentary committee so that there may be meaningful and structured dialogue with civil society and faith-based organizations,” Poola said.

He called for “balanced solutions that protect regularity, integrity while ensuring the essential services to the poor and vulnerable continue without interruption,” adding, “We remain committed to serving our nation with faith, compassion and responsibility.”

Archbishop Couto similarly said the Catholic bishops “fully support transparency and national security,” but warned that certain provisions could create “significant operational challenges for genuine grassroots charitable organizations, both faith-based and otherwise.”

Bishops seek structured consultation

He appealed to the government to “reconsider and roll back the FC Amendment Bill 2026 along with the rules recently introduced on June 22, 2026.” He also requested referral of the bill to a joint parliamentary committee to enable “structured dialogue with civil society and faith-based leaders.”

In a separate Aug. 8 letter to federal Home Affairs Minister Amit Shah, Cardinal Gracias said delegations from the Christian community had met him about the “proposed amendments to the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA).”

Cardinal Gracias said he was unable to travel to New Delhi because of “pressing matters,” but wanted to convey his “personal reflections, a request and recommendation on this important matter.”

He said he had spoken with “several nuns and priests who have been working with the needy and the sick” and who believed the new legislation could affect them “very much” if foreign contributions stopped.

“I am with you that there should be proper control of the money coming from abroad,” Gracias wrote, while adding that “the ground level legislation depends much on interpretation and application.”

He respectfully asked Shah “to prevail upon the Parliament to rush with this matter but you have a wider consultation with those concerned including the Christian Community.”

Cardinal Gracias suggested that the matter be sent to “a Parliamentary sub-committee for study.”

Church concerns had put legislation on hold

The CBCI had already requested that June 28 be observed as a National Day of Prayer across India amid concerns over a proposed amendment to the country’s foreign funding law.

They warned the FCRA bill could adversely impact “our work among the poor and the less privileged and “imposes severe restrictions on charitable organizations, particularly NGOs and Christian institutions.”

The Church leaders’ appeal comes during the Monsoon Session of Parliament, which runs from July 20 to Aug. 13, with just two days remaining. The bill is scheduled for consideration during the session.

In a March 31 memorandum to Members of Parliament and Home Minister Amit Shah, the CBCI said the bill “raises serious concerns about constitutional balance, civil society freedom, and the future of charitable service in India.”

The next day, the federal government, following protests from opposition parties and various Church groups, put the bill on hold.

Read Cardinal Oswald Gracias’ letter.