BENGALURU, Karnataka (Indian Catholic News) — Addressing the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India, newly elected All India Catholic Union President A. Chinnappan placed the 107-year-old lay federation at the bishops’ service as “a committed partner rather than a body working in parallel to the Church”.
Greeting CBCI President Cardinal Anthony Poola of Hyderabad and office-bearers during the bishops’ standing committee September 17-18 in Bengaluru, Chinnappan noted that the national platform serves the three ecclesial rites and 14 regional councils of bishops.
He stated that the strength of the Church in India “lies in its laity,” who work across education, medicine, law, administration, business, science, media, and public life.
His goal is to build a “disciplined and service-oriented organisation that is present in the lives of ordinary Catholic families,” rather than remaining “merely a structure of office-bearers”.
Chinnappan, a former two-term AICU national vice president and secretary general from the Archdiocese of Delhi, outlined priorities including wider participation by Catholics of all three rites.
He emphasized that the diversity of the Church’s heritage “must become a source of strength for the community,” according to a AICU press release.
Focus on marginalized groups and youth
Empowering Dalits, the poor, and the marginalized remains a major concern. Chinnappan stated the union’s commitment is “to stand with them, listen to them and work for their dignity, justice and empowerment”.
He noted the AICU has actively participated in Supreme Court proceedings regarding Scheduled Caste status for Christians of Scheduled Caste origin.
Scheduled Castes and Schedule Tribes, are Indigenous communities recognized under India’s Constitution eligible for affirmative action and other legal protections. However, Christians from these groups, despite constitutional protections, remain excluded from government reservation benefits granted to Dalits of Hindu, Sikh, and Buddhist faiths.
Regarding women, Chinnappan acknowledged “much more could be done to secure their participation in decision-making and leadership within the lay apostolate,” pledging encouragement at every organizational level.
For young Catholics, he proposed initiatives in skill development, entrepreneurship, mentoring, and leadership formation. The aim, he explained, is “not simply to prepare young people for employment but to equip them to create opportunities and serve society”.
He urged youth to enter public life and rise to “positions of responsibility and leadership”.
The AICU will maintain its historic role representing Catholic citizens’ concerns. Chinnappan stated that wherever human rights and dignity are threatened, the union will raise its voice “through constitutional, democratic and peaceful means”.
He highlighted past relief work with Caritas India, interfaith engagement, and statements countering communalism.
Addressing social harmony, Chinnappan said the Union will engage other faiths to work for fraternity, noting that “Christian witness” must be visible “in the way Catholics respond to society and not only inside their churches”.
He described the union as “a possible bridge between the hierarchy and a laity that lives its faith in workplaces, neighbourhoods, institutions and professions”.
The organization aims “to listen to the bishops, the dioceses and the lay faithful, and to turn that listening into constructive action,” he said. Achieving this mission will require active cooperation among clergy, religious, and lay leaders, he added.
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