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Dalit Catholic
Church
Our Lady of
Dalits |
Dalit Catholic Church Diocese of Tamil Nadu Working For Betterment of Dalits |
A Pastoral Letter from the Patriarch of
Welcome to our website!
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Dalit Pope
Iruthayaraj Thusnevish |
I invite you to look over these pages in order to get to know us. My desire is that my reflections will help you to become familiar with our values and sense of our spirituality as we strive to build the Reign of God and serve the People of God. As a diocese, we seek to be compassionate, respectful, inclusive, and progressive. We seek to maintain a strong sense of mutuality and collaboration. We do not strive for uniformity, but rather, for unity in our diversity and diversity in our unity. We seek to listen to all the voices in our diocese whether progressive, moderate, or conservative. We are a discipleship of equals with each person, whether lay or clerical, bringing their own charismas, gifts, and talents to the Table of the Lord. Our desire is to be companions as we journey to minister together. Our diocese is self-governing. We have valid orders and the authentic
lineage of apostolic succession. We are not independent from the Roman Catholic Church, the |
ecclesial bodies. Rather, the Dalit Catholic Church is
inter-dependent with these churches. There is room and respect for both the
traditions of the past and the life of today and we try to blend the two.
Rather than an exclusive focus on regulations, canon laws, rules, and
traditions, our diocese focuses on spirituality and pastoral service among the
People of God.
Our goal is to stress that each clergy person is free to choose the ministry
which best suits him or her. All persons of our diocese have the right, the
support, and the encouragement to serve God in the manner they feel called to.
We live in various settings, each different from the others. We have single,
celibate, married and partnered clergy. Each clergy person chooses an
appropriate living situation in accordance with the ministry and gifts graced
to him or her by God's spirit.
Contemporary Catholic ministry is changing and many new forms are emerging from
the foundation and traditions of the past. Our vision and hope for the Dalit
Catholic Church and the Diocese of Tamil Nadu is to focus on prayer, community,
spirituality, ministry and mission. We believe that the flexibility and small
size of our diocese enables each clergy person to find the right mixture of
supports to minister in an effective way. We strive to be a viable model for
ministry. As the Christian faith tradition enters into the third millennium, we
firmly believe that God has called us to be a prophetic witness for this
century and beyond.
My hope is that you now have a sense of our core values, spirituality, and will
consider exploring the rest of our website