The announcement by Pope Francis that 21 churchmen, including two from India, will be elevated to the rank of cardinal in a ceremony at the Vatican this summer, was hailed by the community in the country.
To add to the joy, India will also get its first dalit cardinal with the elevation of Rev Anthony Poola, the Archbishop of Hyderabad. The other name announced by the Pope is of Filipe Neri Antonio Sebastao di Rosario Ferrao, Archbishop of Goa and Daman.
Rev Anthony Poola was born in 1961 and was ordained a priest on February 20, 1992. He was installed as the Archbishop of Hyderabad on January 3, 2021.
The late Rev John Molagada was the first dalit Bishop in India. He was appointed the Bishop of Eluru Diocese on May 5, 1977.
Senior journalist Camil Parkhe said the announcement is a great honour for the Indian Christian community and is also an acknowledgement of the presence of a significant number of Church institutions in this country as well as the role the Indian Church has to play in the Universal Catholic Church.
"This will be the first cardinal from Goa, which has a history of 450 years of Christianity, and may the first from Hyderabad (in Telangana) as well. The number of cardinals in the Catholic Church should be increased in proportion to the community's population in a country. This will facilitate election of an Indian as Pope in the future," Parkhe said.
The Pope already had Cardinal Oswald Gracias as one of his advisers and the appointment of two more cardinals from India in the College of Cardinals will be welcomed by the faithful in the country, Parkhe said.
Pope John Paul II, during his visit to India in 1999, had said the 21st century belongs to Asia, meaning the Church will have a greater role to play in the future, Parkhe said.
As per the Papal announcement, among the churchmen set to receive the prestigious red hat will be two prelates from India and one each from Mongolia, Ghana, Nigeria, Singapore, East Timor, Paraguay, and Brazil.
Other new cardinals hail from France and from San Diego, California, while three are prelates who currently hold top positions at the Vatican.
The Pope said he will conduct the consistory, as the ceremony to elevate churchmen to cardinal's rank is known, on August 27.
