The Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI), the apex body of the Catholic church in the country, will begin an eight-day plenary assembly here from tomorrow.
The CBCI holds the Plenary Assembly once in two years to discuss various aspects of life of the Church in India, especially the challenges faced by it.
The Assembly will also evolve a common action to revitalise the Church and to render it more effective in its service to members and to the society at large, according to CBCI.
180 Bishops from all the Dioceses of India would deliberate on the principal theme of the plenary 'The Response of the Church in India to the Present Day Challenges', CBCI said in a statement here.
They will be assisted by a group of 20 priests, who are responsible for various offices and centres of the CBCI, an expert team of the religious and a panel of resource persons from the laity and from other religions, it said.
The deliberations will also include the assessment of reports by various offices and national centres. The plenary assembly will also interact with Conference of Religious India (CRI) and Catholic Council of India (CCI), it said.
The 32nd CBCI plenary is expected to issue a Final Statement, a call to all the members of the Church in India, containing the main thrust of the deliberations and a way forward for the future course of action.
The Final Statement, which will eventually take the form of a Pastoral Letter, will be taken for deeper study by the members of the Church at different strata, it added.
