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Bishop George Pallipparambil of the Diocese of Miao, India, celebrated 5:30 p.m. Mass at St. Cecilia Church in San Francisco Nov. 12 as a guest of pastor Father Rene Ramoso. After Mass a line of couples stretched from the sanctuary to the entrance, all waiting for a hands-on personal blessing. (Photos courtesy Dennis Callahan)
December 2, 2019
Ed Condon
Catholic News Agency
An approach to evangelization respecting the dignity of all and with no formal plan for “Christianizing” a tribal people has spurred the growth of the Diocese of Miao, India, from 900 to 90,000 baptized in 40 years, said Bishop George Pallipparambil.
The church led by example and witness, not by insistence, said the bishop, a frequent visitor to the Archdiocese of San Francisco.
“Our primary goal was to help them, whatever was needed – education, medicine, whatever,” said the bishop, who also has opened 40 schools in the region in 30 years. “These were the works that we did, but they understood. They saw we were there, living with them, staying with them, they saw the witness. Accepting the Gospel was a fruit of our work of love, freely given.”
He called the results “an actual, direct intervention of the Holy Spirit in their lives, it’s not us.”
He said an atmosphere of a tolerance exists in the Miao region, in contrast to religious tensions affecting much of the country.
“The reason for this is that among the tribal communities there is equality,” he said. “The caste system is not there, and for this reason they see the dignity in the Gospel but have rejected Hinduism.”
He said the change has brought advancement and dignity to women in a region where polygamy, child brides and selling daughters into marriage were normal.
“We did not fight that directly, or insist on telling them it is wrong,” the bishop said. “Instead, we started educating these younger girls, organizing training courses for them, teaching literacy and trade skills to young women who really blossomed.”
He said priests have to be more flexible in order to reach out to many more in the flock with fewer numbers.
“We grow by interaction,” he said. “We can all of us spend our lives locked in libraries or on websites reading everything, becoming an expert – a giant – but on our own. Will I not become much more useful to God if I know half of it, but live my whole life sharing it with others?”
This article was first published Nov. 7, 2018.
