President appreciates Catholics prayer for elections

UCAN India

New Delhi, 10 April 2014: Indian President Pranab Mukherjee appreciated the Church’s prayers for the peaceful conduct of on going national elections when the officials of Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) called on him Saturday.

 

CBCI president Cardinal Baselios Cleemis, in his first meeting with president after being elected as the head of the national bishops’ conference, said that the Church in India is praying in a special way for the peaceful conduct of the elections.

Cardinal Baselios Cleemis also greeted the president saying the Church was happy "to have a seasoned and highly respected statesman as the President of our great nation."

 

 

Mukherjee appreciated the Church’s gesture and spoke at length about the services the Church is rendering to the people of India in various fields, especially in the field of Education and Health care sectors, a CBCI press release said.

 

The new CBCI office-bearers, elected early this year, were received in private audience at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Other officials included vice presidents Archbishops Andrews Thazhath and Filipe Neri Ferrao and secretary general Archbishop Albert D’Souza.

 

The president took note of the CBCI’s initiative to observe a day of prayer for the peaceful conduct of the elections and added that election to parliament is important, but also equally important is the smooth functioning of the Parliament.

 

Mukherjee recalled his long record of 43 years as a parliamentarian in different capacities and said that he felt sorry and dismayed when in recent times, the parliament was not allowed to function, which is a great threat to the democratic system of our country.

 

He expressed hope that the new members will ensure the smooth functioning of the parliament for the best interest of the nation and for the welfare of the people of India.