CCBI Marks 100th Executive Committee Meeting, Looks to Synodal Future

The Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI) marked a milestone on September 14 with its 100th Executive Committee Meeting, as Cardinal Filipe Neri Ferrão, president of the conference, called the occasion a time to give thanks for its journey and renew its vision for the future.

In his presidential address, Cardinal Filipe Neri recalled that the CCBI held its first Executive Committee Meeting on April 14, 1988, in Kottayam, Kerala, under the leadership of Archbishop Simon Pimenta. During the meeting, Archbishop Henry D’Souza of Calcutta was elected ad hoc convenor of the conference.

The CCBI held its first Plenary Assembly in Kottayam on April 22, 1988, marking the formal beginning of a new chapter for the Latin Catholic Church in India.

“From that humble beginning in 1988, we have travelled a long and eventful journey,” Cardinal Filipe Neri said, recalling the conference’s growth in its structures, pastoral vision and service to the Church in India.

He expressed gratitude to God for guiding the conference and paid tribute to former office-bearers and bishops who had served on the Executive Committee.

“This 100th meeting is not merely a celebration of a number. It is a moment of grace and a moment of responsibility,” he said.

A major focus of the meeting was the document “Charting a Synodal Pathway for Communion, Participation and Mission: Reimagining and Restructuring of the CCBI.”

Cardinal Filipe Neri said the proposal went beyond structural changes and sought to help the conference respond more effectively to changing realities in the Church and society.

The document calls for a review of the CCBI’s structures, stronger collaboration and a deeper commitment to a synodal way of being Church.

If approved, the document will serve as the Preparatory Document for the forthcoming CCBI Plenary Assembly, guiding reflection, consultation and discernment ahead of the assembly. It is later expected to become a Working Document to guide implementation of the assembly’s decisions and directions.

Cardinal Filipe Neri urged members to approach the process with “openness, humility and a genuine spirit of communion,” calling them to look beyond individual concerns and discern what is best for the Church as a whole.

The 100th Executive Committee Meeting thus marked both a milestone in the CCBI’s journey since 1988 and an important stage in its discernment about how the conference can strengthen communion, participation and mission in response to the changing pastoral realities of the Church in India.