News and pics: Jessie Rodrigues
Daijiworld Media Network – Bangalore (SP)

Bangalore, Feb 20: It was a great day in the history of the church when Archbishop Bernard Moras of Bangalore, who is also the president of the Karnataka Region Catholic Bishops’ council (KRCBC), in the presence of Catholic bishops of Karnataka, the College of Consulters and the Deans of the Archdiocese and the representatives of priests, religious and lay people, released the ‘Pastoral Handbook’ for the priests of the Archdiocese, at Archbishop’s House, Millers Road here.

The handbook gives pastoral guidelines to the priests, religious and the faithful. By promulgating these guidelines, the Archbishop has ensured that no absurd or irrelevant procedures flow into Ecclesiastical discipline, especially concerning the ministry of the Word, the celebration of the Sacraments and the Sacramentals, the liturgical services etc. While taking into account the rights, lawful customs and circumstances, the needed directives are given to regulate the administration of such Ecclesiastical goods for the Archdiocese at all times, within the limits of the universal church law. The Pastoral Handbook is the fruit of hard work put in by a committee which worked for nearly two years to make it happen. The directives promulgated in this book will come into effect from April 1, 2009. This book is available for the public as well.

At this juncture, Archbishop Bernard Moras also had the pleasure of releasing the revised Catholic edition of the Kannada Bible. This Kannada Bible is the translation done by the Catholic and the Protestant Biblical scholars and published jointly by the KRCBS and the United Bible Societies of India. This year, the Catholic dioceses of Karnataka are celebrating the Year of the Word of God by helping people to have deeper insight into the bible and also by motivating them to apply its principles into their own lives.
 
Msgr Amrutraj delivered the welcome address. The programme concluded after y Chancellor Fr Michael Antony proposed vote of thanks. There was an interactive session as well, wherein the participants could clear their doubts. Many media people were a part of the programme.