8th CCMSI National Conference of JPIC in India

The eighth annual meeting of the National JPIC Commission of CCMSI (India) was held at our Mary Matha Capuchin Provincial Curia, Vijayawada (Andhra Pradesh-Orissa Province), December 13-16, 2024. The national conference was organized by the CCMSI national animation team under the leadership of Br. A. Kuzhanthai. Twenty-eight friars from 12 Provinces and Custodies were present. After the Eucharistic celebration, the inaugural session of the meeting was introduced with a biblical text, lighting of the lamp and reading of the preamble of the Constitution of the Union of India. Br. Scaria Kalloor, director of the General Curia's JPIC Office, read the General Minister’s message addressed to the participants.

Bro. George Antony Assaricheril, Vice President of CCMSI, then opened the three-day event and acknowledged the work done by the national JPIC team. In addition, Br. Mariadas Prathipati, provincial minister of the hosting Mary Matha Province, thanked the organizers and participants and extended words of welcome.

After the opening session, Dr. Murali Nalsar and Dr. John Peter gave two lectures on India’s new legal system and its implications for Indian citizens. The second day was devoted to the presentation of creative JPIC initiatives in the circumscriptions. It was very inspiring to observe the variety of ways in which our brothers are involved in promoting JPIC. It was a time of mutual enrichment.

The meeting was an opportunity for reflection and planning activities during the year 2025, where the celebration of the eight hundredth anniversary of the composition of the Canticle of the Creatures was taken as a reference point. Some decisions for the year 2025 at the level of the CCMSI Conference are: 1) to organize programs that promote greater ecological consciousness, starting with an ecological spirituality, keeping climate change in mind; 2) to commemorate JPIC Day, Environment Day, and Constitutional Day (an initiative in India to ensure the permanence of the Indian Constitution, particularly to protect freedom of religious expression); and 3) to share projects and expertise; in this regard, the decision was made to establish a JPIC office to coordinate the execution of projects.

The need to integrate JPIC values into the formation curriculum and the study of the Indian Constitution were strongly promoted by the meeting. In addition, creative involvement in interreligious dialogue, celebration of other days (Peace Day, Stan Swamy Day--Jesuit priest who died in prison because of his commitment to social justice--JPIC Day, Constitutional Day), good waste collection/cleaning, and networking with NGOs are also to be encouraged. The general feeling is that the annual meeting helps a lot to improve JPIC awareness among the brothers in India.

The next meeting of the CCMSI National JPIC Commission will be in St. Bonaventure Province, Mumbai, Maharashtra, November 17-20, 2025.