Summary:
PANAJI: Archbishop of Bombay archdiocese and the president of the Federation of Asian Bishop's Conferences Cardinal Oswald Gracias has been re-elected as head of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CBCI), the association of Catholic bishops in India , following the unanimous decision of over 130 bishops attending the 29th plenary of Latin rite bishops in Bhopal.Gracias, who traces his roots to Orlim, in South Goa, has been elected for another term of two years.Former vice-president Archbishop of Goa and Daman Filipe Neri Ferrao and former secretary general Bishop Varghese Chakkalakal of Calicut were replaced, since they had already completed three consecutive terms and were not eligible to be elected for a fourth term.The new CBCI vice-president is Archbishop Anil Joseph Thomas Couto of Delhi, also a Goan hailing from Pomburpa in North Goa, and the new CBCI secretary general is Archbishop George Antonysamy of the Madras-Mylapore archdiocese.The newly-elected office bearers were installed at a ceremony moderated by Archbishop Abraham Viruthakulangara of Nagpur.CBCI, was formally constituted in 1944 at the Conference of Metropolitans that was held in Madras..