A pastoral letter from Soosa Pakiam M. who has stepped down as the archbishop of the Latin Archdiocese of Thiruvananthapuram, urging the faithful to extend wholehearted support to his successor Thomas J. Netto, was read out in churches on Sunday.
A model community can be developed if every member were to carry out the small and big responsibilities given to them. But the community will scatter if they choose to criticise the ‘shepherd’ at every turn, the letter said.
2.5 lakh members
The speech made by Soosa Pakiam on February 2, announcing the appointment of his successor by the Vatican, formed the contents of the pastoral letter, archdiocese sources said.
The archdiocese has 163 diocesan priests, over a 100 religious priests, around 700 nuns, and 2.5 lakh community members.
Expresses joy
The pastoral letter also expressed joy that the Vatican selected a senior priest from the archdiocese as successor to Soosa Pakiam, who had taken over as the first metropolitan archbishop of Thiruvananthapuram in 2004. Usually, bishops are promoted and appointed to archdioceses as archbishops.
