Anthony Pola, an Indian cardinal, “untouchable”, and poor

“Dalits do not need a cardinal, but the church needs a cardinal dalit,” wrote Indian theologian Felix Wilfried, who died last January. A vow has for three years in the person of Anthony Pola. Born in 1961 in Poluru, the city of the state of Andhra Pradesh, Anthony Pola comes from the Dalit community, formerly called the “untouchables”, the lowest level of the Indian social classification.

Lack of financial means, the young man must stop school at the start of the college. He spent a year investing in charitable works. It was the missionaries who ultimately allow him to continue his studies in Kurnool, where he made himself “barefoot” according to the Indian media Theprint.

In 1992, he was ordained a priest, after six years spent at the Bangalore seminar. Sixteen years later, Benoît XVI appointed him bishop of Kurnool. Under his mandate, eleven new parishes are created and a parish bulletin launched. Borrowing from Marian devotion and a large music lover, he also composed many religious songs in Meslougou, the official language of his region.

For the dalits, a strong sign

In 2022, his appointment was perceived as a significant encouragement for Catholics Dalits, which represent an important part of the Indian Catholic community. The caste system was abolished by the Indian Constitution in 1950, and the Indian government has been carrying out an integration policy favorable to the dalits. A certain feeling of discrimination persists however – thorny subject in the country, until the Indian Catholic Church, as the situation varies according to the dioceses. Nevertheless, a Dalit which embraces Christianity loses the advantages granted by the State: scholarships, ease of admission to university, positive discrimination … To Vatican News which questioned him about his social origin, Anthony Poola confided: “François tends his hand to the outskirts, he sends the message of a” poor church for the poor “(…) I think he is waiting for me that marginal, and perhaps also dalits. »»

Each diocese of India, or almost, also has a special commission devoted to the faithful dalits. Anthony Pola said he was also particularly committed to the education of children, and for the rights of the poor.

Recognition of the role of the Indian Church

For Father Lucien Legrand, priest of foreign missions in Paris in India and former Professor of Anthony Poola in the seminar, his elevation at the rank of cardinal does not only benefit the dalits: “If he was chosen, it was because he was a bishop and a value arch, not just a Dalit. In addition, it is a recognition of the importance of the Church of India in the panorama of the Universal Church. »»

In fact, if Christians, and among them Catholics, are in the minority in India (around 30 million Christians, including 18 million Catholics, for 1.4 billion inhabitants), some 8,600 Indian Catholic priests and religious work as missionaries in more than 160 countries around the world. In total, four Indian cardinals will participate in the election of the next Pope.

An heir to François

“Cardinal of the peripheries”, Anthony Pola is also a fervent defender of Laudato if ‘ And the synod on synodality, which he encouraged in his diocese, organizing various conferences and meetings on the subject. Promoter of an inclusive church, he supports support for transgender people via a program of the HASSS association (Hyderabad Archdiocese Social Service Society).

Certainly little known in the West – the media looked into his case at the time of his appointment only – Anthony Pola is however far from anonymous for the billion and a half of citizens of his country.