Migrant

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Chairman
Most Rev. Victor Henry Thakur
Archbishop of Raipur
Archbishop’s House
Byron Bazar, Raipur – 492 001
Chhattisgarh, India

Phone: +91-771-4052429, +91-8109147288
Email: kbnivas@gmail.com

Executive Secretary 

Adv. Fr. Jaison Vadassery
CCBI Commission for Migrants
M-37 A Ground Floor
M Block, Rajouri Garden
New Delhi-110027

Tel: +91-8368287438; 9871899869
Email: migrantsccbi@gmail.com

Member


Most Rev. Elias Gonsalves
Archbishop of Nagpur
Archbishop’s House
Mohan Nagar, Nagpur – 440 001
Maharashtra

Phone: +91-712-2533239; 0712-2560780
Email: nagpurarchdiocese@gmail.com

Member
Most Rev. Albert Hemrom
Bishop of Dibrugarh
Bishop’s House, P.O. Box 50,
Dibrugarh – 786 001, Assam, India.

Phone: 0373-2324436/8638124922
Email: bpalberthemrom@gmail.com

Migrant Commission

Pastoral care of migrant families were one of the major concerns of the CCBI after the implementation of the Pastoral Plan in 2013. The 74th Executive Committee meeting of the CCBI held at Delhi and the 75th Executive Committee meeting held at Bangalore decided to have Migrant Commission for the CCBI. The members of the 29th Plenary Assembly held from 31st January to 8th February 2017, Bhopal voted for the Migrant Commission.

The Migrant Commission of the CCBI was established on 2nd May, 2017 and the members of the 77 Executive Committee of the CCBI held at Bangalore elected Archbishop Victory Henry Thakur as the ad hoc Chairman.

Thus the Migrant Commission of the CCBI was established on 2nd May, 2017 and the 31st Plenary Assembly of the CCBI held at Chennai in 2019 elected Archbishop Victor Henry Thakur, Archbishop of Raipur as the Chairman and Most Rev. Elias Gonsalves, Archbishop of Nagpur and Most Rev. Soundararaju Periyanayagam, Bishop of Vellore as Member Bishops.

In the Executive Committee of the CCBI held in Bangalore in May 2019 Fr. Jaison Vadassery belonging to the Archdiocese of Verapoly and presently the secretary to CBCI Office for Labour as the first Executive Secretary. Till March 5th 2020 he has functioned as the executive secretary to CCBI Commission for Migrants and the secretary to CBCI Office for Labour. He is also the secretary to International Catholic Migration Commission, Rome.

On 16 March 2020 the first Secretariat of the CCBI Commission for  Migrants was blessed and inaugurated in a rented apartment at Rajouri Garden Mayapuri, Delhi by His Grace Most Rev. Dr. Anil Joseph Thomas Couto, the Secretary General of the CCBI and the Archbishop of Delhi.,

All people have the right to live a dignified life in their homeland. War, natural calamities, persecution and discrimination of every kind have deprived millions of their home, employment, family and homeland. Refugees from the neighboring countries as well as the migration within our nation due to poverty, communal and political violence is alarming and it needs urgent pastoral attention. People migrate within our country for better settlement, job, education etc., and it calls the Church India for a special ministry for the migrants and refugees.

In this context of alarming migration situation in the country the Conference of the Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI) has established this specific commission, commission for migrants with the following objectives,

    1. To provide pastoral care, support, help, guidance, counselling and assistance for all categories of refugees and migrants in India, like interstate and cross boarder migrants.
    2. To form animators, formators and trainers for the pastoral care of the migrants and refugees.
    3. To network with various types of government and non-governmental agencies for the betterment of the migrants and refugees in our country.
    4. To network with international agencies and Vatican dicasteries for a better migrant apostolate in India.
    5. To facilitate and promote job opportunities for migrants and monitor the minimum and just wages are implemented to all migrant workers.
    6. Provide and ensure better education and life situations for the migrant children.
    7. To organise awareness programmes about forced labour and human trafficking and to give assistance to the migrants who are the victims of forced labour and human trafficking.
    8. To establish and monitor regional and diocesan Migrant Commissions and provide necessary assistance to their programmes and ministries.
    9. To encourage and form the apostolate for the migrants and refugees in the provinces of all men and women religious congregations in India.
    10. To publish articles, books, booklets, either through electronic or hard copy to promote the ministry for migrants and refugees.
    11. To establish and develop research and training centres in India to promote the ministry for the migrants and refuges in India.
    12. To establish guidance and counseling centres to provide immediate assistance and help to migrants and refugees.
    13. To give animation and training to priests, religious, lay faithful to approach systematically for a migrant ministry in parishes and dioceses.
    14. To visit the regions and the dioceses to evaluate the allocation of the resources of the Church in terms of personnel and finance for the migrant apostolate.
    15. To promote and disseminate the teachings of the Church about migrant and refugee apostolates.
    16. To organize conferences, seminars, meetings, retreats, workshops and exposure camps on migrant ministry in the national level and regional level.
    17. To organize refresher courses and orientation programmes for the Regional Secretaries and the Diocesan Secretaries of the Migrant Commission.
    18. To mobilize local donors, sponsors and partners for the migrant mission.
    19. To design new methods, new courses, and new strategies for a better migrant ministry for the Church in India.
    20. To maintain a website, mobile App and other social media communication possibilities to facilitate and coordinate the migrant apostolate.
    21. To encourage to establish centers of rehabilitation and give training and empowering programmes for migrants and refugees.
    22. To encourage establishing hostels, boarding, shelters etc. for migrant workers and migrant students.

Former Chairmen
1. Most Rev. Victor Henry Thakur, Raipur: 2019-

Former Executive Secretaries
1. Adv. Fr. Jaison Vadassery; 2019-