Dear Menachery Master,

I am now in US in Chicago. I came here for a research project (Notre Dame University) and wi !e !ac" on March #$th. %he research is on the reception of &at. II in partic' ar dioceses. I have ta"en %rich'r and am hoping to st'dy the fo owing. Co' d yo' p . go thro'gh and send yo'r comments. I wo' d !e very o! iged if yo' co' d send !efore March #$th.

many thanks fr paul pulikkan Reaching out to the society in the light of Gaudium et spes in the diocese of Thrissur (Trichur) We study the Churchs dialogue with the world, in the diocese of Thrissur, in the light of Gaudium et spes. Bishop Joseph Kundukulam !"#$%!""#&, popularly known as the 'ather of the (oor led the people of God here to a creati)e dialogue, li)ed out in a multi religious society. *iscerning the signs of the times, the +ishop led the Church to an acti)e ministry for the marginali,ed of the society. Thus, we can see in this period the opening of se)eral institutions and mo)ements for the homeless, for the terminally ill, for the mentally and physically challenged, for the poor students, for the unorgani,ed la+ourers etc. The +ishop himself started a religious congregation Nirmala Dasikal& who would +ecome a key instrument in this apostolic work. -n the +ackground of this li)ed e.perience of a serving church, two more factors also could +e e.amined in our study. !. The laity got a new awareness of their role in the Church. The (astoral Council was already inaugurated in the diocese on /arch 01, !"23, and the Institue for Lay Leadership Training !"2#& which was the model for the (astoral 4rientation Centre of the KCBC and praised as the first such enterprise +y the 5ational 6eminar Church in -ndia Today !"2"& which latter itself was the most powerful agency to take the message of 7at -to the Church in -ndia&, and the Catholic 8nion of Trichur was started in !"#0, as a felt need following the struggle to maintain the freedom of /inority -nstitutions led +y Bishop Kundukulam which would herald the launching of many lay mo)ements in the church in Kerala in the #$s. The Lay Institute of Theology was started in Thrissur in !"#9. -n this period, there were a num+er of seminars on 7at.--s )ision of the laity and their role in the people of God. :n enlightened and empowered laity came forward in support of the Church, when the minority rights and religious li+erty were threatened +y some forces in Kerala and -ndia in the #$s. 0. 6ince in churchs social outreach, a key principle was the ideal of human dignity, a dialogue of life was possi+le with the followers of ;induism and -slam. Because of 5ostra :etate, a respectful attitude was kept towards other religions and their )alues, although there was no deeper study of these religions themsel)es. <eaders and followers of other religions approached the church in a +etter atmosphere. The church had =uite a credi+le face in the secular society, e)en thogh there were some ;indu fundamentalist challenges !"## 4.(. Tyagi Bill&.

The study of Councils reception show that the different socio political situations and challenges in interreligious dialogue in these times interact with the teachings of the Council. Time frame - would like that the time frame of study +e !"#$%!""2. -nstead of starting in !"1", we will start in !"#$. The li)ed history of the diocese is +etter studied when one in)estigates the whole tenure of +ishop Kundukulam. -n fact, many initiati)es e)en during his own administration take place after !"31 and to +reak off with !"31 could +e somewhat artificial. ;owe)er, if !"31 is to +e strictly adhered to as the cut off date, it is fine.