India’s bishops elect first Dalit president, demand end to conversion laws

Cardinal Anthony Poola has been elected president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI), becoming the first Dalit — a member of India’s historically marginalized “untouchable” castes — to lead the nation’s bishops.The election took place during the CBCI’s General Body Meeting, held Feb. 4–10 at St. John’s National Academy of Health Sciences in Bangalore, according to a Feb. 10 press release from the bishops’ conference.In a statement issued at the conclusion of the meeting, the bishops called for…