His Holiness Moran Mor Baselios Marthoma Paulose II turned hardships into opportunities. The Catholicos of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church remained rooted even when he helmed one of the major churches in India.
Coming from a modest farming family near Kunnamkulam, he never let the high office cloud his views.
Within a short span of being anointed as the Catholicos, he implemented a clutch of programmes to help people in need. One of the church's major achievements was the Parumala Cancer Centre, which was set up at a cost of more than Rs 100 crore. He also launched a free cancer treatment programme for the poor.
The noble endeavour impressed playback singer K S Chitra so much that she gifted her gold ring to inaugurate the fund. Chitra and her husband Vijaya Shankar stood by the Catholicos in the fund-raiser. Chitra offered to perform for free at a fund-raising event in Kottayam.
The Catholicos stood for women's rights and empowerment. His administrative reforms allowed women to vote along with men in the major parishes and emerged as a decisive factor in matters of the church.
The church under the leadership of the catholicos introduced special projects under its human empowerment division to lead families and youngsters on the right path.
The human empowerment programme rolled out several programmes against the use of alcohol and substance abuse. He highlighted the perils of excessive use of the internet by exhorting the flock to observe 'cyber fasting' on Good Fridays.
