Christ to Make Us More Human

Light of Truth

Bp George Kalayil, Puthur

What is your motto of episcopate?
To love more, to serve more.

Why have you chosen that?
This is a new responsibility and mission given to me.As a priest of Jesus Christ I have already been initiated into it and it also reflects the responsibility as more as to come. Jesus asked St. Peter “do you love more than others”.As a shepherd of the diocese I have to be in line with that simple teaching and demand of our Lord.

Do you think perhaps the only commandment we are bound to follow all throughout life is the commandment of love?
Love is the way or nature of God. He cannot but be love and also that love is to be exhibited through service. The commandment to love encompasses the love of neighbour.You cannot love God without loving the visible reality that is nature, society, our own people and everybody. It includes everything.

That means you can never love God except through human beings?
Yeah.

We are going to celebrate the beatification as theblessed sister Rani Maria. In the traditional sense I do not know she was a very pious devote woman but she was a person committed to the cause of human beings. Do you think that is a new definition of being a saint?
Surely,because, the very root and sensible explanation of sainthood make us more human. That is why He has incarnated. He took human form in all its real features.

There is a famous saying of Irenaeus “Glory of God is man fully alive.” In Indian context do you think that humanism, the dignity and respect for human is in very much demand? Is it true that a culture of hate is emerging somewhere else?
The very fact that whenever and wherever man becomes selfish he cannot come out and go to the other.The moment he expands his heart, extends his boundaries that means he goes. The very purpose of Jesus being human is to make us alive and also to make us divine.

Can you give some details about your diocese?
We have around 3000 people. This is the part of the diocese of Batheri and 99% of the people are migrant Malayalees and majority of them are born and brought up in the region of Karnataka.

How many priests do you have?
We have 18 diocesan priests and 8 religious priests.

What about the nuns?
Religious sisters from four congregations are working in the diocese.

You are going to be a new bishop to that new diocese. What is the orientation that you wish to give in the pastoral care of the people?
As far as I am concerned this call to be a bishop is an invitation to deepen my faith, hope and charity. That gives the basics of our Christian life. My intention is to be more pastoral. We have a number of pious associations in the parishes and it is not a mere association of people coming together. Instead it is based on faith, hope and charity. These faith, hope and charity though theologically we say come to human being during the initiation ceremony that real fact has to be very much made alive in our daily life.

What about your parents?
They are no more.

How many are your brothers and sisters?
We are altogether seven, three brothers and four sisters and I am the fourth one.

You are a man completely born and brought up in that diocese, outside Kerala. What is the real issue at stake for the Church that you are entrusted with?
I am born and brought up here and that gives me many advantages. I am familiar with two local languages here, Kannada and Tulu. Apart from that the people around here are familiar to me in many ways.Apart from remaining isolated as a Christian community my wish is that as far as possible taking into account their confidence to preach Jesus. There remains four mission stations and although there exists tensions and other hurdles somehow we have to do our social activities which in a way can bring people closer to us. I think we can make a concerted effort to make a very lovable society.

You are going to be also part of the CBCI and leadership of the Catholic community in India. We are facing very difficult times when there is lot of fundamentalism rising from Hindu fold as well as Islamic fold. There is emergent fundamentalism all around us. How do we look at it and how do we live with it?
It is true that fundamentalism is part of a section of the people. That is not the reality of our mother country. In each religion there is fundamentalism. This conservative and fundamental people somehow can be minimized to certain extent through may be our suffering, our endurance and our way of communicating the good news of Jesus. Whenever and wherever there is a kind of emphatic denial of other realities, goodness in other religions and other society we cannot bring them closer. So, while remaining or adhering to the uniqueness of Jesus Christ we have to accept the goodness in other religions too. To certain extent we have to pray for them also to understand the great work God can do in this regard.
You are a Malankara community, a community which is reunited with the Catholic Church and there is a bigger community standing outside the Orthodox Church which is divided into two factions, Jacobite as well as Orthodox. In that situation when you look at the horizon what is the hope that you have with regard to Orthodox Church as well as Malankara tradition which is here in

Kerala as well as India?
The servant of God Mar Ivanios and his mission regarding the unity of the church had the total conviction that the Catholic Church is the true way of Christ. That does not mean that other communities are not valid. The apostolic foundation has to be accepted. Second is as Jesus has incarnated and though He was God, He took Himself human form.He has shown how a human being can be reformed accepting the truth. As far as we are confined to our petty interests, selfish ideals and goals we cannot come to a larger or wider path of the truth. As far as the Jacobite and Orthodox Churches are concerned, I believe, although they have apostolic foundation and all other characteristics, the difficulty is they have vested interests. When vested interests are there we somehow confine to a business mentality. There we calculate and there comes plus and minus. As far as I am not ready to lose or compromise with certain things for a greater good or greater value I confine myself to the smaller things and interests. I think if they understand this we can have a better and wider common life. We have a role to play.

Syro Malankara Church is ritually and historically related to the Orthodox which have two factions now the Orthodox and the Jacobite. You are a people who have two ways of uniting through reunion and ecumenical movement. Do you ever hope of a great ecumenical unity looming ahead in the future in the horizon?
I am hopeful because remaining isolated is very difficult and in the multiple context of India and also in our locality it is always better to be more united. Sometimes we may not be able to be in a single unit but there are areas where we can stand together, there are places of concerted efforts of making the presence of each other better among the Non-Christians. Ecumenical and reunion dimensions are alive in our relation with these Churches.

There are two factions in the Orthodox Church now and the Jacobite faction is in a very precarious situation after the Supreme Court judgment. You know that the Jacobite faction may lose their churches but they may have people with them.What will happen to these two Churches?
Unless they stop fighting each other they cannot be named their Church as the body of Christ. It is being very much wounded with its internal disputes. I think when they remain just on the realm of business that creates all the problems. If we can go much higher to the realm of God and imbibe the reality of God in our liturgy and in our social relationship, then there is a way out.

Neither of the Catholic individual Churches could do anything with regard to their dispute nor was even the State practically capable. This rankle, fight and debate is going on for years. Do you think this will subside?
The difficulty or the shortcoming from our part was due to their lack of readiness to accept mediation. In case of mediation someone has to come down and adjustments and compromises have to be made. In such a situation they can’t remain to their selfish interests.

There are so many educated bishops on both sides. There are very intelligent people who know refined ways of doing things. But on this issue nobody is capable of resolving it and coming to a mutual agreed situation either to separate or to unite?
I feel that they isolate their issues to the secular realm. When they approach any issues from a secular standpoint the calculations come in and they are afraid of losing. They calculate plus and minus. They are happy with the plus but not with the minus. Somebody should be ready to sacrifice for a better cause.

You are saying that somebody should be willing to fail or to lose?
Yeah, that losing should be the point of gaining. That is the vision of the servant of God Mar Ivanios.

You are a man of prayer and you lead everybody into prayer. What is prayer for you?
As far as I am concerned all our liturgical prayers must widen our hearts. God Almighty is everywhere and so we cannot confine Him to a particular place.Prayer should not be restricted only to certain petitions. True prayer means enlarging our heart. God is great and our heart must become greater, bigger and larger. Thereby we can include many things, many people and many varieties and I feel that must come into our life. Prayer means an extended heart. Prayer is a relation with God. Relation, if at all has to be an experience, has to be in the heart. So, unless we extend our hearts we cannot include many things.

Do you think that hospitality is fundamental to our Christian life, opening our heart and accepting other?
It is very much part and parcel of mother country India “atithi devo bhava”.Human is not an isolated entity. One is always connected and in a social network all varieties contribute and compliment each other.

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