“By Ram Rajya I do not mean Hindu Raj. I mean by Rama Rajya Divine Raj, Khudaki Basti or the Kingdom of God on Earth” Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi [1].At the heart of the visceral animosity that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Hindu Mahasabha (HMS) and all the affiliates have against Gandhi is his deep, reasoned and passionate commitment to a composite Indian nationhood. His writings in Young India and Harijan are well-documented as also is his subsequent clarity on the issue which is unequivocal.Faced with the growing appeal of communalists across the religious spectrum, in the early-mid 1900s, Gandhi remained firm in his commitment to equal citizenship based on human rights and dignity. His equally deep commitment to reform in a caste-ridden Hindu Order also led him to launch campaigns for the dignity and place of those deemed by a discriminatory caste hierarchy as “untouchables’ and in his way of assimilation name them ‘Harijan’ (‘Creation of God.’ While his approach to the caste system and its attendant discriminations, not least his compromises and strategy around the Vykom Satyagraha [3] has rightly irked those committed to a more radical approach to the caste question, the fact that Gandhi, among others made central to the issue of mass mobilization dignity for those hitherto treated by caste Hindu society as invisible and worse, was an equally weighty factor behind this animosity of the Sangh....Later, on January 27, 1935, Gandhi addre
Writing in 1966 in his Theological Highlights of Vatican II, Professor Joseph Ratzinger pointed out that even in matters liturgical, Vatican II wanted greater decentralization and plurality within the Church. In 1970, the German bishops’ Conference received a proposal from some theologians, including Walter Kasper, Karl Lehmann, Joseph Ratzinger, to ordain married men of good character to the priesthood.Years later Pope Benedict XVI imposed the new English translation of the Roman Missal on all English speaking parts of the Latin Church, even though Latinists, Scripture scholars, theologians and liturgists had questioned the quality of the translations. Now the retired Pope comes out with a book defending priestly celibacy.In an article on the new English translation of the Roman Missal, written in 2013, I said that Pope Benedict had forgotten what Professor Joseph Ratzinger wrote about liturgy. Now, in the context of the book on priestly celibacy, one international Catholic paper speaks of “Benedict’s estrangement from Ratzinger.” May the Lord save us.Subhash Anand, St Paul’s School, Bhupalpura
Dear Catholic Bishops of India,Greetings and good wishes to each one of you, as you gather together today (12 February 2020) for your 34th biennial plenary of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) at St John’s National Academy for Medical Sciences in Bengaluru. I am writing this letter (to each one of you) after much personal discernment and discussions with some, including those who have encouraged me to do so. It is not easy because I would like to be concise yet substantial; however, let me begin...Dear Bishops, millions of our sisters and brothers in our country are crying out for a more humane, just and equitable society; they are crying because divisive, discriminatory, draconian law and policies are threatening their very citizenship; they are crying because they are being targeted because of their faith; they are crying because they are poor and vulnerable; they are crying because they are Dalits and Adivasis, women and children, unemployed youth and beleaguered farmers; they are crying because they want to be listened to, to be in dialogue with, to be accompanied!Dear Bishops, so where do we stand as Church in India today? To put matters in perspective, some Bishops have come out in the open, joined protest rallies and have issued unequivocal strongly-worded statements asking for the repeal of the CAA and a stay on the NRC/NPR; several priests, religious and laity all over the country, have been responsible for organizing protests and/or ha
My vocation as a priest and studies in Rome for seven months remind me of what Saint Mother Teresa of Kolkata often said, “God has not called me to be successful; He called me to be faithful.”Being faithful in my day to day life gives me more satisfaction and joy. “We are pencils in the hands of God” as Saint Mother Teresa would say and many ways, God’s plan for our lives and the lives of the people that we love and serve, will be a mystery.As Henry Ford says, “Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young,” therefore learning is a life-long process.I reaffirmed this fact while learning Italian with other priests coming from Asia, Africa and America.Propaganda Fide (the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples) organized two and half months intensive language course in Urbino that helped me a lot. Gradually challenges and difficulties turned to be hope and joy when I could read, speak and understand Italian language and know the culture of Italy.For centuries Italy has been called the garden of Europe for its natural, historical and artistic beauties spread throughout its territory: Rome, Florence, Assisi, Venice, Siena, Pisa, and Naples which are among the best-known cities of the country’s art.To explore Italy and the history of Christianity, Propaganda Fide also organized tours to different important religious places like the city of Assisi, Loreto, Ravenna and Catacombs of
Writing in 1966 in his Theological Highlights of Vatican II, Professor Joseph Ratzinger pointed out that even in matters liturgical, Vatican II wanted greater decentralization and plurality within the Church. In 1970, the German bishops’ Conference received a proposal from some theologians, including Walter Kasper, Karl Lehmann, Joseph Ratzinger, to ordain married men of good character to the priesthood.Years later Pope Benedict XVI imposed the new English translation of the Roman Missal on all English speaking parts of the Latin Church, even though Latinists, Scripture scholars, theologians and liturgists had questioned the quality of the translations. Now the retired pope comes out with a book defending priestly celibacy.In an article on the new English translation of the Roman Missal, written in 2013, I said that Pope Benedict had forgotten what Professor Joseph Ratzinger wrote about liturgy. Now, in the context of the book on priestly celibacy, one international Catholic paper speaks of “Benedict’s estrangement from Ratzinger.” This is a very powerful indication that the institutional Church can domesticate a theologian; that organized religion can blunt the prophetical charism. May the Lord save us.Subhash Anand, Bhupalpura, Udaipur-313001