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What the nun in the Bishop Franco Mulakkal case faced follows the same pattern as what happened to the more well-known public figures in the MeToo movement.In many cases, the all-powerful male professional network kicked in months after the allegations are made, and the women who were courageous enough to speak up lost jobs and assignments.It has now reached a stage where the survivors who complain against the powerful are vilified and the accused are ironically projected as victims.The Mulakkal case, which was reported on in great — and often salacious detail — in the mainstream media a year ago, has practically disappeared from view today. Some buzz was expected on November 11, the day when the bishop was to go on trial; the case has now been adjourned to November 30.Media attention given to the case remained limited in the recent past, since there were other “pressing” political issues taking place at the same time. The #MeToo movement, which has gradually lost steam, features low on the priority list.In a sense, the case of the bishop and the nun actually epitomizes both the #MeToo movement and its backlash. Many of the journalists, actors and other women who steered this movement with so much hope and courage last year were well-known public figures. But the nun who complained against the bishop was not. She was anonymous and continues to be so, even today. Yet what she has faced follows the same pattern as what happened to the more well-known
No words to express duly the guileless surprise l was put into on reading the article “The Helpless Nuns of God’s Own Country” by Valsan Thampu, the noble and highly reputed former Principal of St Stephen’s College, Delhi. From my long experience and life long study, I am fully convinced that the Catholic Church and its patronizing systems like priestly and religious life are well ordered and strictly disciplined. l request the author to verify the truth of the fact by interviewing as many priests and nuns and thus correct his misconceptions regarding this matter. May such unfortunate individual incidents lead not to erroneous conclusions and misleading judgements.Fr George Vithayathil St Francis Assisi Church, Athani-683 585
Jolly Joseph is a member of the Kerala-based Syro-Malabar Church who was recently arrested for killing her husband and five other members of his family over a period of 14 years.The disclosure of the killings through cyanide poisoning has shocked the Kerala society with many struggling to understand what prompted a village housewife to become so diabolic.Jolly whole-heartedly participated in the activities, programs, festivals, and celebrations in her parish. There are reports that Jolly was a catechism teacher, a member of the women’s group in the Church, and a leader of the ward prayer group.She was regular in spiritual retreats, reciting the rosaries, and listening to sermons and homilies given by well-known preachers. Jolly never missed her Sunday Eucharistic celebrations. She projected the persona of an ideal Catholic, who was much admired and envied by her neighbours and fellow Catholics.Then, why did Jolly kill her husband, his parents and three others in the family? Was there something seriously wrong with her in internalizing the religious doctrines? The teachings of scores of priests, preachers, and bishops fell futile. Was there something really wrong with the role model of the male-dominated hierarchy of the Syro-Malabar Church?The Church in most countries in Europe has vanished. Even in Italy, Spain, Portugal, its influence is waning fast. The existential philosophy of Camus, Sartre, Kafka, Nietzsche, and the post-modern literature in Spanis
The editorial with the caption “Prayer the first occupation” in Light of Truth the August 16-31 has beautifully explained prayer as a mode of speech, a dialogue and a way of talking closely.“Prayer is so often just words unspoken Whispered in tears by a heart that is broken For God is already deeply aware Of the burden we find too heavy to bear And all we need to do is to seek Him in prayer And without a word He will help us to bear.” Helen Rice.Prayer is first and foremost an acceptance of our lowliness before God. It is the acceptance that He is the all powerful and loving creator and we are His magnificent creation. Only if we accept these facts, we can think of communicating and conversing with God. Prayer is a way to align ourselves with God’s will and find peace in our lives. A habit of daily prayer brings a family together regularly to share their lives and the way God works. When we set apart a time for daily prayer, we make family and faith a priority. One of the greatest opportunities the parents possess is the opportunity to weave a prayer into the fabric of family life. But this is very often overlooked by the Catholic parents. I remember my younger days, when every evening , the sound of prayers from the families was rising like the incense from the thurible and even audible to passers-by. I am afraid this Christian culture, the family prayer has almost vanished by the appearance of modern communication gadgets. The result is the
Let me first relate an anecdote to help you decide if Christian Missionaries pose a conversion threat in today’s India.I spend some five months a year in the countryside in Raigad, Maharashtra, overseeing my plantations where I also own a bungalow.A year ago, my cook-cum-caretaker told me that he’d absent the next day because he had a severe toothache and he needed to have a tooth pulled out. To me it sounded like a guy cutting off his head to cure his headache.So, I told him, “Hang on, before a plumber with a plier pulls out your tooth, let me take you to the Convent Hospital.”Next morning at 8:30, we reached the hospital, and I saw its dental section spotlessly clean. A woman dentist, who was on duty, quickly attended to the cook, asked him to return every day for three days, and he got OK.My total expense: 50 rupees for an admission card plus the cost of some medicines the doctor prescribed.The Raigad hospital was set up by a trust managed by the Catholic Sisters, and it’s the first and only destination for anybody who falls ill there. Most of its doctors are Christians, but the Maharashtrian patients are all Hindus. Maharashtra has ten Christians for one thousand Hindus, according to India’s last population census in 2011.But go anywhere in India and it is Christians who run the best schools, the best colleges, the best charity hospitals, the best orphanages, the best old-age homes, the best homes for destitute, the best homes for l