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National

Indian Catholics want Pope Francis to go beyond comments about abuse

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Weeks after Pope Francis’ open admission of the issue of clergy abuse of nuns, reaction to his remarks remains muted among Catholics in India, where a progressive group of religious had raised the problem three years ago.

They urge the Pope not to stop with identifying the problem but to act firmly against abusers, especially in India, where a bishop has been accused of rape by a former superior general of a diocesan congregation.

“Pope Francis gives some hope, but nothing is percolating down,” lamented Holy Spirit Sr Julie George, one of the 75 signatories of a “letter of concern” the Forum of Religious for Justice and Peace sent to all bishops and major superiors in India in February 2016.

The letter brought to light for the first time in India the prevalence of sexual violence against religious women by priests. It bemoaned that the problem went unaddressed, allowing its perpetrators to go unpunished. “This cannot be tolerated anymore,” asserted the forum, which said it was forced to write the letter as its analysis of current challenges to religious life revealed issues that needed urgent attention by church leaders.

However, the letter seems to have had little impact in the past three years. The forum and other groups such as Save Our Sisters Action Council allege that Indian church leaders have ignored the nun’s complaints against Bishop Franco Mulakkal of Jalandhar.

George, a lawyer, accuses the Indian bishops of ignoring the Pope’s call to show compassion to the victims of clergy abuse. “Instead, they side with the accused and even try to silence every voice of dissent against them,” she told Global Sisters Report.

The church leaders threaten those supporting the alleged rape victim with defamation suits and other tactics, George alleged, referring to a move by the Syro-Malabar Church mid-February to sue the officials of the Save Our Sisters Action Council who had organized a sit-in last September demanding Mulakkal’s arrest. Mulakkal has denied the accusations.

Fr Paul Thelakat, editor of Sathyadeepam (Light of Truth), a church weekly, agrees with the Pope that the recent scandals are God’s plan to cleanse the church.

“I am not afraid of this vulnerability bringing shame to our honour and respect. Look at the Bible. It tells stories of sin and salvation. Every scandal is converted to instance of God’s grace,” Thelakat told.

From The States

Parties urged to include Dalit reservation in manifesto

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A national rally in New Delhi on March 12 urged political parties to include in their election manifestos the reservation for Dalit Christians and Muslims.

“We have to see that our rights are rightly accepted. We should not lose our fight,” said Archbishop George Antony-samy of Madras Mylapore while address-ing the rally.

The National Council of Dalit Christians (NCDC) organized the rally with support from the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India and the National Council of Churches in India.

The rally started at 10 am from Janpath ended at Jantar Mantar, both close to the Indian parliament building.

Besides Archbishop Antonysamy, three bishops from Tamil Nadu joined the rally. Monsignor Susai Sebastian, vicar general of the Archdiocese of Delhi, and Danam, a retired civil service officer and NCDC president led the rally. Dhanam said the main purpose of the rally was to demand from the government Scheduled Caste status for Christians and Muslims of Dalit origin. These groups are as socially, economically, and politically weak as their counterparts in Hindu, Buddhist and Muslim religions. Yet they are discriminated on the basis of religion, Dhanam regretted..

The rally demanded deletion of paragraph 3 of the Constitution Scheduled Caste Order 1950 that made reservation on the basis of religion.

Dalit Christians and Muslims have appealed to national and regional political parties to include in their election manifesto a promise to grant the Scheduled Caste Status to them.

From The States

Idukki bishop asks priests stay away from the electioneering

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Bishop John Nellikunnel of Idukki has written to his priests explicitly telling them not to take any position favouring any political party or ideology. The Bishop’s March 9 circular to priests assumes importance as Kerala’s more than 18% Christian population has significant sway in certain key pockets of central Kerala.

The state is scheduled to go to poll on April 23. The Idukki bishop has cautioned his priests from engaging in election meetings and taking sides in political debates lest their actions harm the community. “We are called to be shepherds with the smell of the sheep. As spiritual leaders of our people, we should not take any position favouring any sides. Our people do not want us to be actively involved in electoral politics in the present context. Our people are intelligent enough to decide in elections,” Bishop Nellikunnel wrote.

He also reminded the priest their duty before God to become symbols of charity and unity.

“Therefore I appeal to all of you to abstain from election-related propagandas, statements and meetings. By our words and activities, we should not give any scandals to the faithful and to the public.”

From The States

Tamil Nadu bishops seek poll date change

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The Tamil Nadu Bishops’ Council has sought change in the poll date for the southern Indian state. The state’s 39 parliamentary and 18 assembly seats will go to poll on April 18, which coincides with Maundy Thursday, an important observance for Christians across denominations.

On March 11, Abp. Antony Pappusamy of Madurai and president of the council, requested the Election Commission of India (ECI) to change the polling date. The letter stated that polling date on Maundy Thursday would not be conducive for the Christians as it was in the middle of the Holy Week observance (April 14 to 21).

The archbishop said that Christians working as government school teachers and officials engaged in election duty will not be able to attend Mass on Maunday Thursday when Christians observe the commemoration of the final meal – Last Supper – that He had with His disciples a day before His crucifixion and death on the cross. The council cited another concern that many schools run by dioceses are located inside the campus of churches and many across the state are polling stations.

From The States

Toxic bootleg liquor destroys lives in India’s northeast

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When Sunil Kiro enjoyed some moonshine to unwind after a hard day’s work at a tea estate in India’s northeastern Assam State, he had no idea he would never be able to see again.

He was among an estimated 500 victims of a tragedy that swept the region on Feb. 20 when 160 people died and others were left per-manently blind, or with other serious health issues such as damaged kidneys or livers, as a result of locally brewed alcohol that proved toxic to their systems.

“Now I am surrounded by darkness. I have to identify people from their voice,” said the 38-year-old, who lives in Jorhat district under Dibrugarh Diocese. The deaths in Assam occurred few days back after 100 people died from drinking illegal liquor made with house-hold disinfectants and anti-freeze in two other Indian states.

There are about six million people working the tea gardens of Assam, making up 17% of the state’s 31 million population, according to Catholic leaders in the region.

From The States

French missionaries remembered on Tibetan National Uprising Day

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Two French missionaries were remembered at the 60th Tibetan National Uprising Day commemoration in Miao town in Arunachal Pradesh.

“Tibet and Christianity in Arunachal Pradesh have an age-old connection,” said Likro Mossang, women president of Miao Diocese in east Arunachal Pradesh.

“French missionaries Nicolas Krick and Augustine Bourry were killed on their way to Tibet in 1854. They sowed the first seeds of Christianity in Arunachal Pradesh 165 years ago before they were killed on August 2 the same year at the Tibet-Arunachal border region by a Mishmi Tribe chieftain.”

Tibetans all over the world gather together every year on March 10 to pay homage to the thousands of heroes who laid their lives, resisting brutal suppression of the Chinese Communist occupation forces in 1959.

“Although Fathers Krick and Bourry could not enter Tibet, my presence with you as a guest on the 60th Anniversary of the Tibetan National Uprising Day is like fulfilling their dream,” Mossang said addressing some 500 Tibetan women from the Miao Tibetan Settlement. With 500 families of more than 3,000 people Miao has the largest Tibetan settlement in north-eastern India.

International

Remember our faults when correcting others: Pope

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To be effective teachers of the faith, Catholics must be cognizant of their own sins and shortcomings when giving correction and guide to others, Pope Francis said on March 3.

“So many times, we all know, it is easier or more convenient to discern and condemn the defects and sins of others, without being able to see our own with just as much clarity,” the Pope said before the Angelus on 3rd March. People want to hide their own defects and even themselves, he said. “The temptation is to be indulgent with one’s self … and hard with others.”

This teaching is illustrated in Scripture, Francis said, when Jesus says: “how can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me remove that splinter in your eye,’ when you do not even notice the wooden beam in your own eye?’”

He explained that it is good to give counsel to a neighbour, but to do so while imagining one’s self to be faultless is wrong.

“If I believe I do not have [defects], I cannot condemn or correct others,” the Pope said. “We all have flaws: everyone.” To correct others with credibility, and “with humility, witnessing to charity,” requires looking inside one’s self and acknowledging personal sin and failure.

The line about the splinter and the beam, and others from the day’s Gospel, are short parables Jesus tells in order to teach His followers “not to be presumptuous and hypocritical,” Pope Francis said.

Further illustrating the point, Jesus asks His disciples: “Can a blind person guide a blind person?”

The Pope explained that “Jesus wants to point out to His disciples the way to go in order to live wisely. He wants to underline that a guide cannot be blind, but must see well, that is, he must possess wisdom, to guide wisely, otherwise he risks causing damage to people who rely on him.”

This is especially true, He continued, for those who have educational and leadership responsibilities, like priests, politicians, teachers, and parents. These people need the gift of wisdom in order to be good guides and to discern “the right path on which to lead people,” he said.

International

Anti-Catholic climate worsens in France

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French monitoring groups have cited an increase in attacks on churches and religious sites, with a record 47 documented in February, despite appeals for better protection from the country’s Catholic bishops.

The groups’ report said 15 vandalism attacks had been registered nationwide during the month, along with 15 robberies, 10 acts of profanation and one torching incident. It added that the worst had occurred at the gothic cathedral of Saint-Denis, near Paris, the historic burial place of French monarchs, which assailants had entered by smashing a historic stained-glass window, before wrecking the organ and choir-stalls.

The report follows growing concern over anti-clerical incidents in France, where Catholics nominally make up around 54% of the population of 67 million, according to surveys, but with only a small proportion attending Mass.

In February, Archbishop Roland Minnerath of Dijon held a Mass of reparation at his city’s Notre Dame Church, two days after its tabernacle was forced open and consecrated hosts scattered.

International

Many U.S. Catholics Question Their Membership Amid Scandal

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As the Catholic Church responds to more allegations of sexual abuse of young people by priests, an increasing percentage of Catho-lics are re-examining their commitment to the religion. 37% of U.S. Catholics, up from 22% in 2002, say news of the abuse has led them to question whether they would remain in the church.

As a result of the recent news about sexual abuse of young people by priests, have you, personally, questioned whether you would remain in the Catholic Church, or not?

These results are based on interviews with 581 U.S. Catholics who participated in Gallup polls Jan. 21-27 and Feb. 12-28. While the polling was being conducted, Pope Francis met with Catholic leaders from around the world at the Vatican to respond to a new wave of sex abuse allegations in numerous countries. The church dealt with a similar crisis in the U.S. in 2002, the last time Gallup polled about this. That polling came after The Boston Globe reported on wide-spread abuse by Catholic priests in the Boston area and church leaders’ efforts to prevent the abuse from becoming public knowledge.

Gallup’s latest findings show that the current scandal is affecting U.S. Catholics more than the one in 2002 did, in terms of their feelings about the church. However, it is unclear whether Catholics who are questioning their church membership will actually decide to leave the church. Many Catholics may consider leaving the church but ultimately decide not to do so, or they may have no intention of leaving but simply be responding to this question as a way to express their frustration with the way the church has handled the problem.

Substantial minorities of both practicing and nonpracticing Catholics say they are questioning their commitment to the church — but, as might be expected, those less committed to their religion are more likely to be questioning it. Whereas 46% of Catho-lics who seldom or never attend church say they have questioned whether they would remain in the faith, 37% of those who attend church on a monthly basis and 22% who attend weekly say the same.

The same pattern existed in 2002, although both practicing and nonpracticing Catholics are more likely now than in 2002 to be questioning their place in the church. Seventeen years ago, only one in eight weekly churchgoers were re-examining their mem-bership, as were 24% of semi-regular church- goers and 29% of infrequent ones.

Practicing Catholics Less Likely to Question Their Membership in the Church

From The States

BJP moves to woo minorities with manifesto

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India’s pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has invited suggestions from minorities on how to adapt its election manifesto to making the nation more inclusive. Representatives of religious minorities, including Catholics, presented their suggestions at a March 7 meeting in the capital, New Delhi. The gathering was convened by federal Minority Affairs Mini-ster Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Social Justice and Empower-ment Minister Thaawar Chand Gehlot ahead of national elections in May. “We told the ministers that the minorities feel insecure in the country and need to be protected and that constitutional values need to be upheld,” said Father Joseph Manipadam, who led the Catholic representation at the meeting.