Clericalism, which Pope Francis calls “a perversion of the priesthood,” operates also among some Catholic priests and bishops in India, says a Jesuit moral theologian.
Clericalism is largely center-ed on one’s access to power and wealth in the Church, which in turn gives some priests and bi-shop the taken-for-granted immunity, explains Father Stanislaus Alla, professor of moral theology at Delhi’s Vidyajyoti College of Theology.
The theologian was sharing his reflections at an April 2 webinar on “Clericalism” in the background of the essay titled “Hierarchicalism” by American Jesuit James Keenan, which was published in the latest issue of Theological Studies.
The Secretariat for Service of Faith of the Jesuit Conference of South Asia organized the webinar.
According to Fr Stanislaus, while the importance and impact of the culture of ‘clericalism’ came to light by the expose of child-abuse in the West, it can be noticed equally in many forms in India.
Fr Stanislaus quoted Peter Daly of the Washington who re-gularly contributes to the National Catholic Reporter and discusses clericalism.
Bishops and priests — the clerics — “are often trained to think they are set apart from and set above everyone else in the Church. Their word is not to be questioned. Their behavior is not to be questioned. Their lifestyle is not to be questioned” says Father Daly.
Father Stanislaus says people have lived with and have known “dedicated, simple, holy, humble and service-minded priests and bishops.” But at the same time, they also come across pastors with clericalism-mindset.

Sister Mary Joseph, the newly elected superior general of the Missionaries of Charity, says her global congregation will continue its original mission of serving the poorest of the poor, despite numerous hurdles.
She also asserts that religious conversion is not their agenda as alleged by some hardliners.
Sister Joseph cannot speak for a long time because of some vocal cord problems. Despite the difficulty, she on April 2 shared with Sunil Rosario, Matters India Special Correspondent in Kolkata, how she will lead the congregation founded by Saint Mother Teresa of Kolkata.
“I experienced fear and deep shock when my name was announced to take up the leadership. It was not easy to digest. I had never dreamt to lead the congregation one day. I felt I was not the one for the task. That night was a nightmare to me. However, I allowed God to speak to me in silence and prayer. In that dark night, I had the assurance of God that He was calling me to take up the position. It was not my choice, but His choice, at this particular time of history. Thus, I accepted the challenge.” Sister Mary Joseph said “We are not social workers. Our charism is to live for Jesus and for the poor. “When I was hungry, did you feed? When I was thirsty, did you give me a drink of water?” This we do in charity. We utterly depend on God’s providence. God takes care of us.” “Conversion is not our agenda in service of the poor and the under privileged. Only God can convert, as Mother would hold.”

Catholic schools in the western Indian state of Gujarat have sought to include all major religious scriptures along with the Hindu scripture Bhagavad Gita in their academic curriculum.
The provincial government in Gujarat had last week announced the teaching of the Bhagavad Gita in classes 6-12 across the state for the new academic session.
“We are not against teaching the Bhagavad Gita but want the government to introduce the sacred texts of other major religions to uphold the secular and democratic credentials of the nation,” said Father Teles Fernandes, secretary of Gujarat Education Board of Catholic Institutions.
Father Fernandes told on March 22 that the Catholic institutions have approached Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel to apprise him of their concerns.
The pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the state said it wanted to promote a sense of pride and connection with India’s rich traditions through the teaching of the Bhagavad Gita.
The Catholic institutions in a memorandum sent to the chief minister on March 18 said the introduction of Hindu scriptures in the school curriculum was “not an issue in itself” but given the diversity and religious plurality of India “it would be imperative that impressionistic minds of the young students are also given the taste of other holy scriptures of major world religions.”
The memorandum mentioned the Quran, Bible, Guru Granth Sahib, Avesta, Tripitaka and Agamas among others. “All these holy books speak of the language of love, brother-hood/sisterhood, kindness, charity, tolerance, forgiveness, etc. We are all children of the same God. This will instill harmony, broadmindedness, acceptance, sensitivity and oneness in our society,” it added.
The Catholic institutions further lauded the government for its decision to introduce the English language as a compulsory subject from Class 1 onwards, calling it “a move in the right direction as India is fast becoming a global player and the English language is an international accepted mode for trade and communication.”

A Catholic priest and human rights activist from the western Indian state of Gujarat has welcomed the inclusion of a Hindu scripture, Bhagavad Gita, in the school syllabus but warned against growing majoritarianism.
“The study of any and every religious or holy book needs to be welcomed all at all times. However, introducing only the study of Bhagavad Gita smacks of majoritarianism, which is violative of the secular fabric of the country,” Jesuit Father Cedric Prakash told.
The provincial government in Gujarat announced on March 17 that the Hindu scripture will be taught to students from classes 6-12 to cultivate a sense of pride and connection with their traditions.
The government in southern India’s Karnataka state has also hinted at introducing Bhagavad Gita to its school syllabus. Both states are ruled by the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Father Prakash said the decision “though not totally unexpected” was “yet another step toward the establishment of a Hindu Rashtra (Hindu nation).”
The Catholic priest said the government must reconsider and instead introduce a well-planned course involving the study of all major world religions and their holy books including the Bible, Quran, Guru Granth Sahib, Avesta, Tripitaka, Agamas and others along with the sacred Hindu scriptures.

Christians are concerned for the security of the family of a Protestant minister who was brutally stabbed to death by outlawed Maoist rebels in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh.
The bloodsoaked body of Pastor Yalam Shankar, who was in his fifties, was found in the Maoist-infested South Bastar forests in Bijapur district on March 17.
Local news outlets quoted a statement from the Maoists claiming responsibility for the killing and alleging the deceased pastor was a police informer working against the interests of the outlawed rebels since 2018 in the area falling under the jurisdiction of Madded police station.
The armed outlaws reportedly forced their way into Pastor Shankar’s house and dragged him out before stabbing him to death. They justified their action by saying the pastor was warned many times in the past but to no avail.
Police denied the Maoists’ claim that the pastor was their informer but the incident shocked the Christian community in Chhattisgarh.
“We are shocked to know about the murder of the pastor,” said Guruvinder Singh Chadda, president of Akhil Bharati Isai Samudaya Adhikar Sangathan, an organization working for the welfare of Christians in Chhattisgarh.

Leading media figures have urged India’s top constitutional bodies “to step in and uphold their mandate” amid rising threats to religious minorities, especially Muslims.
They issued a statement condemning the alarming rise in “open calls from various quarters for attacks on India’s religious minorities, especially Muslims” and said that “silence is not an option.”
Senior journalist and writer Mrinal Pande, N. Ram, former editor-in-chief of English daily The Hindu, R. Rajagopal, editor of The Telegraph, and Vinod Jose, executive editor of Caravan magazine, were among the 28 media persons who signed the March 23 statement.
“Sometimes the occasion is an election, at other times it is a political gathering, a so-called Dharam Sansad [religious parliament], or a controversy over clothing, or even the screening of a movie,” they stated, adding that “these calls for violence — which have been widely reported in the media — have been met with a cold and calculated silence from the country’s top leaders.”
Referring to the latest controversy in Karnataka state over the hijab or veil worn by Muslim girls, the journalists highlighted the systematic hate being propagated against Muslims under the pretext of Covid-19, including calls by legislators for their socioeconomic boycott.
“Disturbingly, the term ‘corona jihad’ was fabricated and amplified by sections of the media establishment,” they said.

Dalit Catholics in Tamil Nadu have pro-tested the appointment of a non-Dalit as an archbishop in the southern Indian state.
The Dalit Christian Liberation Movement, which leads the protest, on March 20 hoisted a black flag in the Church of Our Lady of Fatima in Vrithachalam parish of Pondicherry-Cuddalore archdiocese.
A day earlier, the Vatican announced the transfer of Bishop Francis Kalist of Meerut to Pondicherry-Cuddalore in Tamil Nadu as its archbishop, ignoring Dalit Catholic groups’ demand for a prelate from their community.
Although the Archbishop-elect is Tamil, he is a non-Dalit who has been serving a northern Indian diocese for decades. The Dalit groups also posted a hashtag on Twitter, “FRANCIS KALIST GO BACK.”
What has upset the Dalits is that Bishop Kalist has ignored their plea to him to not accept the new post.
A rumor spread in Tamil Nadu weeks earlier indicated Bishop Kalist coming to Pondicherry. S Anandaraj, the movement’s communication secretary, on March 1 wrote to Bishop Kalist warning him that the Dalit Christians would not allow him to take charge if he agreed to the Vatican proposal. “We shall continue to fight,” he wrote.

A Hindu organization has been joined by a Sikh group in demanding the arrest of a pastor for organizing faith-healing sessions to lure tribal people into Christianity in the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand.
The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) or World Hindu Council accused Pastor Ravi Singh and his wife of conducting a Changai Sabha (healing ministry) from their home in Nanak Nagar in Jamshedpur city’s Golmuri area.
The VHP and a Sikh organization, Jhar-khand Gurdwara Management Committee, staged a protest against Pastor Singh on Feb. 27 and accused Chief Minister Hemant Soren of failing to take action against him
Media reports said state police briefly detained Pastor Singh that day but released him in the evening.
Ratan Tirkey, a member of the Jharkhand government’s tribal advisory council, denied the allegations of religious conversions against the pastor.
“As per information from our sources, Pastor Singh embraced Christianity some time back and is involved in spreading awareness among the youth about the importance of education and their rights,” he told.
“Pastor Singh is being misunderstood by Hindu activists as a missionary indulging in religious conversion activities. We have no information about his converting anybody.”
He said Hindu activists often accuse Christian missionaries of conversion activities without any basis or proof. “The VHP and other fanatic groups need to read the constitution of India to know about religious freedom granted to the citizens of this country,” the Catholic lay leader said.
Tirkey said Christians would not be a small minority group in Jharkhand if conversions were rampant as alleged by the Hindu organizations.

Priya Rajan, a Dalit woman, has become the youngest mayor of Chennai, the fourth-largest city in India with a population of around 10 million. Rajan, 28, a postgraduate in commerce, was sworn in on March 4 as the 49th mayor of the city.
She is said to be a member of the Evangelical Church of India (ECI), which has congregations in at least 10 states.
Welcoming the appointment, Father Vincent Chinnadurai, the former spokesperson of the Tamil Nadu Bishops’ Council, said it was a remarkable moment for Dalit women.
“We appreciate the state government for this bold move. I am sure more women will feel inspired by Priya Rajan,” he added.
Chennai, the state capital of the southern state of Tamil Nadu, is a hub for education, health, information technology and automobile industries.
Considered the second-oldest city council in the world after London, the Greater Chennai Corporation was formed in 1668 by the erstwhile East India Co-mpany, which founded it in 1640 as a trading post.
The state’s ruling DMK (Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam or Dravidian Progressive Front) under the leadership of Chief Minister Muthuvel Karunanidhi Stalin, 68, won a landslide victory in the polls held on Feb. 19 after a gap of 11 years.

The much-publicized case of religious conversion against Missionaries of Charity (MC) nuns in India’s western state of Gujarat has come a cropper with the prosecution admitting there was no serious basis to proceed against them. The prosecution gave a written undertaking to a court in Vadorara city that it would not pursue the case any further, although the first information report written by police to set the investigation in motion has yet to be quashed.
The prosecution’s undertaking meant an end to the adverse publicity and unnecessary harassment of the nuns from the Kolkata-based organization founded by Mother Teresa which ran a shelter home for the destitute in Vadodara.
In a related development, the court also dropped the hearing of an anticipatory bail application filed by two MC nuns, who did not want to be identified, ending their nearly three-month ordeal to avoid likely arrest for a crime they never committed.
“Indeed it is happy news and vindication of our stand from the very beginning,” said Father Cedric Prakash, a Jesuit priest and rights activist based in Gujarat.
He confirmed that the local court decided to drop the legal proceedings on March 3 after the government prosecutor admitted in writing that there was no serious basis to proceed against the nuns.