Bp. Raphael Thattil (Shamshabad)

• We are living in a difficult time, especially in India. Missionary work in the traditional sense is becoming difficult. In the context of religious fundamentalism how do you envisage the mission activity of the church?

Here in India, we have to understand the difference between their opposition to institutions and their opposition to our missionary work. I have little experience in the missionary work in the area where I have been sent. I think that their oppositions is mainly against big institutions. This we have to understand. When you have huge Christian institutions in the heart of the city where you have very few Christians, automatically people may complain about the statue of Christ we put up in them. They may also ask why not put up the statue of Saraswathi instead. Generally, our activities in the field of education, healthcare, and social work were meant for the rich. But now there are so many agencies for that. Here I would like to make a difference between ministry and industry. When we run institutions as you would an industry, you will automatically invite many problems. Education has became more of an industry than a ministry. So, through institutionalism, we are creating a crisis that is of our own making. In the big cities where have hardly any Christian, we have huge institutions. Once upon a time, our ministry was focused on providing education at the grass root level. But, nowadays, there is an attitudinal change happening, because education generates income. Now we have lost our connection with the people; we can’t identify our ministry with the people. I think now the Church has to learn to identify with the poor and the deprived. This distinction should be made by us. The government pays attention to villages only at the time of elections. They only want votes every five years. We have to focus on the villages. Modern development has not reached them. The major opposition we face is in the cities, not in villages.

• The fundamentalist parties gain mainly in cities and towns, but not in the villages. Does it reveal anything?

The government institutions or political parties are not interested in the development of interior villages. It is educated people of the city who are fanatically opposing other religions. I am not personally interested in city based mission works. Unlike in Kerala, in the other states urbanisation happens only in cities. Our mission work should be people oriented rather than institution oriented.

India is now steeped in Communalism. Some sort of fundamentalism is creeping into everybody. Religion has made us a spiteful people. People think we are making a lot of money through the institutions. Obviously, our institutions has created a culture of revenue creation. Wes also give an image that we are money oriented.When we create dioceses outside of India and Kerala, are we try to give them a mission oriented attitude?

• I have not started any institution until now. But people are asking how else we generating money to serve the poor and for development of the diocese. To earn money through institutions is a big temptation now. It all boils down to this: What kind of power do you believe in? The power of money or the power of the crucified and the power of love? Are we moving away from the path of faith?

As the Holy Father said, we are oriented towards success without witness. Success has become for many their life’s ambition. This is our temptation. Mother Theresa said: My institutions are not for making money, but for the poor of the poorest. That is the fragrance of the gospel. I depend more on the providence of God than on money.