Bp Thomas Padiyath (Auxiliary of Shamsabad)

BpPadiyath, a priest from the archdiocese of Changanacherry, was born in Ettumannor in January 14, 1969. He entered the minor seminary in 1984 and was ordained a priest on December 29, 1994. He started his priestly ministry as the assistant vicar in Athirampuzha parish and secretary to Archbishop Joseph Powathil of Changnacherry. He has a doctorate in philosophy and a Master’s in theology from the University of Leuven, Belgium. He served as a professor at Good Shepherd Major Seminary, Kunnoth in Kannur district. He has taught in several major seminaries and Institutions. He is currently serving as Syncellus in the Archeparchy of Changanacherry. His interview follows:

As a new bishop what will be your motto, and why did you opt it?

My motto is to Sanctify in Truth. It is actually based on the Gospel of John 17, 19 which I have taken as a guiding light for my life during my priestly ordination in 1994. And now when I am called for a new mission I thought of taking the same words. It is part of the priestly prayer of our Lord Jesus.

It has both a subjective dimension and an objective dimension. In other words, on the one hand I have a duty and goal to sanctify myself and I have a duty to sanctify others, especially the faithful.

Moreover, In the Gospel of John Jesus tells that my word is Truth. Jesus himself is Truth. Still, further, in all religious traditions God is considered to be Truth. Therefore the motto has a universal value as well. It has an ecclesial dimension as well. The role of the Church is to sanctify others and St Paul underscores this fact that the will of God is your sanctification.

When and where will be your episcopal ordination?

My episcopal ordination will be at Hyderabad on 9th October together with that of Msgr. Joseph Kollamparampil from Palai.

As I understand your field of activity and pastoral life will be in North India (Agra), how do you understand your Christian faith which has to enter Indian Culture?

Yes, I have to focus in North Indian mission, not only the pastoral care of the migrants but also to concentrate on the Ad Gentes mission; to proclaim the good news to all people. Christian faith is essentially liberative. And Christian faith is not new to Indian culture, but something which has deeply rooted in Indian culture. It does not mean that many are baptized but the values of the Gospel are inculcated through our ministry in the social sector, especially through education and health care. In and through them we continue the liberative works of Jesus Christ.

Indian culture is rich and versatile. Religion is part of culture but it is trans-cultural. So also Christian faith and Christian culture. Faith is based on revelation and it is a living reality as well. Hindu religion and culture are also open to revelation and deeply spiritual; though the way the two religions understand spirituality and sources of spirituality and how do we manifest this spirituality, etc. are different. It is not culture that has to guide religion, but rather culture has to get transformed and purified through religion. Cultural adaptation is good, but it has to be done without losing one’s identity. I have to keep all these facts and realities in mind as a person getting ready to go to North India for pastoral activities.

Do you think that traditional mission work has become difficult with the politics of Hindutva? How do you envisage to make known the message of Jesus Christ?

The question ‘traditional mission work’ needs to be clarified further. Anyway the primary goal of mission work, either by the foreign missionaries or by the native people, was/is not conversion to Christian religion, but was essentially a conversion of the heart. However, if someone with full knowledge and freedom wills to accept Christianity as his religion they are most welcome. We are to give authentic witness to the Gospel and the life of Christ Jesus. Conversion of the people is the work of the Spirit, and we are only instruments in the hands of the Lord. India, being a secular nation, accepts all religious faiths. And the proclamation of the Gospel is also a constitutional right: everybody has the right to profess, proclaim, practice and share the religion of his or her choice.

There is an upsurge of fundamentalist tendencies everywhere in religions and society? How to live and function as Christian? How do we relate to other religions among us?

Yes it is true that the fundamentalist tendencies are increasing universally and India is no exception to it. Different types of fundamentalism, including religious fundamentalism, are on the rise. Why it is so? I think there is a misconception and misunderstanding with regard to the role and mission of religion today. Ideally speaking, all religions are to lead people to God, by practicing and preaching universal brotherhood. What happens today is, on the one hand, there is a mixing up of religion and politics and on the other, many are tempted to use religion as a means to achieve their selfish goals. Therefore, many say ‘no’ to other religions and peoples. To put it more radically, the other becomes, even my enemy. Christianity, as a religion which teaches and practices universal brotherhood can never be fundamentalistic. What is expected of all religions, is to be open to others, either it is religions or people. We have to respect other religions and the dignity of each person; then only we too will be respected. A univocal approach will not be promising today.

“Cultural adaptation is good, but it has to be done without losing one’s identity.”

You studied philosophy in Leuven in Belgium and especially on A.N Whitehead. How did that study enrich your faith, commitment and activities in the world?

As you know KatholiekeUniversiteit Leuven is a well-known university established in 1425. My studies at the University has enriched me in many respects. I have a PhD in Philosophy and a Licentiate in Theology from KU Leuven. It has enriched me both academically and pastorally. What I appreciate first is the academic atmosphere in the campus and the intellectual rigor with which Professors discuss academic matters. We speak of academic excellence, but it is in Leuven that I learned what academic excellence really means. The value system the university upholds and handover to its students, especially the respect for human values and human rights are praiseworthy. The openness to other faith traditions and cultures are to be appreciated.

My studies of philosophy has helped me to give a sound basis for my theology and faith life. It is not that philosophy is the basis of theology but rather it gives a rational basis for my theological perspectives. Faith is not irrational but, certainly, the logic of faith is not the logic of reason. In other words, as Pope John Paul II reminded us faith and reason are the two wings with which human mind rises to God or the metaphysical and the mystical.

Philosophy is very open and optimistic; it is open to persons and realities. Therefore, the study of philosophy has helped me to be open and optimistic. Moreover, philosophy is a hermeneutic, an interpretation. The fundamental categories of philosophy are God, world and human being. In this respect, philosophy is a hermeneutics to these three fundamental realities of human life and experience. And thus, my study of philosophy has helped me to give a sound hermeneutics to God, World and human being and human experiences. A philosopher sees what others do not see, and he is able to see beyond what others see and he even realizes that there are different ways of seeing. Therefore, one cannot be simply exclusive but can only be inclusive.

Whitehead says: “Religion is what you do to your own interiority”, is he right and in what way?

Yes, it is a famous quote of Whitehead with regard to religion, which is familiar to me also. Whitehead is right in his perspective. However, it demands further explanation to get the spirit of it. Indeed, it is a very enlightening statement which highlights what religion does in one’s life. Religion and faith are transformative. This transformation is primarily a transformation of life.

To understand the rich meaning of this statement one has to distinguish between religion and spirituality. Religion and the power of a religion manifests itself in and through its structures and institutions and the number of its followers, etc. However, the core of a religion is the spirituality which transforms one’s life, which cannot be disclosed externally but can only be expressed in and through the holy and noble life of its faithful. Without a sound spirituality any religion can very much be impoverished and can be degenerated as a social institution, just like any other social organization or institution.

A person can be very much part of one or other religion and can be very active also in the activities of any particular religion. But it does not mean that he lives its spirituality. If one is not affected by or influenced by the spirituality of one’s religion for him or her religion will not be transformative. That is why Whitehead states that the power of religion is the power of persuasion. Another statement of Whitehead goes in par with the above statement is the following: “religion is what the individual does with his own solitariness … and if you are never solitary, you are never religious.” For Whitehead, God is the condition, the ideal and the critique. Moreover, he says that God is the companion and the co-sufferer. Today many people and advocates of religions give priority for the externals which does not affect one’s personal life or which does not demand inner transformation. Any religion has relevance only to that extent to which it affects the interiority of the people or it’s faithful.

You are becoming a bishop of the Syro-Malabar Church in India, how far does a minority Eastern Catholic church live and work in India with a rich culture of philosophy of Hindu majority and Hindutva politics?

Yes, there are many challenges and difficulties. We Christians are a minority and Syro Malabar Christians are also a minority in India. However, we are the inheritance of an Apostolic tradition which has to be manifested in its Theological, Liturgical, Spiritual and Disciplinary life. In the light of the Conciliar ecclesiology that Church is a communion of Churches, each suiiuris Church and its Apostolic and Liturgical patrimony are very relevant. The All India Jurisdiction has given us new possibilities with their problems. However, problems are also promises. Therefore, one has to approach it with optimism.

India with its rich cultural diversity and religious pluralism, is indeed, a problem and a promise with the new Hindutva ideology and politics. Therefore, one has to be very vigilant and wise in dealing with these matters. I am new to North Indian life and culture. So I have to study the genius of the social and the ecclesiastical horizons of North India.

Why do you pray and how? What is prayer for you?

It is in prayer that one discovers God and God’s mysteries; it is also an occasion to discover oneself, one’s possibilities and impossibilities. It is in prayer that one examines one’s life and activities and get the necessary spiritual power for one’s daily life. As a Catholic one has to pray with the Church. As St Ignatius of Loyola said: ‘sentire cum ecclesia’; to think and feel with the Church. As the great Philosopher Socrates famously stated: An unexamined life is not worth living! And it is all the more true in the life of a Shepherd. A prayerful life is a life that is lived in the deep awareness of the presence of God and to be guided by the Spirit.