The Indian Catholic Church is a communion of three ritual Churches, Latin, Syro-Malabar and Syro-Malankara. There are 191 Latin rite bishops, 65 Syro-Malabar and 25 Syro-Malankara bishops. The president of the Conference of Catholic bishops’ is elected by the bishops. But the majority which evidently is of the Latin Church has concurred to the view that its presidentship is to be held in rotation by the three particular Churches. This time around, Abp Andrews Thazath was elected president as per that agreement. This practice is a telling example of upholding minority rights in practice. Minority rights is neither a privilege nor a bestowing of grace but a matter of right, whether in secular democracy or in the Church. It should be gracefully acknowledged that the majority conceded that right. The head of the Syro-Malabar Church was not elected as president for obvious reasons.
Should the election for bodies like the CBCI be conducted on the basis of hierarchical protocol? At least in some countries of Continental Europe and the USA it is done based on personal excellence in witnessing and leadership and not on ecclesiastical ranks. This writer is of the opinion that it must be an election where all the bishops are considered equal, devoid of hierarchical protocols. The present president of the CBCI knows only too well that he is elected honouring minority rights. He also knows the reasons for the unending protests and agitations taking place in his own Church against a decision of its Synod in violation of minority rights; the Synod refused to respect the minority views of its bishops. He also knows how dialogue is practised as a way to truth in Synods.
All over the world, the Church has suffered immense erosion of credibility due to the cover-ups of paedophilia cases involving bishops and priests. Morality is equally applicable to all in the same way in the Church. By protecting bishops or priests who indulge in immoral misadventures, our leadership is destroying the Church itself. The Church leaders must have the moral authority to say, “The Church is not immaculate; unfortunately it is also made up of people who commit sins and crimes.” This alone will greatly enhance the image of the Church. As a leading member of the Synod of his particular Church, the CBCI president will no doubt discern it when the Synod hijacks morality to save one or the other who is guilty of deviant behaviour. He is a highly respected Cannon Law expert who can tell if someone is quoting the cannon law out of context to argue the case for a particular ideology. Ideologies can be fabricated like 2+2 = 5, as Orwell wrote. All are then forced under ‘obedience’ to abide by that fabricated truth.
In the beginning of his reign Pope Francis said: “The court is the leprosy of papacy.” Even now it remains under the grip of corruption and is ignorant of grassroots reality. Pope Francis’s repeated call for Synodality seems to have fallen on deaf ears. In a homily on May 11, 2005, Pope Benedict XVI said: “The power that Christ conferred upon Peter and his Successors is, in an absolute sense, a mandate to serve. The power of teaching in the Church involves a commitment to the service of obedience to the faith. The Pope is not an absolute monarch whose thoughts and desires are the law. On the contrary, the Pope’s ministry is a guarantee of obedience to Christ and to his Word.” The Copernican revolution “marks the end of monologic power” which is lingering in many minds of Church leaders. The concept of Sun’s authority in a Caesarean culture is not Christian; it is anti-Christian. Only the power of persuasion wielded by suffering love can move any and everything. There is a limit to what the might of the police and of the government can achieve. There is one thing that the Church leadership definitely lacks – the culture of prayer. The essence of any discourse is prayer. They should have a pair of ears to listen to prayers and a humble tongue to pray to God and others.