Christmas Celebratory Again In Holy Land Amid Ongoing War; Patriarch Urges Pilgrims To Return
Vatican: Former Choir Director, Manager Convicted Of Embezzlement, Abuse Of Office
Christians in Aleppo feel an uneasy calm amid rebel takeover of Syrian city
Kathmandu synodality forum: Indigenous people, ‘not the periphery but at the heart of the Church’
Indian Cardinal opposes anti-conversion law in poll-bound state
12,000 gather as Goa starts exposition of St. Francis Xavier relics
The nation’s slide into fear, hate and bigotry did not begin ex nihilo five years ago. It’s the climax of a hundred-year campaign against the kind and pluralistic ethos of the freedom struggleA hundred years have passed since a battle was launched for the soul of this ancient land. At stake was the country we would together build after the British left our shores.This was the time when Mahatma Gandhi returned from South Africa to join India’s freedom struggle. In his leadership of three decades, a majority of Indians — Hindu, Muslim and of other faiths — shared his vision of a country resolutely inclusive and humane, which would welcome people of every belief and ethnicity to be equal citizens with equal rights. This ideal lay at the foundations of the constitution of the new republic, crafted in the care of Babasaheb Ambedkar.This goal was bitterly contested all these hundred years by the Hindu Mahasabha, founded around 1915, and by the RSS in 1925. Their vision for India was of a nation exclusively for India’s Hindu majority, in which Muslims and Christians would be ‘allowed’ inclusion only as second-class citizens. Though less explicitly enunciated, people of disadvantaged castes and tribal ethnicities would also be lesser citizens.The turbulent combat eventually took a toll of over a million lives, including that of Gandhiji, and caused the largest cataclysmic displacement of human populations in history.Today, we find ourselves at a de
St Thomas, one of the twelve disciples of Jesus Christ, brought Christian faith to India in 52 A.D. Despite the ‘conversions’ since then, the Christian population is not even 3% in India! The reason is not far to seek. First and foremost, unlike the peoples of many nations where the other disciples went, people of India had a strong religion then. More than a religion, Hinduism is a way of life. It is so broad-based that TRUE HINDUISM can accept Jesus as an avatar. In fact, millions of Hindus in our country pray to Jesus and Mother Mary. They cannot be called Christians as they are not baptized.Secondly, many Hindus prefer to be in their own religion and have no compunction in placing their trust in Mary and her Son. Hinduism is polytheistic, unlike monotheistic religions like Christianity and Islam. No wonder the Christian population is just above 2% even after two millennia! The Father of the Nation was a staunch Hindu and breathed his last with ‘Hey Ram’ on his lips. But Gandhiji proclaimed that he was ‘a true Hindu, true Christian, true Muslim’. If we follow this attitude of Gandhiji’s, India would become heaven on earth. According to the Mahatma, ‘Truth is God’ and TRUTH is not the monopoly of one religion.Another mistaken notion of many is that Christianity is a western religion. They forget that Jesus was from the Orient. For that matter, all religions have risen from the East; whereas almost all technological developments have been from the
On 21st December this year, Bishop Jonas Thaliath of the CMI Order would have completed one hundred years, had he been alive today? The Church in India, especially the CMI Order, owe a great deal to this visionary priest and bishop. Born into the illustrious Thaliath family in Puthanpally, whose father was a high court judge, he proved himself to be a precocious student, winning gold medals after gold medals. He finished his priestly studies in Kandy and later on went to Rome for his Doctorate.On his return to India, his superiors entrusted him with various responsibilities which he discharged to their complete satisfaction. By this time, Fr Jonas had begun to feel that for a fuller growth of the CMI Order, their main training centre would have to be moved to Bangalore. He, together with a few of his colleagues, succeeded in persuading their superiors to accept their proposal and a new seminary called Dharmaram college was established with Fr Jonas as its Rector. If Dharmaram College today is an internationally reputed institution, the stepping stones were laid by this amazing visionary and a band of his colleagues.On becoming the Rector, one of his dreams was to make Dhrmaram College self-sufficient and not depend upon grants and donations. After cracking his brain, he found his answer in the simple coconut tree. He bought up large tracks of agricultural land close to Dharmaram and planted scores of coconut trees. His calculation was that each tree would produce suff
What the nun in the Bishop Franco Mulakkal case faced follows the same pattern as what happened to the more well-known public figures in the MeToo movement.In many cases, the all-powerful male professional network kicked in months after the allegations are made, and the women who were courageous enough to speak up lost jobs and assignments.It has now reached a stage where the survivors who complain against the powerful are vilified and the accused are ironically projected as victims.The Mulakkal case, which was reported on in great — and often salacious detail — in the mainstream media a year ago, has practically disappeared from view today. Some buzz was expected on November 11, the day when the bishop was to go on trial; the case has now been adjourned to November 30.Media attention given to the case remained limited in the recent past, since there were other “pressing” political issues taking place at the same time. The #MeToo movement, which has gradually lost steam, features low on the priority list.In a sense, the case of the bishop and the nun actually epitomizes both the #MeToo movement and its backlash. Many of the journalists, actors and other women who steered this movement with so much hope and courage last year were well-known public figures. But the nun who complained against the bishop was not. She was anonymous and continues to be so, even today. Yet what she has faced follows the same pattern as what happened to the more well-known
No words to express duly the guileless surprise l was put into on reading the article “The Helpless Nuns of God’s Own Country” by Valsan Thampu, the noble and highly reputed former Principal of St Stephen’s College, Delhi. From my long experience and life long study, I am fully convinced that the Catholic Church and its patronizing systems like priestly and religious life are well ordered and strictly disciplined. l request the author to verify the truth of the fact by interviewing as many priests and nuns and thus correct his misconceptions regarding this matter. May such unfortunate individual incidents lead not to erroneous conclusions and misleading judgements.Fr George Vithayathil St Francis Assisi Church, Athani-683 585
