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The ritual war fought on the Kerala terrain by the traditionalists and the progressives of the Syro-Malabar Church seems to be like the Kurukshetra war. Both sides are adamant. Each faction wants it to be a fight to the finish. The laity too is divided like the sheep between the contending shepherds.Decidedly, the issue is not about the essence of the Eucharist instituted by Jesus Christ. Rather, I wonder if any seasoned theologian would authoritatively claim that Jesus Christ wanted the Eucharist to be institutionalized and mystified to the extent that the faithful followers of Christ, meaning Christian worshippers, should not participate in it in full view.Let us look at it this way. There is the event, the Eucharistic Supper which Jesus shared with his disciples by breaking bread as a symbolism of ‘breaking’ his body on the Cross. Jesus thereafter told his disciples: ‘Do this in my memory.’What preceded this sacred event was that the Master himself washing the feet of the disciples. Therefore, the context is humble service, instructing his disciples by example that any Eucharistic celebration has to have this aspect of service to the community.That Eucharistic celebration takes its meaning and worth when it is extended in humble service. ‘I the Master have done it. You too ought to follow suit.’ The only ritual, if you can call it so, at the time of the Eucharistic supper was simple. All sat around. No one had a reserved seat, not even Peter who
On September 5, India’s President Draupadi Murmu sent out dinner invitations to foreign delegates (heads of state) who will come to New Delhi to attend the G20 summit. The dinner card read: “The President of Bharat requests the pleasure of … on Saturday, September 09, 2023 at 2000 hours. Venue: Multifunction Hall, Level-3, Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi.” As soon as this news was out, speculation began that Narendra Modi’s government was going to change the country’s name from India to `Bharat’ ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. There was also a surmise that the special session of Parliament on September 18-22 has been called on to pass the constitutional amendment bill to this effect. And with that possibility, the gossip mill went on the overdrive about the future of the name ‘India’ used in various projects, programs and slogans of Prime Minister Modi. For example, the conjecture on the possible renaming of various state-owned institutions namely, The Reserve Bank of India, Port Trust of India, Airports Authority of India, Coal India, Steel Authority of India, Atomic Energy Commission of India, Indian Space Research Organisation, Geological Survey of India, the Election Commission of India. Speculation is also rife on the possible deletion of the name India from passports, Aadhaar, PAN and voter cards. However, no official statement has been made by the government so far. This studied silence has actually fuelled the speculation. For the first time in th
Below is a letter from a senior Catholic layman of the Ernakulam-Angamaly archdiocese to Jesuit Archbishop Cyril Vasil, who has come to Kerala as the Pope’s delegate to resolve the dispute over the mode of offering Mass. The Catholic feels being pushed from disappointment to serious doubts about the teachings of the Catholic Church because of the acts of its hierarchy, who he thinks behave unbecoming of spiritual leaders To Archbishop Cyril Vasil, Now a senior citizen, I came across Jesuits during 1980 while doing my postgraduation and I was really impressed by their quest for knowledge, treatment of students and youngsters, their ideas on devotion, open attitude to religious life and what not! And I had no opportunity to change that impression having worked in various cities in India and abroad where they were also present, only reinforced when India wept for Father Stan Swamy (except the Catholic Church hierarchy here), a Jesuit missionary of indomitable courage who lived for the poor and neglected. As one of the Syrian Catholic members deeply wounded by the happenings in the Syro Malabar Church since a few years, I was happy to hear that an Archbishop who is a Jesuit is coming to find a solution to the problems in the Major Archeparchy of Ernakulam-Angamaly with over half a million aggrieved followers. Most of our anointed ones (the Bishops) equate themselves to Christ Jesus and ask for our obedience but rarely do we se
In June this year, I had an opportunity to interact with a few members of a Mahila Sangh (Women’s Association), Catholic Sabha (Men’s Association) and the Youth Associations in one of the northern Indian dioceses. During the interaction the Catholic Sabha members said that they help the parish priest to decide the details of celebrations like feasts, First Holy Communion, Confirmation and other liturgical celebrations, form committees for the celebration, and try to settle parish-owned property-related problems to some extent. In all the above-mentioned activities the CS members play a secondary role and the priest plays the major role. The Mahila Sangh members said that they conduct prayer meetings in the Basic Christian Communities or are a wise groups, collect monetary contributions for the parish, prepare children for First Holy Communion or Confirmation, assist in the choir, and undertake cooking meals on the occasion of fellowship meal at the parish level etc. This again is a secondary role. The youth members said that they conduct Bible quiz, singing, dance, skit, speech competitions at the parish/diocese level, contribute short writings to the diocesan youth magazine, assist the parish priest at the time of parish level celebrations, and conduct choir. This also is secondary role. This scenario of the laity did cause a lot of uneasiness in me. The reason for my grief is to see the mind-set that existed before the second Vatican Council. Let us now try to und
Bishop Prince AntonyToday India’s soul is deeply wounded! Shameful and shocking videos of barbaric acts carried out against two women on May 4 have now surfaced from Manipur, which has been burning for more than two months. Two helpless women were paraded naked surrounded by a devilish mob and sexually assaulted by perverts in this sacred land, where a mother is to be revered like God! It is loathing, disgusting and abominable to say the least. It is a blatant violation of human rights. The public demonstration of such a heinous crime manifests the height of the lawlessness prevailing in the region. The fact that, even after two months, the clearly identifiable perpetrators of this horrific crime are not yet brought to justice adds to the gravity of the situation. The odious crime carried out in public and its video shooting pose serious threat to the democracy and law and order in the country. The scary shouts and laughs of the offenders are insult to the sacred constitution of India. It deserves to be condemned by all responsible citizens of India regardless of differences lest it be repeated in any other part of the country. Lack of immediate and stringent measures on the part of the central and state governments and the police department, I believe, amounts to adding fuel to the violence in Manipur. Even the best explanations of the concerned authorities fail to convince the common man that no religious facto
