1.    ABOUT THE SYNOD: The awareness level was 2.9 (against the mean of 2.5), but the satisfaction level with the preparations for the Synod was lower at 1.9, with 24% unable to answer. If they were clubbed with the mean it would drop to less than 1, indicating very poor preparation for the Synod. Would one’s voice be heard in the Synod; the response was less than 2 with 15% unable to answer. Hence at the primary level itself the organizers of the Synod need to sit up and take notice.
2.    SPIRITUAL/ CATECHETICAL ISSUES: Satisfaction with the reform and renewal after Vatican II was 2.3. Awareness level of contemporary church documents was 2.5. Nevertheless, propounding of Vatican II teachings in Sunday sermons was a very low 1.3, as was faith formation and adult catechesis at 1.8. Marriage preparation scored slightly higher at 2.4. The fraternal relationship between clergy/ laity envisaged by Vatican II was a dismal 1.6. The attitude towards inter faith marriages was slightly higher at 2.2. The bottom line is that in its primary duty of teaching and sharing the faith, the Church has failed miserably.
3.    PARISH LEVEL ISSUES: Satisfaction with parish councils/ finance committees is at 2.0, yet 3.6 want such “advisory’ bodies to be made mandatory, with decision making powers. Despite its huge investment in education the satisfaction levels are just above par. Health and social welfare services are lower at 2.2 each. Affluent members helping the less fortunate is also below par at 2.3. Woman’s status in the church is at 2.5. Despite another huge investment in youth organizations their preparedness for life is just 1.9. Finding suitable marriage partners within the community is problematic at 2.8. Overall, there is a strident call for a more participatory church, which is what the Synod is all about.
4.    DIOCESAN LEVEL: As we go higher in the church hierarchy, satisfaction levels dip alarmingly. Just 2.4 see bishops as a caring elder, while 3.7 see them as ceremonial heads. Only 1.3 are satisfied with participation in pastoral planning. 3.7 believe that they should be involved in the selection of bishops and 3.9 expect them to be transferred every ten years. 3.7 want the minimum age for aspirants to the priesthood and religious life to be raised to 21 and 3.1 feel that the canonical provision of seeking “dispensation” from the bishop for an inter-faith marriage should be abolished. The writing is on the wall.
5.    NATIONAL LEVEL: As we go up, satisfaction levels plummet further. Just 2.1 are satisfied with the functioning of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India and 2.0 with the Apostolic Nunciature. There is also a high degree of ignorance about how these august bodies function. There is an urgent need to improve transparency and accountability through a Right to Information (RTI) system that scores a high 4.1. The need for Grievance Redressal Cells and Arbitration Boards is even higher at 4.4, and 4.3 want a computerised automatic recording system as in Govt offices or Customer Care Services for acknowledgement of correspondence/ complaints. Accountability and transparency are indeed the need of the hour.
6.    SOCIAL ISSUES: Acceptance of Dalit Christians (of Scheduled Caste origin) is at 2.8 and for Tribals slightly higher at 3.1. At the same time 3.1 feel that Dalit Christians are still marginalised in general society which is why 4.4 support the demand for them to get Govt facilities on par with Dalits of other religions. As a community we fare well on the inter-religious front at 3.4, though on the ecumenical front we are a bit lower at 2.9. We seem irresponsible when it comes to the environment with 3.4 still using plastic/ thermocole disposables. Collective efforts to grow more trees are at 2.6. Our adaptation to local culture/ language is reasonably good at 3.3, but our social involvement through civic affairs, politics, trade unions, human rights etc is below par at 1.9. We are still an insulated, isolated church, not fully integrated into society.
7.    MORAL/ ETHICAL ISSUES: Here views are expressed very strongly and often at divergence from official church teaching. Consultation with the laity on moral issues that affect them like marriage, divorce, annulment, family planning and sexual ethics score a low 1.3. Agreement with Natural Family Planning (NFP) is at 2.5 (bearing in mind the upper age profile of the respondents) though assistance for the same is much lower at 1.6. Automatic ex-communication of a woman procuring an abortion is not acceptable at 1.4, while there is strong support for Divorced and Remarried Catholics being admitted to Holy Communion at 4.4. In a clerically dominated church it seems to be terribly out of sync with the aspirations of the people. The fissures are visible and will increase with time.
8.    UNIVERSAL ISSUES: The Survey went beyond the social and parochial to address issues that impact the universal church. 3.4 felt that it had become more Roman (Europeanised) than Catholic (universal). A high 4.5 wanted strong lay representation at all levels of the synodal process. Clerical sex abuse cases have had a disastrous affect on the church say 4.0, and an even higher 4.5 agree with Pope Francis’ oft repeated statement that clericalism (complete domination by the clergy) is the biggest scourge in the church. Yet only 1.4 feels that his personal lifestyle (small car, small rooms) has had any impact on an obdurate and ostentatious clergy/ hierarchy/ religious. Similarly just 1.4 agrees that religious leaders do indeed have the “smell of the sheep”.

Chhotebhai
Convenor, Indian Catholic Forum