QUESTION:  Antony Chacko

Now a days the atmosphere is filled with malicious and provocative words, discourses and writings. Some Catholics express more arrogance and spread hatred against other religions for the sake of protecting our community. In this world of division, extremism and rupture, what is the true Catholic identity?

ANSWER: Saji Mathew Kanayankal CST

The different experiences of people of today are challenging and devastating, especially the intolerance, hatred and animosity between religions are growing and many incidents are occurring day by day. The picture of the Church and the world around us is more conflicting, shattered and traumatised. In this post-truth era of deception, which is fuelled by emotive arguments rather than fact-checks, with gut instincts, disinformation and misinformation, objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief. For a good number of people, the facts and figures, as well as truth, are secondary things, and they become fanatic based on religion, sect, nation and so on. The myopic, extremist, resentful and aggressive nationalism develops intolerance of the other and uses religious sentiments to accomplish its hidden agendas. It thus moves towards separationism, war, death and devastation. The title of the second chapter of the encyclical of Pope Francis, Fratelli Tutti, ‘Dark Clouds over a Closed World’ picturises this gloomy face of the contemporary world. Coming to our country, India, which was well known for its unity in diversity and tolerance of all religions, the religious intolerance and human rights violations are increasing. The distance, intolerance and hatred between different religions are growing, and different political parties exploit the situation for their temporal gains. On the other hand, some of the believers assume that it is necessary to fight to protect the right of their community, and knowingly or unknowingly the people following other faiths are considered as something danger as if hell! At this juncture, the search for the identity of a catholic may help us to broaden our horizons.
Identity: Search for an Authentic Self
Catholic identity signifies our essence, our distinctive character, and our raison d’ etrè. It is the soul of our existence. Identity does not happen by itself; it is a quest for self-discovery. One finds his/her identity, asking some of the most fundamental questions such as “who am I?” and “what is my worth?” The answer to this fundamental question cannot be found just by giving certain descriptions of one’s job or social status rather it opens towards a continual search into the depth of one’s uniqueness and distinctiveness, by pursuing wisdom and ethical self-examination. As Dan Cohn-Sherbok argues, this identity is more than the common identity and it offers certain moments to ‘reflect on the pattern of one’s life, and the critical events that have shaped it’ (The Vision of Judaism). To discover one’s identity, one has to ask oneself a variety of questions such as Who is one? What have been the turning points in one’s life? Have they to do with work, family or money? What sort of events constituted crisis? How did one respond? What were peak experiences? What kind of risks did one take? What does all this tell one about the sort of person one is? By finding out the identity one finds out his/her difference and uniqueness in the world and society.
Along with the individual identity, there is also a formation of group identity or collective identity. The group identity takes its shape through the growth of distinctive structures, such as forms of ministry, membership and discipline, collective decision-making, distinctive patterns of belief etc. The history of a particular group or religion, its memory, the invention of tradition, the holy scripture, practice of the rituals, confession of faith and specific patterns of worship also play a very significant role in the formation of group identity. The stories narrated and their assimilation influence the formation of the group identity. One of the key instances in this formation of group identity is its memories. John R Gills, in his essay “Memory and Identity: The History of a Relationship” speaks about the core meaning of individual or group identity. For him, it is “a sense of sameness over time and space, is situated by remembering; and what is remembered is defined by the assumed identity” (Commemorations: The Politics of National Identity). Historical memory comes through the narration of stories or certain re-enactment ceremonies. The formation of Christian identity has occurred mainly through the remembrance of the past, especially through the ‘reactualisation’ of the ‘Christ-event.’ “It is not simply what is remembered, but how it is remembered that is both sustained by and defines the identity” (Judith M. Lieu, Christian Identity in the Jewish and Graeco-Roman World). To find out the authentic Christian identity it is necessary to identify the meaning and existence of the way that Jesus has taught and shown within various ideologies, beliefs and practices.

The Paschal Mystery: The Core of Catholic Identity
The focus of the Catholic identity remains on its faith concept, and its belief, which is a transhistorical and transcultural phenomenon. Christian theology explains it in terms of ‘anamnesis,’ which means, “making present an object or person from the past.’ Richard Taylor, in his essay “A Response to David E. Stern on Remembering and Redemption,” brings out three important dimensions of the concept of remembrance (Rediscovering the Eucharist: Ecumenical Conversations). First, remembrance makes a recollection of the historical past but exceeds the ‘recall of events’ drawn from the past. Second, remembrance has a ‘pointing nature,’ i.e., it has a meaning and relevance of the past event to the present moment. Third, remembrance “invites participation in the salvific benefits to which the ceremonial symbols call attention.” Hence, the term, ‘remember’ is not just recalling of the past rather it is a pointer to a past event, a ‘re-experience’ of the past, a re-enactment of a particular time, but stands beyond any time. In this anamnesis, wherein history becomes a ‘present re-experience of the past,’ one encounters the past reality in the context of the present day. Though it surpasses time and space, it becomes effective only if it communicates with contemporary circumstances. It is actualised through certain rituals or ceremonies but its authentic meaning is communicated only through one’s involvement that furthers the internalisation of the historical factuality of the story. This internalization makes one to ‘see the story as his/her own.’ This personal involvement and ceremonial participation furnish the person as well as the community and forms its identity.
In our present context, this sense of ‘identity of the community’ is identified with certain collective activity, as if to defend the challenges of today. But in the much-advertised rhetoric, many disregard the internalisation of the ‘event’ and ignore the value of the Kingdom of God that Jesus proclaimed, practised and finally actualised through the paschal event. There is something amiss in their consciences- collectively. When Jesus said “do this in memory of me,” he intends the ‘total act,’ actualised by breaking himself at the mount calvary for humanity. Forgetting this deeper dimension of faith, the sacramental celebration may become a mere mimic. The method, activities and effect of ‘defending church’ are to be critically evaluated in the light of the message of Jesus and gospel values. When the internalisation diminishes, the defence of faith can be diluted into a kind of political strategy, a kind of self-perpetuating and self-policing act. However, the answer to the unique characteristics, ethos, and ethical stands of a catholic is to be framed in the wider spectrum of the word of God and the values it propagates understanding the challenges of today.

Catholic Identity Demands Ethical Accountability
If corruption, deception and untruthfulness pollute the arena of the Church or its ritual practises, a true catholic should have the moral and psychic competence to stand for truth, justice and righteousness, despite the consequences he/she has to face from the corrupted system. The Gospel demands us to be truthful and sincere so that we would be able to condemn ‘whatever endangers the integrity of a person and society. A catholic can find his/her ‘catholic identity’ in the context of the evaluation of the present-day realities within the spectrum of the values of the Kingdom of God. By bringing out the false information and simplification of truth into the daylight, one tries to free our fellow citizens from falsehood, illusion and idolatry. As genuine people who search for truth, justice and righteousness, we should be a critique the reality and speak fearlessly with clarity of vision and precision overcoming the socio-cultural taboos, unease disorientation and fear. On this journey of promoting the Gospel values, we have to acknowledge the mistake that occurred in the past and the wrongs that we have committed and one must be free from the ‘comfortable and self-satisfied form of blindness,’ the blindness that accepts all kinds of ‘deception, slander, egotism and other subtle forms of self-centeredness.’ It requires fairness and impartiality, freedom from self-interest in thought and judgment and it summons us to fight all forms of corruption, especially spiritual corruption and ready to take a firm stand on the ethical demands, responsibilities, rights and obligations. That is, those in ministry are to be learned how to govern and make ethically accountable to the members of their community.
In the wake of contemporary challenges and dilemmas, there is a genuine invitation for conversion- a time to regain the identity of a catholic within the frame of the Gospel and its values. The Christian love that suspends the boundaries between classes, races or species, and is exposed the common attention to the shared identity of the created order, has the ability to transcend the limited ambience of human beings. It demands us to cure the brokenness and the atrocities that occurred in the society through various hate speeches, discourses and arguments. Our faith teaches the sanctity of each human being and demands us to respect each individual in his/her context, where all human life and differences are valued. Going beyond the sphere of the self, respects the diversities and differences, values things without harming one’s integrity and the ‘otherness’ of the other, and opens our horizons to the vastness of time and history that exists beyond our spatio-temporal realms, visualising ‘the best’ for the other.