I have noticed that the location of a
monastery or church is always very distinct. For example, the CMI (Carmelites
of Mary Immaculate) monastery at Thevara, an indigenous Syrian Catholic
religious organization founded in 1831; the founder friars of that monastery
had a vision. They knew how to generate funds from the Catholic Community for
their development projects. These far-sighted friars bought large extents of
land in Thevara. This was predominantly dominated by the fisher folk. These fishermen were then economically weak
and socially, culturally, and educationally backward. At the outset the friars
set up a primary school, and a small printing press. The school gradually
developed into a high school with a hostel; and recently they set up a CBSE
School as well. They further expanded
into the making of Sacred Heart College, an Arts and Science College, which was
established in 1944 with magnificent buildings fringed with attractive gardens
and potted plants, a library, a spacious
auditorium, vast play grounds and facilities for both sports and games. At
present the college is accredited with five star statuses and a grade by the
NAAS (National Assessment and Accreditation Council) and it has become an
autonomous college. The college offered 14 under graduate and 14 post-graduate
courses in varied subjects to cope with the demands of the modern age. The
printing press too grew considerably. They renovated the church and monastery
building. These institutions offered jobs for a lot of people. A different
class of people with intellectual abilities, good values and virtues came to be
associated with these institutions. A good number of them settled close to the
college out of convenience. The elite in the City of Cochin also moved to this
area not only for its scenic backwater location but also due to the
availability of important amenities for the development of their children. This
made drastic changes in the lives of common man. Now the people living in
Thevara are all literate; they are all employed, living in stylish and modern
buildings. Their living conditions too
have improved considerably. Privation and sufferings are stories of the past.
Nobody can ignore the great contribution and services of the friars and the
nuns of varied congregations in the field of education and health. The yeoman
services they have rendered for the peace and progress of common man especially
in the State of Kerala is highly laudable.
I cannot but comment that these ideals
they upheld are realities of the past. I am amazed to note the changing
scenario.
Day by day the values
and virtues are failing; deterioration has extended its tentacles to all walks
of life including Christianity. The profession of a friar and nun especially
secular priests have degenerated into a mere livelihood for many. Indiscipline
disobedience, lecherous behaviour and materialism are the rules of the day.
I was flabbergasted when a protest march was taken out by the
secular priests brazenly through the public roads in the city of Cochin, a few
years back, against their spiritual leader and Bishop Dr. Sebastian
Mankuzhikari, who tried to introduce the ancient Chaldean order of worship in
churches under the Ernakulam Diocese. The secular priests finally succeeded in
ignominiously transferring him to an insignificant diocese at Thamarassery in
Kozhikode district.
Another unfortunate and shocking episode
reported in the news media was that of the vicar of St Mary’s Church, Njarakkal
and a section of the fanatic religious group of parishioners, who criminally
intimidated and assaulted two CMC sisters with the common intention to take
control and management of the Convent School situated on the first floor of the
convent building and the Poor Home, which was established in 1945. Both these
belong to the CMC Convent at Njarakkal. Their futile attempt was on the basis of
a fraudulent by-law fabricated by the vicar in connivance with the Bishop of
Ernakulam diocese. They manipulated and obtained orders from the Deputy
Director of Public Instruction. This was done without the knowledge of the
sisters of the Convent. The provocation for the atrocious and concerted acts
was due to the dismissal of the service of their Manager, (who was the vicar of
St. Mary’s Church at Njarakkal. He was appointed to the post of Manager by the
Mother Superior of the Convent. The Vicar was asked to leave on the charges of
mismanagement and misappropriation of the funds of their school. In order to
cover up his wickedness, conspiracy and to wriggle out of the grievous felony,
the Vicar of Njarakkal Church filed a writ petition, WP(C) No. 30106 of 2006 of
the High Court of Kerala, and obtained a judgment dated 11-08-2010 from the
single bench, which was technically in his favour. But the single judge
erroneously omitted to consider the real bone of contentions in the case. What
the judge failed to realize was -who bought, and to whom the landed property of
the school belonged and who started the original Convent Girls School. That was
the crux of the issue. Aggrieved by the judgment of the single bench, the
Mother Superior filed WA No. 28 of 2011 before the High Court of Kerala. A
division bench presided over by Justice C.N. Ramachandran Nair and Justice B.P.
Ray heard that appeal in detail along with other connected appeals filed, WA
Nos. 28, 48, 66, 69 & 76 of 2011, and passed an elaborate, common, appellate
judgment, dated 12-4-2011 reversing the judgment passed by the single judge.
The Vicar, the looser, moved Special Leave Petition No. 12909 of 2011 before
the Supreme Court of India, but the SLP was dismissed as per order dated
17-5-2011 and upheld the appellate judgment passed by the division bench. The
Court upheld the absolute right of the Mother Superior of the Convent over the
Little Flower Convent School and Poor Home and the right of the Mother Superior
of Little Flower Convent, Njarakkal, in Ernakulam district as the Manager of
both the institutions. The Convent sisters further created history of sorts
when they sued a Syro-Malabar bishop of the Ernakulam diocese and the priest of
St Mary’s Church, Njarakkal for criminal intimidation, conspiracy and forgery,
and for man-handling two CMC sisters with their common intention to take
control and management of the school and Poor Home belonging to the convent
fraudulently.
I too have personal experiences wherein
the bishop of Ernakulam diocese and secular priests, through murky deals, were
involved in making such blatant moves. I knew personally that the bishops tried
to unduly influence and coerce owners of private chapels to assign their
properties to the bishop of Ernakulam. On another occasion, they trespassed
into my private property and illegally erected a ‘Bhandaram’, the church offering treasury, which they removed when a
complaint was moved against the bishop and the secular priest with a copy to
the Sub Inspector of Police. Their concerted acts were in blatant violation of
the tenets of Christian Commandments, teachings and practices.
The vows of “poverty, chastity and
obedience” are conveniently forgotten by the priests. Nowadays priests liberate
themselves from the cassock. They are often spotted in hotels and cinemas in
the city. They drive around in their own posh cars, which is the new status
symbol. Education has become a business for the secular priests; they charge
exorbitant fees for admission to schools, colleges and professional courses.
Lump sums are demanded for the
appointment of teachers and lecturers; the Carmelite Missionary of India
(C.M.I. friars and C.M.C. nuns) are no exception. Selfless service has become
anathema, abhorrence and abomination to them. I was disturbed by a recent
revelation in our leading local daily, “Malayala Manorama.” It had reported
that the Malankara
Orthodox Syrian Jacobite Bishop Kuriakose Mar Clemis, paid three crore rupees
to the hierarchy to get the ‘Bishop’ title four years ago. Merit is often
overlooked. I was rudely shaken up to hear that twenty-five crores of rupees
were spent to construct St. George Church at Edappally. It may require another
five crores to complete it. Most of the churches were reconstructed or are
under renovation, spending exorbitant amounts when the global economy is in the
grip of a recession. Aren’t austerity and simplicity the need of the hour? I
would have appreciated if the Church had invested this money for erection of an
industrial unit which would generate employment and feed the hungry mouths and
/ or they utilized it for the modernization of their school and hospital at
Edappally.
I was again perturbed at the revelation of Sr. Jesme, an able and efficient
principal of St. Mary’s College at Trichur, Her university records eloquently
speak about her outstanding academic brilliance. Sr. Jesme, (Jesus and me), in
her autobiography in Malayalam namely “Amen: Oru Kanyastrhreyude Atmakadha” (An autobiography of a nun) reveals the group interests, politics,, quarrels
and fights for power and positions in their convents and educational
institutions. It portrays the outbreak of suppressed sex among the convent
sisters and in their college hostels and also exploitation of sex by the
priests. It explains the harassment meted out to her as principal for her
truthful and correct decision to oppose the collection of capitation fee for
various new courses and illegal donations and unfair appropriation of caution
deposits from students by the management. The hierarchy in their provincial
house at Trichur and some of the superior nuns branded her insane and made
endeavours to put her in mental asylum in order to usurp her seat of principal
of the college. Ultimately she put an end to the bitter episode by taking a
hard and painful decision to leave her Carmelite Missionary Congregation (CMC)
at Trichur.
Sodomy, incest, the abuse of nuns and the
molestation of children have been endemic in the Christian Church from its very
origins. Abuse of children in Church-run institutions by celibate priests has
become an international scandal.
The Churches that once were the gathering point for entire communities are now
half empty with only gray heads during
worship. Disgusted with sex abuse scandals, highly exaggerated and
fabricated gospels and fables, and for other reasons like exploitation of the
laity on sacraments, mass attendance is declining among the younger generation,
under age group of 30, in the western countries including Italy. Did a myriad
of books and articles start to decry? Recently my cousins, Celin Jose and Jose
Neerackal, who were working at Scotland, told me that a church at Dundee in
Scotland has been converted into a beer parlour. How colossal is the problem?
We have reached a stage where we cannot imagine being anything but a Catholic.
Can the Church really reverse this exodus of young adults? The population of the
world is exploding, but the Church is losing ground. The Church is in a steep
state of decline. A few blind believers could be cheated and exploited
throughout their life; the Church could cheat or exploit their sheeps for some
time but the Church cannot cheat or exploit all their sheeps for all time to come. Everything, faith or
institution, which had a beginning and growth has an ending too. This is a
natural rule of law.
Shibu K.P. (Kalamparambil, Karukutty, a
former friar of Vincentian Order) in his autobiography, “Oru Vaidikante Hrudayamitha,” (This is the Heart of a Priest)
discloses, “The convents and
nunneries are being converted into brothels. The priests have sex with the nuns
at night in these convents. Because of these acts, the chastity of the priests
and nuns has come under suspicion. Their love for God has shrunk. Some of the
clergy indulge in watching pornography and reading pornographic material. They
lose themselves in this habit. These
books and DVDs are kept in secret places and can’t be found easily.”
I was stunned, when Bishop John
Thattungal, of Kochi diocese, who raised a storm following his decision to
adopt a thirty year old woman as his daughter, has been suspended by Pope
Benedict XVI, in 2008.
Some of the secular priests and their
hierarchy would quarrel over doctrines during the day and sexually harass nuns
during the night. I
was astounded by the revelation of Sister Mary Chandy in her autobiography “Nanma Niranjavale Swasthi,” (Peace to the One filled with Grace),
revealed, “The cry of a baby came from the bathroom of one of the inner rooms
along with the sobs of a woman. We used our might to force open the bathroom
door and what we saw would break anyone’s heart. A nun who had given birth to a
child was pushing the head of the baby into the closet. The bathroom was filled
with blood. The legs of the child, which were sticking out of the closet, were
kicking for life.” She describes some of the sexual harassments meted out by a
number of nuns in convents at the hands of some lecherous secular priests. Convent sisters are coerced to offer – how many jugs
of wine, how many cauldrons of food, and how many young nuns to some of these
secular priests! The hierarchy and the mother
superiors of some of the convents abetted and encouraged such heinous crimes.
They coerce these young nuns into “sin” as part of the oath of obedience. Those
who questioned it were harassed and had to leave the convent like Sr. Mary
Chandy, who was forced to hit the head of a secular priest with a wooden stool
to avert an attempt of molestation and rape on her. Some of the secular priests
and the hierarchy of the convent chase them even outside their territory and
try their best to malign and ostracize them. I take this opportunity to bring
to the notice of the priests and friars, especially those of the Roman Catholic
Churches that Article 23 of the Constitution of India prohibits traffic on
women. Therefore those who harass and sexually exploit the nuns on the basis of
one of the vows they had taken which is “the vow of obedience” shall be
prosecuted for offences, convicted and sentenced to undergo punishments
prescribed under the Indian Penal Code.
Retreat is becoming the new money minting business of the last quarter of
the 20th century. Brother Dhinakaran became a multi-millionaire and
started a university of his own. The self proclaimed Bishop Yohannan bought
thousands of acres of plantations, built palaces, acquired schools and
colleges. The friars of
Vincentian congregation started popular mission retreats at Potta. When their
retreat turned out to be a crowd puller; they bought sprawling areas on either
side of NH-47 on the banks of River Chalakudy. They are extending their
territory eastwards to the foot-hills of Sahyadri Mountains. Their products like
Jose Anathanam and his nephew has made huge investments in real estate. They
bought a vast area at Kumbalam abutting the NH-47 on the western side and
backwaters on the eastern side.
Mullakkara Devassy is trying to outdo others by campaigns and by the sale
of his CDs. Fr. Sebastian Kaiparambath, a charismatic product, former vicar of
a church at Udayanapuram (2004-05) made a prophesy that the sun would vanish
and the water is going to engulf the earth. His prophesy spread like a wild
fire. The blind believers hoarded bundles of candle sticks and match boxes to
deter the ensuing darkness. The candle and match box manufacturers made a quick
buck. Such foolish prophets and self-proclaimed saints are mushrooming. They
are misguiding and looting their blind believers.
The Catholic Church should stop the
practice of recruiting in novitiates at a very young age. The young boys and
girls who have the “Call of the Lord” should be fully convinced and aware of
what they are going into. Only then will they be doing justice to their choice
in life, the life of celibacy and sacrifice which will make them totally
dedicated and devoted. In the event of he / she cannot stay a celibate, it is better
to liberate them from the prison of celibacy. Let them abandon the holy life,
strip off the cassock, and get married and settled in life. Holy Bible,
Apostle Paul advised the unmarried and the widows (1 Corinthians 7 Verses 9,) “But if they cannot control themselves, they should
marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion.” In the event of a priest or friar or nun desires to marry,
their parental share / patrimony deposited in the monastery or convent or with
their hierarchy should be returned forthwith with 6% simple interest on filing
his / her application expressing his / her wish to leave the
order/congregation. Such individuals may be permitted to marry and lead a
normal life with their family. It is the duty of the Catholic Church and the
society to accept and rehabilitate without any stigma attached to them. The
Catholic Church should realize and accept the fact that sex is not a sin; it is
only a biological necessity. The outbreak of suppressed sex is one of the
problems our society faces today. The Catholic Church could also bring reforms,
“like the priests of Ancient Christians, the secular priests of Roman Catholic
Church also could be allowed to marry and maintain a family.” This would
prevent sexual exploitation of hapless and unwilling nuns in convents.
More shocking than the sex was the
violence and cruelty that went with it. The CBI
is once again directed by the High Court of Kerala to probe into “the Abhaya
case.” “The ghost of Sr. Abhaya, the victim of a murder case in a convent at
Kottayam, haunts top echelon in the religion and the society.”
I am of the opinion
that a statutory Christian Board, similar to the Devaswom Boards in Kerala
State, shall be constituted by the government to control and manage the church
properties fraudulently obtained from the laities. Mismanagement and
misappropriation of church funds have to be curtailed. Moreover, in the
interest of the sovereignty and integrity of India and the security and safety
of its citizens, a foreign sovereign or Pope or Patriarch or another person
shall not be allowed to interfere in the affairs of our Churches or faiths. Put
an end to all the vestiges of the colonial rule. A competent and qualified
person from among the laymen or a priest can be appointed as Pope or Patriarch
to head the statutory Christian Board with the concurrence of the Govt. of
India. Such Pope or Patriarch shall not have any allegiance or subjugation to
the Pope at Vatican or Patriarch in Antioch or elsewhere and shall be treated
as equal to Pope or Patriarch elsewhere.
Read
MYTH OF ST.THOMAS AND
THESIX MONTHS WAR AND CONVERSION OF HINDUS
INTO MUSLIM AND CHRISTIAN FAITH as well
Excerpts from
NEED OF THE HOUR
by
Joseph J. Thayamkeril
Lawyer, Kochi, Kerala, India.
josephjthayamkeril.blogspot.com
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