PUNE: The outcome of the recent deliberations at the biennial Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCD the apex body of the Christian community in the country was generally welcomed though voices of dissent were heard on some issues deftly sidetracked by the august gathering.

The six-day national-level meet attended by over 120bishops from all-over the country and the Union territories at the papal seminary here reiterated the Catholic church’s commitment to three Contemporary social causes Viz. upliftment of the Dalit granting dignity w women and providing a voice to the unorganized labor.

“We have decided to give preference to the Dalit’s in our institutions. A woman’s cell has been set up to initiate programs and action’s on that front and the church will try and organize the unorganized labor” said Archbishop Alphonse Mathias of Bangalore the re-elected president of the CBCI highlighting the “social concern” theme of the conference.

The Archbishop said that spirituality was not the only concern of the church in India. “Social service and the general welfare of the people also concerns us” he said adding that institution like health care centers schools dispensaries hospitals and homes for the aged have been set up with these aims in view. Besides the CBCI which was a meeting ground for the clergy belonging to the Latin Syro Malabar and Syro-Malankararites there has also been set up nine commissions of various social issues including labor education and culture.

The CBI’s general body meeting. Noted the growing restlessness and discontent among the Dalit Christians. Admiring that there were some legitimate grievances and in some areas not enough succor had been provided the conference called for united efforts to grant justice to the “Dalit brethren”.

“It is impossible to have a caste system in the church” Archbishop George Zur the Popes ambassador in New Delhi averred “Casteism is anathema to the teachings of the church” he said adding that true followers of Christ will practice equal dignity and respect for all persons.

Sympathizing with the case made court by the Dalit Christians the papal ambassador said that “urgent surgery was heeded in the church to stem the rot in this direction before it got out of hand”.

The CBCI observed that the demand of the Dalit’s largely related to socio-economic benefits education housing and jobs. “The church has done much in this regard and we have asked regional and diocesan authorities to redouble their efforts on a priority basis with special emphasis on education for all” said Father Alfred Barretto principal of Ornellas High School. He said the orientation of the meeting towards concrete steps on the issue was welcome. “For long the Dalit’s have felt let down by the hierarchy. The outcome of the conference must have given them some assurance that the church hierarchy was indeed concerned at the plight of the Dalit’s.

“The meeting must have also sent out a message to the deprived classes that the importance of the personal being meant something to the church” he added.

However as Fr. Sunny of the Kalyan diocese pointed out the CBCI had in fact discussed the Dalit issue at Kotlayam nearly four years ago but nothing much seems to have been done in the intervening period.

“It remains to be seen how much of what the CBCO has decided in Pune is going to be effective and how much close the church is to the image it portrays of being common o the people” he said.

“The Dalit’s have launched a protest movement on the political front at the national level and the church can join the struggle by providing the much needed lead in this regard” said Fr. Paul Parathazham a professor at the Janata Deepa Vidyapeeth adding that the top leadership in the church is aware of what is happening around it.

Fr. George Lobo a professor at the papal seminary said the conference for once focused on socially relevant issues. “It gave the bishops a clear orientation of the involvement of the church in social issues” he said. “The bishops will hopefully implement the decisions taken at the conference in different places and in different ways depending on the local circumstances and requirements.”

On the women’s front the CBCI said there was an urgent need to treat women with greater dignity and respect. The tremendous religious potential in them can also be garnered fruitfully the conference felt.

“For the first time women from the church who had grievances were heard and the bishops divided to take corrective measures to provide them the dignity and respect they deserved added Fr. Parathazham.

“Until now a better deal for women had remained only on paper. For the first time the bishops went into details and concluded that women needed to be given their right place in society home and the country” said Fr Barretto.

However the conference sidetracked the demand from some quarters that women be ordained as priests which they held amounted to the propagation of discrimination of women in the church. The CBCI was non-committal over the stand of the church on the issue despite Archbishop Mathias admitting that representations had been received from various women to be ordained as priests.

“The issue had just come to a level of discussion” said Archbishop Mathias pointing out that in any religion in this country it has always been the man who performed the rites.

As for the unorganized labor the CBCT felt that they faced insecurity at work inability to negotiate service conditions and an absence of safety and retirement benefits. “But the greatest disadvantage was that they had no voice” was pointed out with the Archbishop adding that the church would see how it can help such labor.

However Fr Barretto pointed out that in this respect the church had not attended to one aspect viz. education of the unorganized labor. “There is nothing on the personal front” he said hastening to add that it gladdened one to see that the church was aware of his commitment to vital issues.

Despite grave misgivings being expressed in certain circles regarding implementation of the decisions taken at the conference Fr Lobo was optimistic that the outcome would be positive.

Fr Parathazham said that two of the issues among the Dalit’s and the plight of women were relevant in today’s context and the CBCI had done a remarkable job.

The church leadership needed to be sensitized to the problems facing society and this conference has done that. The Dalit’s and women needed to be provided dignity and justice and in that direction the CBCI has taken the right steps” he said.

However even as Pune played host to the CBCI dissent among parishioners of the Poona diocese was increasing both in intent and vocally against mismanagement of funds and church affairs. To bring this to the notice of the large contingent of bishops present at the conference a petition was also presented giving the various charges leveled against the clergy by the laity.

And in this regard while universal concern over the growing corruption in the church is being recognized and church authorities are not dismissing such petitions by the laity quite as easily as they did about a decade ago the bishop of that diocese was responsible for looking into the complaints and finding redress.

It was also pointed out that should the charges leveled against the clergy require investigation the issue could be referred to the Archbishop and then the Vatican. A couple of petitions were made to the bishops one of them alleging that implementation of the 100yr-old Encyclical rerun novarum regarding the church’s responsibility in social concern was more in breach than in practice.” The management in certain dioceses “was worse than tyranny and dictatorship under selfish and highhanded bishops” the letter pointed out listing details of complaints and grievances received from the various parishes in Pune district.

The petitioners also alleged that due to the “suppressive domineering despotic dictatorial and upper-handed behavior” of the church clergy a large number of Catholics were abandoning the church.

Chottebhai president of the All India Catholic Union is quoted as having said that there is too much interference from the bishops and. George Menezes is reported to have quit from all church bodies protesting the double standards of the CBCI.

The Bombay-based Christian Revival-Oriented Social Service (CROSS) has urged the CBCI to actively involve the laity in the mission of the church and also initiate the laity into the national mainstream. “It is time for the CBC to look within the community” the memo has urged. “The common Christian is not only eco-socio-politically exploited but also uncared for by society and more so by the church that pays lip service to the teachings and doctrines of the faith” Joseph Dias founder president CROSS said in his memo.

Archbishop Mathias admitted that he had received the two petitions. However he pointed out that the all-India body did not as a matter of principle investigate individual complaints from a diocese”. Each diocese is individual and autonomous. If the parishioners have any complaints a local committee is formed to 100k into them. If the outcome is not satisfactory the petitioners can approach the Archbishop and later the Vatican” he said.

Fr Alfred Barretto also pointed out that the reasons and causes are so diverse in such cases that they are difficult to present at a national-level conference. “Most of the time it is possible trying to get back at the priest” he said.

“I hope and pray whatever was discussed at the conference does not remain on paper only” he added. “After all the church needs the people and the people need the church”.

Article extracted from this publication >> January 31, 1992