Vanishing Inequalities in Church! Especially in India’s Syromalabar Church!

                                                          james kottoor

 

One of the greatest achievements of our times, in the Hierarchical Clerical class in the  Catholic church is that all honorific appellations – excellency, eminence, Msgr. Rev. etc. are vanishing slowly, too slowly perhaps, but surely.

 

All are at least trying to  come down like Zacheus from the tree tops to become ordinaries with small ‘o’ only, following the example of Francis  who  started first calling himself a “sinner”, then placed himself “one feet below the laity” in the Hierarchical Ladder to become “Servus servorum”(Servant of servant), as indicated in his latest encyclical ‘Fratelli Tutti’ (“We are all brothers and sisters Only”)!

                                                         

They may even succeed to join the “Classless Cattle Class of Jesus” in God’s own good time. The present Constantanian church of pomp and posh publicity, graded positions and reverential appellation; nay perks and privileges,  inequalities galore, worse than that existed and still exists in the Manu Sastra of Hindusim, not among civilized Hindus, yes, this Constantanian Church has no meaning and message for the modern man, born and bred in  liberty, equality, fraternity and unity, the Catch words of the French Revolution. 

 

This applies equally in today’s much dicussed/disputed public prayer in Syro-Churches called MASS! Lexorandi, lex vivendi! (Law of praying is law of living!) which ought to be coming from the heart, mind and soul, not from outside, least of all dictated from human authority above, if one is to follow the example set by Jesus. Recall his example, his conversation to the Samaritan woman at the Jacob’s well!(Jn, 4-10.26).

 

Landgrabbing!

Rudrasha wearing Cardinal Alanchery is one of my closest friends about whom I wrote skyhigh on his electon, in the Indian Currents, based on my research findings. He praised me for it and put it on his notice board and used to respond graciously to my yearly birthday greetings, may be because  the IC editor cancelled out a caveat note in the electon euphoria, “that we should wait at least one year to assess and judge him”.

 

When the landgrabbing court cases, for his ‘holy’ purpose of builging a Medical college for the glory of the ‘Syro-Church’ started to come up,  I had to, as a good friend, write to him that he should first stand out until all cases are cleared, to resume as Cardinal and Archbishop lovingly, which I did several times. So it seems, my letters of late stopped receiving any replies from him.

 

Mass controversy

I had even quoted Mt.5.25: “Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. You are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison.” Mt.5.25

If he preaches this Bible and doesn’t practise it, how can  he be anything but a Hypocrite, in the words of Jesus? Now he is immersed in another scadal, Prayer(MASS) controversy! His priests refuse to read his pastoral letters.

 

In this context New York times has published a hard-hitting article: Is not the Church an irredeemably flawed institution?

 

New York Times devoted the entire Letters to the Editor section of its "Sunday Review" in early August to current controversies in the Catholic Church. The letters were all written in response to two columns, one by the Times conservative Catholic columnist Ross Douthat ("The Ungovernable Catholic Church") and the other by Matthew Walther ("This is Why America Needs Catholicism").

 

Walther is the editor of the Lamp, a new Catholic bimonthly journal, and a contributing editor at the American Conservative. Douthat's column argued that Pope Francis's recent effort to curtail the celebration of the traditional Latin Mass was likely to fail given the Church's internal divisions and loss of authority.

 

There was, alas, nothing surprising in these letters to the editor. It is increasingly the conviction of many Catholics and non-Catholics alike that the Church is a seriously and perhaps irredeemably flawed institution.

 

Letters were all written in response to two columns, one by the New York Times which devoted the entire Letters to the Editor section of its "Sunday Review" in early August to current controversies in the Catholic Church.

 

What is Prayer?

Readers are aware of the long articles we wrote how Jesus at Jacob’s well explained to the woman, “ln spirit and truth in silence” not on that mountain or this, not in that temple or this! No need to repeat here.

 

From that it is clear that the “Zeromalabar” is not following Jesus’ example, but that of Constantine’s pomp, publicity and posh living. So we can only hope and pray our dear younger brother Alanchery rise up like  Phenix from the ashes, to restore the good name of the church, before it is totally wiped out. Differing corrective views are not only welcome but fervently requested! james kottoor, editor CWC.

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