Who will cleanse Kerala’s Augean stables ?
Cardinal sin, dissent `crucifiying’ Church in Kerala!
July 16, 2019 Matters India
Note: An independent report from Matters India, than a comment from an editor of CCV tells it all. This report brings together the highlighs of Clerical sex abuse over the past 30 years.
Clerical sex abuse in the high eshelans of the Catholic church is rocking the Pyramidal Church structure the world over to breaking point. Imagine the high rise Ifle Tower of Paris or the Bourge Khalifa of Dubai breaking down to pieces!
The main causes for such developments are the take over of the Jesus community in the world by Emperor Constantine in the third century AD to turn it in to a triumphant church of royal splendor and worldly power for domination, not for service; and Second, ignoring its prime duty of focusing and imitating the self-emptying, foot washing ministry of Jesus to the poorest, the hungry, homeless, sick, exploited and marginalized sections of humanity.
Vatican II
It was to retrace the Curch gone off the true path that Pope John XXIII opened the second Vatican Council. Its main purpose was: “to sweep clean the dust of the Empire accumulated on the throne of Peter, ever since the time of Constantine!” Nothing could be achieved even after more than 50 years since that Council ended, all due to the unbending physical structure totally unsuitable for Jesus’ way of humble, simple living in the service of the needy.
What is needed now is not reform of an hierarchical structure of perks and privileges. Jesus never dreamt of such a community. What he envisioned was a Humane Humanity after the model of the ideal Son of Man, for all times, places and peoples, as he presented himself. That is what Chesterton nutshelled it by naming his book: “The Everlasting man.
Vivekananda, Narayana Guru, Peter Reddy
Vivekanda described Jesus as the visible appearance of an invisible God. Narayana Guru does the same when he equates humane humanity to Godliness or to the essence of religion. Peter Reddy, an erudite mendicant preacher with university degrees used to be invited to speak at public functions. But he always avoided lime-light appearance as guest of honour.
When organizers failed to see him at the place of honored guest speakers, they went serarching and found him sitting among ordinary folks. Embarrassed at this the organizers apologized: “We never knew you were an “MA” degree sitting with the unlettered, please come up to the stage!”
MAN more important than MA
Responding to it Peter Reddy said: “What is important is not an “MA” but one is a “MAN” – human dignity of equality, Jesus speaks of: “you are all brothers only” and what St, James warns against preferential treatment we humans give to the well-dressed rather than to the shabbily dressed. The outstanding trait of Jesus community is equality, brotherhood, sisterhood and self-emptying readiness to take the last seat to do menial service of doing foot-washing ministry proudly, hardly seen among the clerical class!
According to reports Kerala Catholic Church Reformation Movement North America (KCRMNA) is planning to have its first ever National Gathering in Chicago on August 10, 2019. If it is REFORM that KCRMNA has in mind it should already chalk out a culture of life and practice in our daily conduct in North America, from dawn to dust.
Reflect Jesus the Cattle class, not Lazarus & Dives
It should reflect the Cattle-class Life of Jesus and his apostles – they treated each other as equals, never as master and servant, least of all as Lazarus laying in front of the House of Dives, waiting for occasional throw-awawys from the sumptuous banquet table of the Dives! Please bring your valuable suggestions to the historic Aug.10th meeting. james kottoor, editor CCV
Please read below the Matters India report on Clergy sex in Kerala
Never before has the Church in Kerala landed in such a shattered situation where it has a series of sexual scandals to counter after priests have landed in police custody for their libidinous tendencies, nuns have come out in public protest against a Bishop accused of raping one of their colleagues and priests publicly announcing that they will not obey the orders of a Cardinal who was initially accused of being involved in a land scam and later reinstated through Vatican intervention.
Incidentally, some of these cases, including that of the oldest Sr Abhaya murder, are to come up for hearing over the next few days.
It has been a never-imagined-before position for the Church when over 200 priests of the Syro Malabar Diocese gathered and announced their displeasure over the reinstatement of George Alencherry as the Cardinal after he had to step down on charges of being involved in sale of land that caused a huge loss to the Church.They even announced that they would not obey his orders and read out the pastoral letters issued by him.
Such defiance has not just flummoxed the authorities, but even the laity.To add to the embarrassment was the arrest last week of a priest arrested on paedophile charges. Fr George (40) allegedly abused six inmates of a boys’ hostel run by the Carmelites Order at Palluruthy in Kochi. He is said to have been abused them since December last and even threatened action against those who failed to succumb to his carnal desires.
The boys jumped the hostel and went home to complain. Police action followed a complaint by the parents.This shattered the Church which is yet to come out the shock of the libidinous ways of Franco Mulakkal, who was removed from the position of Jalandhar Bishop last year, following charges of raping a nun several times.
The case had wider ramifications as this was also the first time that the Church witnessed protests from nuns who came out to join a public meeting and sat for days together demanding Franco’s arrest. Just over a year ago, a Catholic priest, Robin Vadakkumcherry, was arrested while trying to flee the country after facing charges of sexually abusing a 16-year-old and impregnating her. The girl delivered and the child is in an orphanage.
Last year, four priests of the Malankara Orthodox Church were arrested on charges of blackmailing and sexually assaulting a married woman for three years on the basis of her confession of having been in love with one of the priests when she was a young girl.The oldest case of March 27, 1992, when a hardly 20-year-old nun, Sr Abhaya, was found dead in a well of a convent in Kottayam, is to come up for hearing at the CBI special court next week.
She was allegedly killed and an attempt was made to make it a case of suicide.The chargesheet was filed after nearly a decade and trial was delayed by tactics of the accused, Fr Thomas Kottoor, Fr Joseph Poothrikkayil, Sr Sephy and Superintendent of Police KT Michael. The court later discharged Fr Joseph and Michael. This has been challenged and the case is pending.
The other two face trial next week.Besides the dispute over huge properties between the Jacobite and Orthodox factions continuing, the latest has been the public dissent growing within the Kerala diocese of the Church of South India (CSI) over huge capitation fee being collected for admission to its medical college.
A separate account is there for this illegal collection and the diocese has ordered a probe into the alleged financial irregularities.All these come when the world has been looking at the Pope going places to condemn such abuse by the clergy. But the power of the Church over its laity has been so strong to silence the voices of dissent.
The Church has the backing of the political parties as made clear by the LDF government attempt to ask the Kerala Lalita Kala Academi to review its cartoon award depicting Franco Mulakkal as a rooster holding the ceremonial bishop staff on which hangs a woman’s undergarments.
The rooster stands on a police cap held by two politicians.The control of the Church, like that of Kerala’s powerful political party CPM, over its followers has slowly started showing signs of crumbling, forcing it to find ways to steer clear of controversies.(covaipost.com)
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