Indore: Civil society members, intellectuals, social activists of all walks of life, journalists and authors have reacted strongly against the arrest and imprisonment of 83 year old Jesuit Father Stanislaus Lourduswamy who has been working for the rights of the Adivasis for about five decades in Jharkhand.
In letter and spirit he has been faithful to his call to “be a prophet to the nations.” The Jesuit priest, popularly known as Father Stan Swamy, has been following the way of Christ in letter and spirit.
Many civil society members and authors promptly condemned the inhuman and unjust act of NIA (National Investigation Agency) under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).
“Like Sudha Bharadwaj, Stan Swamy has spent a lifetime fighting for the rights of Adivasis. That is why the Modi regime seeks to suppress and silence them; because for this regime, the profits of mining companies take precedence over the lives and livelihoods of the Adivasis,” said Historian Ramachandra Guha in a tweet.
At the same time how many Church leaders, priests and nuns have taken note of Father Stan’s arrest and imprisonment? It took a day for the secretary general of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) to issue a statement, demanding Father Stan’s release. Has the Church leadership collectively or individually taken any step to create awareness among the members and mobilize people to protest against the violation of human rights guaranteed by the Constitution of India?
The Church has failed to be prophetic and kept silence every time when human rights were violated and innocents were murdered. It had kept silent when thousands were brutally murdered in communal riots following the demolition of Babri Masjid at Ayodhya in 1992. Similarly, the Church did not speak out when thousands were murdered during the communal violence in Gujarat in 2002. Even when Christians were murdered and many Church institutions destroyed in Kandhamal, Orissa (Odisha), the Church in India was slow to react.
While the Church gives much importance for charity works, it gives little importance to educate its priests and religious about their call to be prophets. When someone makes an effort to take up prophetic action to defend the rights of the poor and the exploited they are discouraged. Every work is to be approved by the authority. The leaders are afraid of the consequences when some members of the Church speak out and take a critical stand against the atrocities committed by the state agencies.
When individual priests and nuns stand up and speak against the corruption and crimes within the Church they are silenced. The vow of obedience is wrongly interpreted as obedience to the authorities, not obedience to God and His call. Practice of such a distorted concept of obedience over the years makes the consecrated men and women passive and loyal to the institutional structure. They become complacent and barren spiritually and intellectually.
The arrest and imprisonment of Father Stan for his prophetic mission may not have reached a large majority of the bishops, priests and nuns in different parts of the country. Even if some have come to know it, it remains only as information. They may not take it as a serious matter to contemplate and make action plans.
When Father Stan is imprisoned with false allegations why don’t the bishops, priests and nuns mobilize their people and sit in silent protest in front of every district/tahasil office in the country? Why don’t all the communities and institutions write to various governments their protest and concern? Why don’t the communities and dioceses organize awareness sessions and discussions about this incident for educating members about the importance of prophetic call and mission?
During my school days I had listened to some inspiring and revolutionary songs sung during the rallies of the Communist party. After sixty years I still remember the lines, “From every drop of blood thousands will rise….” If the Church opts to follow the call of Christ and take up His mission faithfully, thousands of Stans will rise up from the consecrated persons of the Church.
The educational institutions run by the Church can raise thousands of prophets who can rebuild the nation, ensuring justice, liberty, equality, fraternity and dignity of all individuals.
Will the Church leaders, priests and religious be ready to follow the way of Christ? It is important for us to learn from the words of Martin Luther King Jr. “If you have not identified the cause for which you should die, you have no reason to live.”
Stan Swamy is serving the nation with dedication and zeal.