Bishops, speak up before you die

By Varghese Alengaden

Indore: Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini, former archbishop of Milan, made a revolutionary and realistic statement that the Catholic Church was “200 years out of date” in an interview before his death September 1, 2012, at the age of 85.

Italian daily newspaper Corriere della Sera published his views on many other aspects of the church life. He showed courage to speak out on many issues: “Our culture has aged, our churches are big and empty and the church bureaucracy rises up; our rituals and our cassocks are pompous; The church must admit its mistakes and begin a radical change, starting from the pope and the bishops; The pedophilia scandals oblige us to take a journey of transformation.”

He defended women who were divorced and children born without marriage. “A woman is abandoned by her husband and finds a new companion to look after her and her children. A second love succeeds. If this family is discriminated against, not just the mother will be cut off, but also her children. In this way the church loses the future generation,” Cardinal Martini had warned.

Indeed it is laudable that Cardinal Martini did his prophetic mission of speaking out at least two weeks before his death to Pope Benedict XVI to shake up the Catholic Church without delay. “The Church is 200 years out of date,” he said, “why don’t we rouse ourselves? Are we afraid?”

Yes, fear is conditioning and controlling our clergy and religious. More than anyone else, bishops and cardinals are the victims of fear in the Church. Although they have unquestionable and unaccountable power and authority than any other ruler in the world they are afraid of everyone and everything.

They continue committing sins of silence and remain indifferent to many evils done in front of them. They go on making compromise to maintain the structure and system, justify unjust and unfair practices engaged by their subordinates and pleasing their sycophants. They oppress the weak and the voiceless by using the inhuman provisions of the canon law and outdated and irrelevant dogmas.

There are many bishops and others who hold leadership positions in the church who admit the outdatedness of the beliefs and practices within the church. They admire privately the prophetic persons who speak out and write against the un-Christian practices in the church. However they have no guts to speak out and defend these authentic prophets in a common forum like Conference of Bishops.

In personal conversations they condemn the unjust and inhuman actions of their fellow bishops against their priests and some community of religious women, yet they would never say a word of protest when they meet for conferences and synods. All of them show their Episcopal solidarity there. Hardly anyone will show prophetic courage to confront a fellow bishop even privately. Are they waiting to speak out before they die like Cardinal Martini?

I had made a statement in one of my previous articles that ‘the Church in India is plagued with corruption and immorality.’ There are conflicts between dioceses and religious congregations in the name of land and property; there are cases of priests and bishops acting with revenge; there are cases of clergy and religious involved in public scandals of finance, sex and hate campaign against other groups.

Bishops are aware of this scandalous situation and yet they keep quiet and continue their routine meetings and retreats to teach how to use the new lectionary and practice the newly imported rituals. They are aware of the ‘drug peddlers’ who are engaged in the business of marketing devotions who block the simple people from realizing God through the practice of spirituality of values as Jesus taught.

The bishops and leaders of the church do not have the courage to speak out against the age-old religious colonialism and commercialization which still continue. They do not realize their call to be prophetic and to bear lasting fruit for completing the mission of Christ. Are they waiting to speak out after their retirement?

Even after retirement many may not have the courage because they may be dreaming of further promotions. They do not show the courage to speak out even before death as Cardinal Martini for fear of being excommunicated after death. Fear and slavery have poisoned them beyond redemption. Remember, some authors were banned by the Church after many years of their death only to make their books more popular.

The fear and silence of the shepherds in the Church are intensified by the autocratic statements of Pope Benedict. According to him, “those who question are Judases” and asked them to leave the Church. It is sad that thousands are leaving the Church from countries in Europe, North America, Austria and elsewhere. Leaving the Church is not a solution. Prophets will neither surrender nor run away from adverse situations and challenges. Neither the pope nor bishops can ask anyone to leave the Church.

Every Catholic has the same right as the Pope and bishops have in the Church. Church is every one’s mother and none has the right to ask anyone to abandon his/her mother. Genuine prophets will not accept defeat because they have a mission of liberating Church from the hypocritical priests and high priests. Unfortunately the Church is enslaved by them because many who question leave the Church for fear of alienation and elimination. They do not have the spiritual and mental stamina to fight the battle and stand the ground.

The Church hierarchy is suffering from fear and insecurity. They pass judgments on prophets without giving a chance for them to present their views. They publish their judgments to all convents and churches without sending a copy to the victim who was condemned in his absence. Bishops are afraid to listen to those who disagree with them even as a powerful body. Hence they never invite those who would challenge them openly for explaining their views.

Their cowardice is further exposed by sending circulars to religious communities to keep away from such prophetic preachers and writers. They instruct their priests and nuns not to invite such persons for any animation programs and retreats. Will the Church leadership admit its mistakes and begin a radical change starting from the pope and bishops as Cardinal Martini had spoken before he died?

Will it continue the pompous life style with its luxury cars, cassocks, circus caps and fancy dress competitions of various religious habits and saris? Cardinal Martini wrote at the time of Pope Benedict. Atmosphere is better now since we have a prophet in Pope Francis. There are self-righteous pharisaic preachers and priests today who don’t accept him as Jesus was not accepted by the priests and high priests of His time.

The solution is very simple as I had repeatedly suggested in many of my previous writings: In all our discussions and decisions ask ourselves, “What would Jesus do if He were here? What is the mind of Christ and what is the heart of Christ?” Prophets don’t wait for approval and acceptance by any one. They are called to walk alone without waiting for anyone to follow them.