By Matters India Reporter
Puducherry: The headquarters of the Archdiocese of Pondicherry-Cuddalore on December 3 witnessed tension when a group of Dalit Catholic leaders tried to meet priests from their community.
Mary John, Tamil Nadu state leader for Dalit Christian Liberation Movement, priests were in a peaceful dialogue with the archdiocesan administration to end untouchability in the archdiocese.
But archdiocesan procurator Father Gregory Louis Joseph stopped the leaders at the gate of the Archbishop’s House. The Dalit leaders then approached the police, who helped open the gate.
“We, the Dalits, have every right to meet our priests,” John told Matters India.
The Dalit priests’ representatives wanted to meet the archbishop on November 30.
“We have come here to dialogue with the diocesan administration to eradicate caste discrimination and the untouchable practices in the archdiocese especially in the appointment of the Dalit priests,” John explained.
The Dalit priests say the archdiocese has 42 posts, including that of the procurator, that remain out of bounds for them.
Since the term of the procurator was over the Dalit priests’ requested the archbishop to appoint one of their people to the post.
“But unfortunately, the college of consulters, who met on the following day, did not honor the request,” John said.
The priests again met with the archbishop who informed them that Father Gregory had resigned on November 13 and his place was taken by Father Albert Felix on December 1.
The archbishop on November 24 sent a circular informing the faithful that he was taking a two-month leave for health reasons. He appointed Father A. Arulanandam, the Vicar General, as the archdiocesan administrator in his absence.
The archbishop’s circular, dispatched by Father Gregory, the procurator, quoted a letter from Propaganda Fide that the appointment of the new procurator was suspended for two months.
A letter signed by 23 Dalit priests, addressed to the apostolic nuncio, expressed their concerns about the absence of the archbishop. They alleged that the college of archdiocesan consulters had held an unprecedented meeting without the archbishop and reversed the prelate’s decision on the procurator. According to them, this forced the archbishop to go on leave.
The Dalit priests want the nuncio to inform Propaganda Fide that the consulters had misguided it.
The consulters justify their letter to the Propaganda Fide and assert that a particular group cannot compel a bishop to agree to their demands.
The Dalit priests’ representatives say they now feel like sheep without shepherd. “We cannot also approach the vicar general as his administrative powers are not clear under the Canon Law,” they say.
The Dalit leaders first raised their concern in March through letters and email that appealed the archbishop to end the highly polarized casteism in the archdiocese.
On March 9, a few Dalit priests met the archbishop and appealed him to consider equality and fraternity while transfers and appointments. There also pointed out that no Dalit priests serve parishes dominated by Non-Dalit Catholics.
“Dalit people’s welfare is undermined, Dalit priests are sidelined in positions of power and authority, although the Dalit policy document of the Indian bishops categorically states that power and authority in decision making must be shared,” John alleged.