By Jacob Peenikaparambil
Indore: The Church urgently requires new solutions and responses to challenges it faces in India, asserts a Catholic priest, who has tried to develop enlightened leadership, responsible citizenship, and harmony among religions and ethnic groups for the past four decades.
“If you let the past control you, you will have no future,” Father Varghese Alengaden, founder director of the Indore-based Universal Solidarity Movement, warmed 110 priests and Religious of Indore diocese attending an online seminar.
The January 9 webinar was organized at the initiative of Bishop Chacko Thottumarickal of Indore. The Divine Word prelate welcomed all participants and the speaker.
By citing various proofs Father Alengaden pointed out that the Hindutva Rashtra (nation) has already become a reality under the rule of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the minorities have been reduced to the level of second class citizens.
In his one and half hours address, the priest highlighted the internal and external challenges faced by the Church in India in its mission, the most important being the hostile Hindutva forces and an unfriendly government.
The Church also suffers from declining credibility or trust deficit mainly because of its internal problems and scandals. According to him, the root cause is drifting away from the way of Jesus. The consecrated women and men are called by God ‘to become prophets to the nations and conscience of society.’ They are called to bear fruits that are lasting by being prophetic voices and involving in prophetic actions, he added.
Father Alengaden started his talk by challenging the participants to introspect on the effectiveness of more than 160,000 priests and religious with their infrastructure and wealth on the Indian society.
Why is the Church at the receiving end despite having about 60,000 educational institutions with about 50 million students and their 100 million parents,? Why doesn’t any of the students or alumni of the huge educational network come forward when the Church personnel and institutions are attacked by the extremist groups?
The rich and the middle class, including a large majority of the students of our schools, are already brainwashed with the hate filled exclusive and discriminatory Hindutva ideology, Father Alengaden alleged.
The priest stressed the need for new solutions the Church and its people urgently need to meet the new challenges in India.
“Put the new wine into the new wineskins,” he said quoting from the Bible.
As a solution he appealed to the participants to ask themselves, “If Jesus were here today what he would do?” Returning to the way of Christ is the ultimate solution, he said.
Some responses he proposes are:
• Become the light and the salt by being proactively involved in the issues of the people
• Adopt transparent and participatory approach
• Stop frequent and routine transfers of Church personnel in view of building sustainable relationship with people, especially in the context of increasing opposition
• Become sensitive to the religious and cultural sentiments of the people
• Practice round-the-clock hospitality
• Develop personal spirituality through self-discipline and self-education
• Make use education ministry for building leaders with character and competence and who are committed to the values of Indian Constitution.
In our recent Inter faith Panel discussion on d topic Role of Religion amidst Communalism n Fundamentalism held in Kolkata n organised by d commission for Dialogue in association with Rotary Club of Kolkata NABODIGANTA d speakers vehemently on d inclusiveness of Religion n it’s practice in real life. Rev Dr M D Thomas gave d keynote address n he said , that Communalism n Fundamentalism r d two viruses of our pluralist society. In our present political scenario Hindutva agenda is taking upper hand. Bengal is facing d same in d upcoming assembly elections. Bengal is faith friendly state. We live in harmony. The outside forces r building a forced agenda of extremism n Hindutva card. D speakers who came from cross section of all religions, they voiced their common agenda of building humanity, religion to build bridges of peace n harmony. All spoke on similar tone of creating a holding environment of peace love n harmony. It is d politicisation of religion that is bringing chaos in d minds n lives of people. Our constitution gives basic rights n privileges to maintain d decorum of our national identity. Our country is pluralist n our Church has a prophets Role as d agenda of New Evangelization calls for n d recent encyclical of Pope Francis Fratelli Tutti. When d Churches r united n it’s leaders move forward with common goals we can certainly fight our enemy that is trying to divide us on d basis of majority n minority. United we stand divided we fall.
Fr. Jacob & fr. Alengaden are persons who are experienced in character & nation building activities for a long time.
Their observation is in the right direction. The threat is real. The word Hindustan is no where in the Constitution. Yet we talk in terms of hindustan. The concept of Hindu rashtra is against the vision of the Constitution provided to us.
The two priest have raised the alarm bells. The institutions are deteriorating. The Constitution needs to be saved. The church has a role to play. It should before it’s too late.
One should understand the hidden agenda of RSS to make India a Hindu rashtra. Though Christians are minority religiously, we are a citizen of India, so we have a responsibility to ensure constitutional values are upheld, so we should unitedly fight to preserve plurality and integrity of India.
Christians are a small minority in India. It is in their interest to be not in a confrontational mode. What is going to happen if India declares itself as a Hindu rashtra? If equal opportunity is assured to all citizens I don’t see a problem. cristians must introspect why some hardline Hindus have turned against us. I think it is due to the fervor of conversion merchants. When an Hindu is told that salvation is only through Jesus, it effectively result in insulting Hindu gods as frauds. Put ourselves in their shoes. Won’t it hurt us if someone were to tell us the same thing. Drop the agenda of conversion to get peace and erase out enmity.