By Francis Sunil Rosario
Kolkata: BRBC stands for ‘Bengal Regional Bishops’ Council. It consists of eight ecclesiastical provinces in West Bengal and Sikkim. The Archdiocese of Calcutta is the Metropolitan Archdiocese having seven suffragan dioceses. They are Asansol, Bagdorgra, Baruipur, Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, Krishnagar and Raiganj.
The Catholic population in Bengal region is approximately 750,000. The predominant languages spoken by the various ethnic communities are Bengali, Hindi, Santali, English, Nepali, Tamil and Malayalam. Among them, the most common languages are Bengali, Hindi, Santhali, English and Nepali. These also make the Catholic ethnic communities and their dreams for the future.
During the post Second Vatican era, when other continents, i.e. Latin America, Africa, United States of America and parts of European Churches began to theologize their mission perspective and towards contextualization of the socio-cultural-pastoral realities, Bengal had to wait until 1984 when this ecclesiastical body was awakened.
The dream of BRBC was proposed and eventually its statues were promulgated since January 1, 2012. This only shows how slow Bengal has been in the process to theologize and its many endeavors to make the Church vibrant and spirit-filled. The Church in Bengal was not yet ready to launch its ‘reach out programs’ in an organized ways and to take up the challenges posed by the Vatican Council.
Bengal has remained very much maintenance model Church and good in sending excellent reports. The real thrust, purpose and specific goals have remained vague and confusing. One of the major areas, where the Church should have been active to promote ‘Lay leadership’ has remained only a dream.
Thanks to the Bishop of Darjeeling, who proposed at the meeting (2021) that there should be collaborative leadership between the Church hierarchy and the laity. Any barriers between these two should be removed and the Church should be more open to take the laity into confidence. These meetings have not created opportunities to develop the Lay leadership in the light of the documents of Second Vatican council and subsequent documents.
As someone commented, that we are still a ‘sleeping giant.’ When are we to wake up amid the political upheavals that are taking place all over? What are we afraid of? Are we not called for a prophetic mission and even ready to die for the cause of Christ? The dictum that said, ‘What Bengal thinks today, others follow later.’
As the count down for the assembly poll is nearing, the political debates are heating up and the politics of confrontation, violence of different forms are alive today. Who cares for the poor who struggle to survive and find appropriate support due to the pandemic and other sociopolitical reasons to marginalize them further?
In such context, the role of the Church is demanding. Are we not called to be the ‘Light and salt’ of the earth? When are we to move away from ‘Maintenance’ to real actions, that will give hope to the people who feel insecure, abandoned and heavily burdened with taxes and rising prices of essential commodities?
Over 30 years of BRBC’s existence with its promulgation of statues in 2012, it is a high time this ecclesiastical body made an action plan. Pope Francis has already set the agenda for the Global Church with his apostolic encyclicals, ‘Evangelii Gaudium,’ ‘Amoris Laetitia,’ ‘Gaudete et Exsultate,’ ‘Laudato Si’ and ‘Fratelli Tutti.’
If Bengal has to move forward in the evangelizing mission, in a practical way with right discernment and relevant focus to the imbalanced structures, and the dominant forces that continue to marginalize the larger communities, the forum has to take up such agendas that can make the Church true ‘Light and salt’ of the earth and to enlighten the darkened world with its values of the Beatitudes and evangelical counsels.
Too much of spiritualizing our real concerns will only keep the Church within the maintenance model rather than becoming true leaven to the society and the Church at large.
In his latest ‘Let us dream – a path to a better future’ Pope Francis has already presented a road map to make the Church vibrant and effective for the common good.
• We have to see clearly, choose well and Act right
• redesign economy in order everyone has dignity
• ‘Globalized indifference (Abraham and Lazarus)
• Hyper Inflation of individualism
• Narcissism, discouragement and Pessimism and not open to the periphery
• Over emphasis on the GDP not the optioned Change of Era – New Wine new Skin – Post Covid 19 new normal
• Maternal economy, doughnut Economy: Care for the poor and Creation!
• Women’s role in the Church (Effectiveness and interventions)
• The Role of the Laity and towards building effective lay leadership
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In the light of the above, we can think collectively, ‘Where are we actually moving? and ‘Where the BRBC is moving’ Quo Vadis? Will BRBC be prepared to create ‘New heaven and new earth’ for Bengal?
The report on the Annual Conference of Bengal Regional Bishops’ Council (BRBC) at Seva Kendra Kolkata on 2-3 March 2021 is intriguing. Regional conferences like this are necessary because they help in taking stock of the ground realities of the faithful of a state – in this case Bengal (Bangla).
Many wonder what BRBC is. What are its aims and objectives? Who are eligible to attend this annual Conference? Which lay leaders are on BRBC? Are they specialists in any field (Medicine, Finance, Management, Judiciary, etc.)? There is no website on BRBC which throws light on these questions. In the report it is mentioned that BRBC has been existing for the last thirty years and that its statutes were “promulgated in 2012.” So one wonders why these details are not available on the net. What do the Bishops of the eight dioceses of Bengal have to say about this absolute lack of information on their functioning?
The report is silent on the Theme and the Resolutions taken at the Conference. However, it says that the high point of the Conference was a proposal by Bishop Stephen Lepcha, Bishop of Darjeeling that (1) there should be collaborative leadership between the Church hierarchy and the laity; (2) that any barriers between these two should be removed; and (3) the Church should be more open to take the laity into confidence.
Interestingly, at the Regional Laity Commission meeting for all the secretaries on 28th February 2018 (at Sanjiboni Pastoral Centre, Krishnanagar), Bishop Stephen Lepcha had said as Chairman of Regional Laity Commission that (1) The Laity constitutes ninety-nine per cent of the Catholic Church (2) The Laity should be leaders both inside and outside the Church (3) The Laity should study the Indian Constitution, join politics and fight for the rights of Minorities. The theme of the meeting then was “Empowerment of the Laity in Church and Social Life.”
But does BRBC really care for Laity Empowerment? Who empowers whom? How can the Clergy think of empowering the Laity which constitutes 99% of the Catholic Church? Let us go back to BRBC- CRI- CDPB Bengal – Sikkim Regional Annual 6-8 October, 2014 Meeting at Darjeeling. Before this meeting, a questionnaire was circulated by Fr.Jeyaraj Veluswamy, the then Regional CRI President, among several members of the Laity. The five questions on which he wanted Laity feedback were: (1) State five concrete ways by which the Indian Laity should be empowered in the Church. (2) State three reasons why the Indian clergy seem reluctant or slow to empower laity in India. (3) State three reasons why the Indian laity is capable/ incapable of handling power & positions. (4) State three serious issues the Indian Church must address itself to without delay, today. (5) How would you describe in one sentence the Indian Catholic Youth?
I must praise Fr Jeyaraj for his brave initiative. What happened at the Darjeeling meeting was on the expected lines (read `highly watered-down’). There is no official declaration on the outcome of the survey conducted by Fr Jeyaraj. I doubt if any Lay Leaders raised any question on the Survey at subsequent BRBC Conventions. In this context, a 14-point suggestion/recommendation was placed by a senior priest at the Darjeeling October 2014 meeting. Some of these were:
1. Let Bishops, Priests and Religious begin to listen seriously to the laity. They have an accumulated wisdom born of their varied day to day experiences.
2. Encourage, motivate and offer scholarships to lay men and women to train themselves in Theology, Scripture, liturgy, Canon Law, Catechesis, Liturgical Music, management, education, etc. to the extent that the gifted ones may pursue doctoral degrees in these subjects in order that they become engaged in the formation of the of People of God as well as of Priests and Religious. The formation of the future priests and Religious is also the responsibility of the People of God whom we term as ‘lay’.
3. Pay not only just but decent wages, with specific terms and conditions, to all personnel working in the Church Related Institutions. Let the BRBC with CRI formulate a Regional Policy and Guidelines with regard to the financial remuneration with terms and conditions for employment and regulation of service of all Church Related Workers.
4. Train lay persons to take responsibility for the financial administration in Church-related Institutions. Let lay persons be entrusted with the responsibility of parish accounts, banking with regard to parish, institutional and Diocesan finances, have the accounts audited and the needful done with regard to the filing of income tax, foreign contribution returns etc.
5. Let lay persons be involved in the formulation of diocesan policies, including scale of pay, terms and conditions of service of Church Workers, in the planning and implementation of diocesan functions not forgetting to use their expertise to raise local funds for the various works of parishes, institutions and dioceses.
6. Let competent lay persons be part of the Diocesan Finance Committee.
7. Engage the services of competent lay persons as liaison officers between Heads of parishes, Dioceses and civil, legislative, political and judicial officers and as PROs in the parishes and dioceses.
8. Identify suitable laity, train and motivate them for political field…..our laity need to be exposed to the existing political reality and social analysis.
9. Encourage and train young persons in journalism (print and electronic media), civil, judicial, revenue, police, and administrative services.
10. Encourage and train lay Christians to take active part in politics to make the Christian presence felt for the better governance of the country.
Regarding the implementation of the 2014 conference Action Plan, it was a damp squib vis-a-vis the five questions (above) and the senior priest’s 14 recommendations on Laity Empowerment. Members of the staff in most parishes & many church institutes still continue to be underpaid, often without any Provident Fund and Medical/ESI benefits. Several missionary schools in Kolkata have been paying their teachers / workers half pay (Covid pay!). It is crystal-clear that “Pay not only just but decent wages” recommendation to BRBC has been thrown out into the Teesta River. At each BRBC conference members of the Laity look up to the Bishops for Empowerment as Lazarus did (for crumbs of bread from the rich man’s table). We must remember “collaboration” as rightly suggested by Bishop Stephen Lepcha and Vatican II happens on an equal footing and certainly not on a hierarchical top-down level. If the 99% members of the Laity continue to be sleeping giants, even God cannot save them. Quo Vadis the 99%?
Bengal is no different to the church in the rest of India. The hierarchy and clergy are afraid of an enlightened lay leadership, and have been back pedaling on the far reaching reforms of Vatican II.