By Frank Krishner
Patna: An online condolence meeting for Jesuit human rights defender Father Stan Swamy was challenged to stop wailing and get involved in people’s struggles.
“These meetings allow us to weep, and people join in the wailing without connecting Stan’s reality, his faith, or his conviction. In tribal areas alone there are over 15,000 men in prison with fabricated cases against them,” he said and asked, “How can you pay tribute without getting involved?” veteran Catholic journalist and human rights activist John Dayal asked the July 13 program organized by the Prison Ministry of India (PMI).
Dayal, who is based in New Delhi, said that over the past few days he has attended numerous “condolence events” for Father Swamy that have made him “a cynic.”
Another speaker, Jesuit human rights activist Father Cedric Prakash said the prison ministry should go beyond visits to the prisons, intercessions, and organizing events on feast days and festivals.
The ministry is India’s foremost Catholic prison outreach program with a presence in 27 states and union territories of India.
“We need to change how we look at the prison ministry in India,” Ahmedabad-based Father Prakash told the virtual gathering of some 100 PMI members, volunteers and invited guests.
Speaking about the ministry, Father Cedric focused on three words that summed up an impression of PMI: Incarceration, Involvement, and Incarnation. Drawing upon the gospel phrase, “When I am in prison you visited me,” he said added efforts are the need of the hour to go beyond prison visits and prayer sessions with the prisoners.
He urged the clergy and religious who were office bearers in PMI to step out of the ‘church compound mentality’ and ‘to get involved the men and women of our time,’ joining hands with other organizations and human rights defenders.
As Christians, we are highly committed to the idea of India, and need to be recognized as such, he said.
Earlier, PMI chairman Auxiliary Bishop Allwyn D’Silva of Bombay noted that most prisoners languishing in the jails are victims of injustice. Many under-trial prisoners are too poor to afford lawyers, he added.
“Like Father Stan Swamy, they too die a criminal’s death, without having recourse to a trial,” the prelate observed.
Father Prakash, in response to a question, observed that Father Swamy was the catalyst that emboldened people to take on the mining mafia and the corporations, and that was the sole reason to get him out of the way.
“Stan Swamy lived a spirituality which is incarnational and contextual. He lived the spirituality of the Crib and the Cross to the very end.”
Addressing the fear that following Stan Swamy’s path might have more priests and nuns arrested, Father Prakash remarked, “The more priests, nuns, and bishops are in prison, the more the prison system can be reformed.”
Source: http://newsnetone.com/2021/07/tribute-to-stan-stop-wailing-and-step-out-of-the-church-compound-mentality/
Activists like Dr John Dayal and Fr Cedric Prakash are totally tight-lipped about the injustice being meted out to Sr Lucy and may be many other nuns like her. Not a word has been spent by them on the public domain on this issue. No wonder our Church thrives on Mysteries!
Quote from the report:
Father Prakash remarked, “The more priests, nuns, and bishops are in prison, the more the prison system can be reformed.”
Then why did Prakash, the whole Jesuit group and human rights activists “DEMAND” for Stan’s release???
Why did they organize so many protest marches, candle light events, human chain events all over the country when Stan was in the prison??
What a contradiction!!!
If the presence of bishops, priests and nuns in prison can “transform the prison system”, then, why the hell you make a big hue and cry when a priest or bishop or nun is arrested???
Can Prakash, being a human rights activist “volunteer” to be in jail???
Can he take the initiative to make sure that corrupt bishops like Franco, William and other priests and nuns involved in sexual abuses and corruption get into the prison???
Please STOP the DOUBLE TALK !!