Credibility crisis wake up call for Indian Church: Theologians

By P T Mathew

New Delhi: The crisis of credibility is a wake-up call for the Church in India, and the best way to regain is to follow Jesus, who “lived what he taught and what he taught, he lived,” say Catholic theologians in the country.

The eroding credibility the Church suffers now is caused by forces outside as well as factors inside, says a statement from the Indian Theological Association.

Although the Church has undertaken concerted efforts to present it as credible in an increasingly hostile environment, it lacks a professional approach to deal with attack in the media and other forums, said the annual meet of the association held online.

As many as 45 theologians from across the country addressed the theme, “The Church in India Today: Credibility and Witness,” based on the papers presented by scholars.

The April 25-28 conference noted an urgency to deal with the crisis and reclaim the Church’s credibility so that it becomes authentic in its mission of proclamation and witness. The statement was released to the press on August 11.

According to the theologians, more vexing issues that trouble the Church come from within. The theologians have acknowledged that scandals and scams have severely affected the Church in India. The misuse of power and money, caste discrimination, Dalit and Tribal under-representation, gender discrimination and sexual abuse, and lack of financial accountability have added to the Church’s woes, they add.

“The unfortunate reality in India is that, such instances are not always honestly investigated, nor are the accused persons or bodies audited with transparency,” the statement bemoans.

Regarding the sexual abuse of children and women in the Church, the statement was forthright: “Shrouded in silence, this endemic evil has been kept hidden for a long time… It is not only an individual clergyman’s inappropriate sexual conduct that calls to question the credibility of the Church. It is also the approach taken by the ecclesiastical authority in dealing with this issue that puts at stake, all the more, the Church’s integrity and credibility.”

The statement also cautions about the increasing clericalism in the Church.

Raising the question on how to become a credible Church today, the theologians stated: “The best way out is to return to Jesus of the Gospels to restore credibility.” Jesus’s authority was derived from his close relationship with his Father and the authenticity of his life, and it enabled him to be a credible witness to the values of the Kingdom.

“There was no dichotomy between his word and his deed. What he lived, he taught; what he taught, he lived… The cross is the sign and final expression of Jesus’ credibility,” the statement explains.

This being with Jesus makes one a credible witness to the gospel by sharing his life, vision and mission.

It is, at the same time, more than mere personal witnessing.

“Since this crisis poses serious challenges to ecclesiology, it is an invitation to rethink of our way of being Church. This entails a serious reconsideration on what it means to be a Church, how it needs to be structured, the place and role of the laity, particularly women and others who are excluded from the Church’s administrative roles and decision-making powers.”

Further, the statement adds: “This crisis is a wake-up call for the Church. It invites the Church to face the issues in a non-defensive manner with a deep openness to the Spirit of God that the very crisis becomes a turning point for its growth and revitalization.”

The statement turns to Pope Francis for a roadmap to Church’s credibility, authenticity and trustworthiness. ‘Walk the talk’ or ‘practice what one preaches’ is the key. The way Pope Francis translates his vision into praxis (mission) provides a roadmap to be credible witnesses of the Good News, the theologians say.

The Pope visualizes ‘a poor church’ and a ‘church for the poor’. His thinking of Church as a ‘field hospital full of mercy and forgiveness’ will radically alter our way of thinking about the Church in India, the theologians asserted.

In other words, “to be a field hospital with doors wide open to whoever knocks in search of help and support… ‘Mercy’ is the ‘balm’ for the bruised in the field hospital, the Church.”

A return to the roots is found to be a necessary step in regaining Church’s credibility. “Our adherence, as disciples, to the person and the method of Jesus Christ, would indicate a credible way of being Christians and a Church in our Indian context,” the statement says.

This being with Jesus makes one a credible witness to the gospel by sharing His life, vision and mission. It is by becoming a sacrament to the people of our time, and the Church herself becoming ‘poor’ and a ‘Church of the poor’ through a process of kenosis, that it can become a credible witness today.