AN OPEN LETTER ON SYNODALITY

To
The Ecclesiastical Heads of the Catholic Church in India

1st October 2021

AN OPEN LETTER ON SYNODALITY

Respected Cardinals, Archbishops, Bishops, Apostolic and Diocesan Administrators,
Peace of Christ! A week from now our dearly beloved Pope Francis will solemnly open the
proceedings for the 16 th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops in Rome. As per the
schedule announced on 7/9/2021 this process is to begin in each particular church from this 17 th
October.

1. TO ALL CONCERNED: I receive 5 Catholic news bulletins every day. I came across only
one assembly for the Synod, in Tripura, that too limited to the clergy of the local diocese.
There is therefore a grave apprehension that the preparations for the Synod may not have got
the attention that they merit. Hence this Open Letter. It is being sent by email to the 174
ecclesiastical units listed on the CBCI website. It includes retired bishops, apostolic and
diocesan administrators. Care has been taken to ensure that this Open Letter reaches every one
of you. If there are any errors or omissions, either on the website or on my part, they are
unintended, and may kindly be excused. Due to the number of addressees, this will be sent in
tranches. Copies are being marked to the Nunciature in India, Catholic Church Reform
International, an autonomous body that is monitoring preparations for the Synod across the
world, the Catholic Press and concerned members of the Church in India.

2. PREPARATORY DOCUMENT: I have carefully studied the Preparatory Document (PD)
and the Handbook (Vademecum) issued on 7/9/21, as both are inter-related. For the benefit of
readers who are not in the know, I here note that the Preparatory Document states that the path
is that of “A Synodal Church: Communion, Participation and Mission” (PD1). The Synod will
conclude in October 2023. It says that this renewal which is “proposed by the Second Vatican
Council is both a gift and a task” (Ibid). It asks us to “journey together at different levels,
listening to the Holy Spirit and remaining open to the surprises that the Spirit will certainly
prepare for us along the way” (PD 2). It asks us to include those “who find themselves on the
margins” (Ibid), as also “believers of other denominations and religions, civil society
organizations, popular movements etc” (Ibid).

3. VADEMECUM: It notes that this Synodal process had already begun on its own initiative in
Latin America, the Caribbean, Australia, Germany and Ireland” (V7). It asks us to view the
church in the context of “sexual abuse, and abuse of power by clerics and religious” (V8). It
considers synodality as an “integral part of the Church’s nature. It is not just of bishops, but of
all the people” (V10). “This exercise cannot be self-centred; it must have a missionary
dimension by witnessing and reaching out to others” (V13). This May Cardinal Mario Grech
wrote to the bishops worldwide asking them to prepare contact persons/ a team for this work,
so that the aggregate of responses could be received back by April 2022 (V14). In the absence
of any information in the Catholic media one is constrained to conclude that either no
preparations have been made, or the laity has deliberately been kept in the dark about these
developments. It is for this reason that I reiterate that those who find themselves on the
margins must be brought into the mainstream of the synodal process.

4. CHURCH IN INDIA SEMINAR 1969: Permit me to draw your kind attention to the last
time a major synodal exercise was held in India – from 15 th to 25 th May 1969 in Bangalore.
This was preceded by 100 consultations, including 14 regional seminars, and 40 diocesan
ones. The regional seminars had 2321 participants of whom 1273 (55%) were laity. The
diocesan ones had 6843 participants of whom 4202 (61%) were laity. The findings were
aggregated into 16 workshops on different topics. If such a mammoth exercise could be
conducted before the advent of IT enabled services like email, WhatsApp, computerised
reservations and mobile phones, how much easier would it be today; given the institutional
church’s heavy investment in means of social communications.

5. STATISTICAL DATA: With Pope Francis I too sense the need for this synod to discern the
will of God, because I feel that the church in India is much too institutionalized and
clericalised. I have with me Catholic Directories dating back to 1912. However, I shall place
before you some findings from more recent ones. Shockingly, between 2003 and 2013 the

Catholic population actually shrank in 58/166 (35%) of the dioceses, despite a Decadal
Growth Rate of 16% for Christians, as per the Government’s census records. I have been
careful to ensure that none of these dioceses were bifurcated during the period under review.
The shrinkage is across rites and regions. In contrast, between 1969 and 2013, the number of
religious sisters tripled from 32,441 to 96,617; and priests increased 2½ times from 8,680 to
22,451. This raw data itself shows that institutionalization and clericalization are, by
themselves, detrimental to the life and growth of the church in India.

6. THE WORD OF GOD: This reminds me of Jesus’ parable of the Barren Fig Tree (cf Lk
13:6ff). It is no use having deep roots (ancient traditions), a solid trunk (institutions) and
heavy foliage (liturgy and sacraments) if we do not bear fruit. If the church is shrinking then it
is indicative of the Barren Fig Tree that Jesus cursed and it shrivelled away. The Lord’s
interaction through the Prophet Haggai draws our attention. “Don’t you see what is happening
to you? You have sown much corn, but have harvested very little. You have food to eat, but
not enough to make you full … You have clothing, but not enough to keep you warm. And the
working man cannot earn enough to live on … You hoped for large harvests, but they turned
out to be small. And when you brought the harvest home, I blew it away. Why did I do that?
Because my Temple lies in ruins while every one of you is busy working on his own house”
(Hag 1:5-9). I will not even attempt to improve on the Word of God.

7. CHURCH TEACHINGS: Perhaps some of you may get upset by a “mere layman” writing to
you like this. I am motivated solely by the good of the church that I love, as I firmly believe
that I cannot love Jesus if I am indifferent to his people. I am also inspired by current church
teachings as found in the “Dogmatic Constitution of the Church” and Canon Law. I quote:
“Every layman should openly reveal to them (clergy/ hierarchy) his needs and desires with
that freedom and confidence which benefits a son of God and brother in Christ. An individual
layman, by reason of the knowledge, competence or outstanding ability which he may enjoy,
is permitted and sometimes even obliged to express his opinion on things which concern the
good of the church” (LG No 37). “Christ’s faithful are at liberty to make known their needs,
especially their spiritual needs, and their wishes to the pastors of the church. They have the
right, indeed at times the duty, in keeping with knowledge, competence and position, to
manifest to the sacred pastors their views on matters which concern the common good of the
Church. They have the right also to make their views known to others of Christ’s faithful”
(Can 212:2,3). Need one say more?

8. MY CREDENTIALS: Some of you would know me through my writings and the various
positions that I have held; others may not know of my contribution to the Church over the last
52 years (I am now 70). If any of you have any doubts about who I am or what I stand for, I
would be happy to share my CV with you. However, I may in passing mention that in my
latest book The Jerusalem Code that I completed writing exactly a year ago I had correctly
predicted that Pope Francis would convene such a Synod as a prelude to Vatican III.
9. A REQUEST: In conclusion I would request you to please immediately form a Steering
Committee for the synodal process. It must include lay persons with pastoral experience, and
conversant with sacred scripture as well as contemporary church teachings. This committee
should begin by identifying the critical areas or factors that hinder the Church from bearing
fruit that will abide (cf Jn 15:16).

I remain in the service of the Church, to attain the synodal goals of communion, participation and
mission.
chhotebhai
CONVENOR
INDIAN CATHOLIC FORUM
(Email: noronha.kp@gmail.com Mob: 9415130822)
Cc The Papal Nuncio in India
The Catholic Press
The Director, Catholic Church Reform International
Concerned Members of the Church