By Tessy Jacob
Bhubaneshwar, Feb 14, 2025: Two weeks have passed since the CCBI plenary assembly ended, and its memory has faded from the venue – the Xavier Institute of Management University, Bhubaneswar.
However, it still echoes in the media, especially through M L Satyan, who has taken the crusade upon himself to give justice to the “ill-treated and servant nuns” who served “joyfully” at the CCBI plenary assembly.
As he used Tamil proverbs to drive home his point, let me use a Malayalam proverb: “Kanda nee avide iri, ketta njan parayatte,” (“Wait there if you have seen it, let me speak as I have heard about it.” Since I live on the campus, I was involved in the plenary assembly activities.
Satyan’s two reports — Why do Catholic clergy treat women as servants? And “Treatment by clergy – Nuns speak up” — quote instances from the CCBI plenary assembly. I would like to rebut his views. I do this not out of fear of any clergy, or to please any Church leader. I stand for the dignity of the religious life I have lived in the past 25 years.
In his second report, he has shared the minds of nuns who confided in him about the discrimination they experienced in the church. I respect their unpleasant experiences, but it is unacceptable to mix them with the recently concluded plenary assembly or portraying the “nuns” who served here as servants or victims of ill-treatment by the clergy.
Yes, we did liturgy preparation, arranged the chapel, oversaw the arrangements of vestments, waited as by standards, and were very alert during liturgy celebrations to make sure nothing went wrong. As the host region, we didn’t want any lapse from our side.
We didn’t vest any bishops. For that, we had minor seminarians who assisted senior prelates to wear the vestments properly. Is there anything wrong with aiding the elderly?
Four sisters from two congregations were stationed on the campus to assist liturgical preparation. I joined them since I am accustomed to the campus and its magnificent chapel. Kudos to those four young sisters who meticulously carried out their given task. It required special skill – an eye for detail. Perhaps the organizers spotted women of such caliber.
And does Satyan know how much a congregation invests in their formees, or those in training to become religious, to give them liturgy-related education? It is a huge investment. Therefore, you see sisters excel in music, ikebana, altar decoration, liturgy preparation, and so on. We didn’t learn it at random. Congregations have taken utmost care to equip us with such skills. And it is to be used when and where it is necessary.
In the flow of narration, he has expressed that sisters were doing housekeeping. Well, XIM university has dedicated staff for each department. As a management University, every detail was carried out professionally. That was one of the highlights of holding the assembly on the XIM campus compared to the usual Venue – St. John’s Hospital, Bengaluru.
The formees are given the opportunity to perform cultural programs. It is not just a performance; rather, it is an act of capacity-building and confidence-generating. I thank my formators who always sought the opportunity to showcase their talent. Had they been rigid and conservative in their thoughts, we would never have realized many of our talents.
We are beautiful individuals with marvellous capacities. We use them at the right time and right place. And the Church-related gatherings are a conducive place to express our talents. It was not only nuns who performed, male and female students of XIM too put up a talent show.
Some congregations take sufficient care to train their young ones to face every situation, but leaders in some others may not have such forward thinking.
During the plenary assembly Eucharistic celebration, sisters, brothers, and lay people led the melodious choirs, which was well appreciated except for one day. The assigned congregation overlooked the importance of solemn liturgy, or perhaps they were not well equipped with training. Everyone is not born a musician, but taking enough care to perform the given responsibility well is expected of us religious; that makes us different from a family and a religious community.
Among those who responded to you, the Sister 1 has said, ‘We were asked to conduct 24-hour adoration.” It is factually wrong.
The Blessed Sacrament was exposed in a temporary chapel next to the conference hall. The religious communities were informed that they could make arrangements to sit in adoration as per their availability. Some communities obliged to stay on; others excused themselves. And, it was not only the sisters who sat before the Blessed Sacrament, priests, lay people, and bishops spent time at their convenience.
The Sisters were free to leave at any time. However, the organizer’s plan was fulfilled- there was continuous adoration as someone was always present before the Sacrament during adoration.
I am reminded of Jesus Youth and their love for Sacrament. It was difficult to get some of the Jesus Youth members studying in Bhubaneshwar out of the chapel. “Sister, how we wish to spend the whole day before the Lord,” they told me.
When Satyan meets a sister, I am sure he would tell her, “Sister, pray for me.” Doesn’t he consider a nun as a prayerful person?
In the very first years of our formation, I was told that we are “Religious Missionaries,” not just missionaries who do some social activities, but those giving time for God and Mission equally. That is the essence of a religious life.
If prayer has become a botheration for the religious, it clearly indicates a decline in the quality of formation, intention of vocation, and dedication to the religious life.
Sister 1 also says they had to leave one day at 4:45 am to reach the venue. Yes, in the cold weather, it was a hard task. During the assembly, the Mass timing was 6:45 am. I used to come to the chapel by 6 am.
It was heartening to see at least three bishops already there – two of them very seniors. Given their age and the distance between the chapel and their lodge, they would have woken up at least by 4:30 am. It manifested the strength of the older generation who anchored their lives in prayer.
I also think to feel honored or wanted around is an inside business. We do not become sisters to lead any commission or compete with the clergy. Those honors are the by-products of our efficiency in a given mission.
During the plenary assembly, after my initial apprehension about the lack of inclusivity of women, I was taken up by the humility and unassuming nature of the medical team. There were two sister doctors and two nurses on shift. Remaining in the confinement of an alternative dispensary, they did a marvellous and challenging task.
The distance between the nearest hospital and the XIM Campus was nearly an hour’s journey. And many of the participants had comorbidity and health risks. Those doctors never complained about their task and the risk involved.
The CCBI plenary assembly preparation took a year with many amendments and impositions. I heard that various office bearers and secretaries had visited the venue multiple times to oversee the preparations and give the right directions. Provincials and superiors from each congregation were included at different meetings, and they were responsible for informing their people about the details. If there was any lapse in this communication, it has to be introspected by respected authorities.
Women religious as ex-officio members for the assembly was minimal. Synodality is a call for moving from patriarchy to inclusivity. We hope the Synodal Church will look into this aspect in the coming years. I hope to see a restructuring of the hierarchy with capable and dedicated lay, women, religious, and clergy as leaders of the Indian Church.
Sure, there were some lapses. But that is not my concern here, Satyan has not highlighted them. This is my response to his emphatic consideration of the poor nuns in the Church. All of us believe that change should start from within – from our circles and then from the local and universal Church. The tussle between clergy and nuns also points towards ego clash and male chauvinism.
Referring to Satyan’s gaslighting statement “From these responses it is clear that the nuns did not accept the responsibilities during the CCBI meeting with JOY. Probably, they have fulfilled the given tasks out of FEAR. Today, the nuns and women in the Catholic Church are “oppressed” in many ways,” I would say it was an enriching experience for us nuns and other women staff of XIM.
We gained new experiences, met new people, and understood the dynamism of the Church from a close angle.
(Holy Spirit Sister Tessy Jacob is a PhD scholar living in XIM campus.)
A note to Francis Sunil Rosario: The headline of my second article is – “Treatment by clergy – Nuns speak up”. Francis has added a word “Ill”. This is to be corrected.
I fully agree with fr jacob Peenikaparambil. Today most women are well educated and can use their skilled talent for the greater good of humanity. Unskilled lay people can be easily employed to do these jobs like sacristy work, flower decorations etc. It would also give them employment. Women religious can certainly use their precious time and energy for more fruitful work in the vineyard of the lord.
Dr Sr Mudita Menona Sodder RSCJ
muditarscj@gmail.com
Were Nuns Ill-treated at Bishops’ Meeting?
This is in reference to the news published in ‘Matters India’ dated Feb 14, 2025. This is a matter of concern for the Church leadership in India and elsewhere. It’s my response to Sr. Dr. Tessy Jacob, who seems to be defensive to the observation made by Mr. M L Satyan, in his two earlier comments, “Why do Catholic clergy treat women as servants?” and “Ill Treatment by clergy – Nuns speak up”
Mr. Satyan tried to give an overall mind set of the clergy towards the nuns in general due to the factors existing within the hierarchical system of deep ‘Clericalism’. As I understand Mr. Satyan has tried to spell out those inherent dynamics that make the nuns dependent and under the control of the clergy dominated society. It’s all to be within a part of power game and politics. The matter of fact within the Church hierarchy the clergy holds power bases. The nuns are still dependent and subservient.
The reaction of Dr. Sr. Tessy, in her response to Mr. Satyan is bit exaggerated and on defensive side? If Mr. Satyan has pin pointed the dynamics of organisational leadership and its few drawbacks, where the nuns are treated as second class citizens, that’s the reality. How the Church should introspect this reality and make the Church more dignified.
Holy Father Pope Francis is trying hard to make the Church more synodal. In one of his observations by Mr. Satyan it is pointed out. Quoting Conrad Hilton Foundation meeting that was held at Vatican on January 22. Pope Francis met with the members of the foundation’s board of directors as well as some sisters who were taking part in a conference dedicated to religious women working in the field of communication. The important statements of the Pope are:
• Women religious are meant to be serving the poor, marginalised or vulnerable in society and not be working as servants to members of the church.
• In the past, little was invested in the formation of religious sisters, far less than in the formation of the clergy, since sisters and other women are thought to be second class citizens. That mindset must stop.
• The need for sisters to pursue continuing education and training is urgent as they are called to work among the poor.
• There are frequent complaints that there are not enough sisters in positions of responsibility in dioceses, the Roman curia and universities.
• Cultivate a vision that goes beyond the confines of your home, convent, and institution.
• We need to overcome the clerical and chauvinist mindset.
Pope has also appointed women to head some of the dicastery in Rome.
The Indian hierarchy has to emulate those examples and models and to the principles of ‘Servant Leadership’. What Dr. Sr. Tessy is trying to do is to defend the system and helping to perpetuate the oppressive system within the hierarchy. She has the limited experience within the campus of University. She should be open to the grass roots realities where such oppression and servitude mind set exists within the system. Let the voice of God be allowed to speak to the hearts of our leaders and help every baptised person to own leadership within the democratic norms that should respect the rights of individual within the Body of Christ, the Church. Let’s not fight over petty matters but think globally and for universal good of the Church leadership and common good.
Francis Sunil Rosario
Sister Tessy has given a very polished rebuttal of M.L. Satyan’s two articles reports — Why do Catholic clergy treat women as servants? And “Treatment by clergy – Nuns speak up.” The key takeaways are:
1. “And does Satyan know how much a congregation invests in their formees, or those in training to become religious, to give them liturgy-related education? It is a huge investment.”
– Yes formation of nuns is a huge investment which was drummed into the head of a hapless lady who has been doing her novitiate in Kolkata. She has decided to leave her congregation (headquartered in Patna) and go back to her home. Her superiors have told her that since a lot of money has been spent on her formation, she has to either repay the investment or do one year’s free service. Being unable to pay back (being from a marginalised family), she is now serving her bond term!
2. “Some congregations take sufficient care to train their young ones to face every situation, but leaders in some others may not have such forward thinking.”
– Are sisters, especially novices, trained in self-defence? This query is in view of possibilities of imposition of the hierarchy from a position of superior authority (Franco Mulakkal phenomenon).
3. “Synodality is a call for moving from patriarchy to inclusivity. I hope to see a restructuring of the hierarchy with capable and dedicated lay, women, religious, and clergy as leaders of the Indian Church.”
– We have to wait and watch whether after Pope Francis’ tenure, this Synodality survives. How much do our bishops and parish priests believe in Synodality? In this respect, the Laity, which forms more than 90% of the Church, has to wake up from its slumber to particularly take a decisive role in managing the Temporal Affairs of the Church.
4. “The tussle between clergy and nuns also points towards ego clash and male chauvinism.”
– So there is a cold-war! Several congregations are trying to get over this situation by opening/running their own educational institutions/vocational centres, and land & building ownership. This is one crystal-clear way forward towards Women Empowerment. In the Archdiocese of Calcutta there was a Salesian parish priest who used his connections with local political dadas to get his way in dubious/contentious real estate deals, was always high-handed and would try to impose his ways in various convents. Ultimately all the convents around his huge parish (on EM Bypass) shut their doors on him. He suddenly vanished from the parish due to court cases, etc against him. His provincial in 2014 had signed a declaration that he won’t be allowed to enter the parish. The other day he resurfaced briefly after more than a decade. It’s very sad that their congregations nurture such vipers. They, who believe in money and muscle power, are clearly the stumbling blocks on Synodality in which Sr Tessy and many others have pinned high hopes.
I have read the response write-up from Sr. Tessy Jacob and the comments of Fr. Jacob Peenikaparambil. I am happy that my two articles have “stirred the minds of religious sisters and women”.
There is an urgent need for the Women CRI, Catholic Women’s Associations and other Women Activists to introspect on the following points:
1) “Clericalism” and its impact on women in the church
2) “Male Chauvinistic attitude” of the Catholic clergy
3) The “submissiveness” of women religious and its negative consequences
Arise, awake and stop not till the goal is reached!
I don’t think taht Mr. Satyan mentioned in his article that nuns were ill-treated during the Bishops’ meeting at Bhuvaneswar. The patrirachal behaviour of alloting certain tasks to women was reflected in the allotment of roles to women religious during the meeting.
The taks alloted to nuns on the occasions of consecration of bishops, jubilee of dioceses, jubilee of bishops are more less the same, as they did at the CCBI meeting in Bhuvaneswar.
Sr. Tessy has justified allocation of taks like alter decoration, preparation for Mass, sacristy works etc. to women religious. These tasks are to be performed in a parish by the parish community and sisters can join them as part of the parish community. Even parish priest himself with the support of his supporting staff can do the preparation for the Mass. There is no need for sisters to do these tasks.
In November 2024, I was at a mission station in Madhya Pradesh for three days for conducting programmes for students, parents and teachers. The parish is very small with a membership of less than 30 families and the parishners come for Mass only on Sundays. But the parish priest insists that the daily Mass should be in the parish except one day in a week in the convent. He also insists that the sisters should do the sacristy work. Daily the nuns have to walk 15 minutes (both sides together) to the church and two sisters have to go at least 10 minutes early to prepare for the Mass.
The parish priest has no other work other than saying daily Mass, but the sisters have various responsibilities in their school. The parish priest has a young man as his cook and he can easily do all sacristy work, but the parish priest insists that sisters should these tasks. On Sundays two sisters have to teach catechism and guide the mothers’ organization.
In the same parish there is a group of Brothers who run a school. They are not asked to do the sacristy work or decorate alter on feast days.
I have observed the same phenomenon in many mission stations of North and Central India.
Jacob Peenikparambil