An Urgent Appeal For Prayer from India (Catholic persecution)

I have been reluctant to publicize this dramatic miracle of grace, because often these things collapse at the last moment, leaving no real growth in the Faith. However, having seen so many signs of Gods protection and guidance, real wonders of grace, I must at least give a more accurate picture than the one sent by my dear friend Arul Gnanaraj. (He is one of our beloved faithful, but he is far away from the action, and his facts are not quite correct.) I must be brief, because many other matters are pressing.

1. Nagerkoil is the densest collection of Catholics in South India, excluding places in Kerala. We reckon 36% Catholic. They were converted by St. Francis himself. They are much more devout than Catholics of other regions, and of a very traditional mindset. Their old churches were build by the people, ages ago, and all the temporal concerns of the parish were traditionally administered by a committee of elected leaders. 2. The clergy of this Catholic bastion are the absolute worst in India. Pride, arrogance, unchastity, greed, are their most commonly noted virtues. With vigor they imposed Modernist teaching and practices upon a most unwilling people. 3. The most important work of the Bishop of this region is to sweep away the administrative committees of lay people, and impose the "parish council" of his own construction. Events of the past ten years have proven that the main purpose of this substitution is to consolidate all the wealth and money-harvesting machinery in the hands of the Bishop. One by one, he has coerced the parishes into accepting it. Many cruel methods were used to accomplish this. One of the most effective was interdict ... removing the parish priest, and refusing the sacraments, especially Marriage, Confirmation, and Mass. Those communities, which persisted were either bribed into submission, or crushed with the help of the police. 4. Many parishes were in an uproar over communion in the hand, ladies in the sanctuary, and of course the public crimes of the priests.

· 13 June, Sunday: The representatives of Holy Family Parish come to the SSPX priory, and after a cordial meeting, go away, seeming pleased. · 19 July, Monday. The representatives of St. Lourdes Church, Punnianagar (adjacent to Holy Family and in league with them) came and definitively requested us to take over the spiritual ministry of their church, because the Bishop had just refused to take care of them, until they submit to his decree of the parish council. The promised date of the takeover was Wednesday, 21 July. Wednesday, the people were rounded up by the police and browbeaten for four hours, to make an agreement with the Bishop, "Or ELSE!"

· 24 July, Saturday. The committee from Punnainagar came and showed the letter they gave to the Bishop severing all dealings with him, and accepting the SSPX as their pastors. A surprise Mass was scheduled for 4 AM the following morning, Sunday. Before they arrived at their homes, they were betrayed: the President handed over the keys to the police, who then locked the church, and gave the keys to the Bishop. No more hope.

· 25 July, Sunday: Fr. Pancras went to Punnainagar to celebrate the surprise Mass: Surprise! Church all locked, police guarded. He goes, then to Asaripalam, for the normal Mass at our SSPX chapel. After the Asperges, a fine car with finely dressed people came up, and unloaded. These representatives of Holy Family Church attended the Mass piously, and after Mass requested the SSPX to send a priest to their Church for morning Mass, Monday.

· 26 July, Monday 9AM morning Mass. The people prepared a great celebration at a shrine of St. James, where Fr. Blute went and celebrated a Sung Mass with the well-coordinated altar serving of Hostel Boys, now experts in liturgy. The crowd of 300 was quite edified. They also sang very well, remembering from their youth the Kyriale.

· 27 July, Tuesday SSPX now welcomed and housed in the Rectory of Holy Family parish. The first of several meetings with District officers, and Bishops representatives with the reps of Holy Family, to try to work out a solution. The defense: The Bishop definitively abandoned us, so we are free to choose the SSPX fathers as our pastors. Outside, 300 women prayed the Rosary. At the church, we officiated the Novena of St. Anthony.

· 28 July, Wednesday. The people of Punnainagar march on the Collectorate, demanding justice, and their church keys.

· 29 July, Thursday Punnainagar is beginning to boil, and the men are contemplating an uprising. They are calmed by the people of Ramanpudur, with whom they have forged an unbreakable alliance to bring the Latin Mass to their churches. Accusations and warnings appear in all the newspapers.

· 30 July, Friday A traditional friend and politico approaches the Collector (the highest District officer) requesting support for the people. "There are 42 parishes in exactly the same state as Holy Family, and if I get involved, I'll not have time for any other work."

· 1 August, Sunday of the Maccabees. A solemn high mass is scheduled for the first time in Holy Family Church in forty years. Opposition by the Bishop is rumored. Police arrive 4:30 AM. The altar is then occupied by various priests (Pancras, Michael) until time for the Solemn Mass. The supporters of the Bishop arrive at the gate, a paltry ill-meaning crowd of about 35 people. 500 people meet them at the gate, blocking their entry. All remain to listen to Fr. Blute’s sermon. Dismayed, they go home. After a glorious Mass, the people gather around the Church for a feast, prepared compliments of two wealthy businessmen to add luster to the day.

· 4 August Wednesday: The Bishop Leon Dharmaraj called all those in the pay of the Diocese to his house, and his Vicars cajoled and threatened them, forcing them all to sign a blank paper, and urging them to go the following day to the Collectorate to protest, and to bring 15 family members. The teachers go home late, shaken and anxious. Holy Family Parish complains to the Dept. of Education at this abuse of authority. Evil rumors about schism, etc., are rebuked by Hindus who watched and listened with awe to the Requiem Procession and Mass that morning. "Even if these priests were great sinners, I am convinced by their prayers they are holy men."

· 5 August Thursday. A fateful day, a judgement to be made by the District official, the "RDO". The committee goes to argue their case, and our 400 pious ladies (and gents) go to kneel outside and pray the Rosary. The teachers union provides 40 onlookers for the Bishop. The RDO orders the crowd dispersed: the Holy Family people immediately approach and ask for Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, and adore for 5 hours, with uninterrupted prayers and songs. After the delegates arrived, there was a loud public meeting with speeches galore in favor of Unity, the Latin Mass, and the SSPX.

Anyone who inadvertently said, "Our parish priest came and..." was shouted down by cries of, "Not our parish priest-- FORMER parish priest!!" Likewise, the blunder, "Our bishop has...." was drowned by, "NOT OURS!" The District officers wanted a compromise.

The parish reps said, "Not without a General Body Meeting". "Hold it tomorrow" was the reply. "Cannot-- people can only come on Sunday". So the meeting, to know the will of the people, was adjourned till Monday. However, the Bishops supporters, and the Government people, urged, "Cannot you stop that Mass of yours?"

"Oh, no, we need our daily Mass". "Please, if you would, just STOP THAT MASS!" (The devil is obviously tormented by this blazing light in the middle of his dark kingdom.)

· Same day: IN the morning, the former Parish priest, Fr. Ladislaus, crept into the Rectory, and surprised Fr. Blute and Fr. Pancras at breakfast. He introduced himself as Fr. Benjamin. He was offered a seat, and soon he said, "Actually, I'm the parish priest here". So we cordially spoke about why we were here, and why we were not going to go, and how he had best go and speak to the Committee, if he must. He just grinned a Cheshire Cat grin. A security guard came and ignominiously walked him to the gate. Immediately he went with his friends to the Police station and filed a complaint of Attempted Murder: by Fr. Blute, Pancras, and three absent committee members. If this is the quality of the clergy in Ramanpudur, I, for one, feel not just justified in coming to their aid, but positively bound by duty.

· 6 August, Friday. Another 5-hour adoration. An illegal "stay order" is placed in the trial court forbidding the SSPX Fathers from entering the Church.

· 8 August, Sunday: The general body meeting, after some debate, arrived at a plan: to offer some stern conditions for the Bishop to adhere to, if he wanted control of Holy Family: Among the conditions, were: The priest must wear Cassock... not allow any women in his priory, nor in the sanctuary. No communion in the hand, no women readers, and above all, no talk about "Parish Councils" forever. As they foresaw, the Bishop refused to sign.

· 10 August, Tuesday Tension builds all day. Morning Mass without any disturbance. Evening devotions in honor of St. Anthony are scheduled. At 5:15 PM, vans of people begin arriving and the crowd attempts to enter the church compound. The church bell begins to peal. Crowds of parishioners block the gates. Police provide protection. The crowd grows, on both sides. Hired vans begin arriving from the fisher villages. A crowd of priests, maybe 100 insists on being allowed into the church to offer the Mass. ("Funny", one man said: "first they refused us the Mass, now they are breaking down the walls and begging us to let them say Mass for us")

The crowd replies, "We have our own priests, thank you! You can go home!" A statue of St. Anthony was brought, and the devotion commenced. Then, on the parish side, continuous rosaries and hymns and prayers. A delegation of priests and sisters go to the RDO office. In his office, Fr. Ladislaus Benjamin protests vehemently, pounding the desk of the august official, and kicking his furniture. Outraged police give him a beating and chuck him out. At the church, the faithful cook a common vat of rice for all to sustain them in their siege. At 10:30 PM, vanloads begin arriving in force. The priests lay down and block the road. In the allied parishes of Punnainagar (St. Lourdes), Thalaivaipuram, Mel Ramanpudur and others, the bells ring, and call for reinforcements. Crowds of supporters enter by the back way, swelling the parish side to 7000 people. A general call goes out to all police stations, and vans of police merge with vans of hired Bishops men converging on Ramanpudur. Seeing this, the police begin stopping the vans, and let the air out of their tires. Finally, some 1,500 police are in place, preventing the outside crowd of violence from entering the church compound.

It becomes apparent that the 100 priests are not actually priests, but fishermen dressed in borrowed cassocks. At 2 AM the police lathi-charge the crowd and disperse them. Without doubt the most dangerous public disturbances in recent history, and it was completely blacked out by the media: no newspapers, no TV, no radio, no magazine articles.

Three families, years ago, had left Holy Family Parish to join the Pentecostals. After they saw the True Mass ONCE, they all returned to the Catholic Church. A young man testifies, "With the tamil Mass, I would only go on Sunday. But since seeing the holiness of this Mass, I rise at 5: 30 am so I will not miss it." A man was vociferously denouncing the SSPX priests. Out of curiosity, his wife and daughters attended Sunday Mass. Upon their return, they said, "We don't know how to answer what you say about these priests, but you must see the Mass." After attending once, he ceased his denunciations.

YOUR ARDENT PRAYERS ARE URGENTLY REQUESTED. ONLY THE POWER OF OUR LADY CAN OVERCOME OUR ENEMIES, WHO HAVE SEEMINGLY ENDLESS RESOURCES, CUNNING, AND MALICE TO EXTERMINATE THIS HOPE.

----- Original Message ----- From: "Fr Damian J CARLILE" To: "'FSSPX - India'" Sent: Wednesday, August 11, 2004 1:20 PM Subject: FW: AN URGENT APPEAL FOR PRAYER from INDIA

Greetings Father, Thought I'd just crosscheck this story before passing it on. Many thanks for confirming its truth. Either way, you are all in my prayers for the missions across the world,

-----Original Message----- From: D. M. Sent: m--- 11 août 2004 02:04 To: Abbé Laisney (AUS) Subject: Fw: AN URGENT APPEAL FOR PRAYER from INDIA

----- Original Message ----- From: C. To: C. B.; G. K.; FATHER LUC ; D. M. ; DOMINICAN FATHERS Sent: Wednesday, August 11, 2004 3:41 AM Subject: Fw: AN URGENT APPEAL FOR PRAYER from INDIA

----- Original Message ----- From: arul raj To: undisclosed Sent: Sunday, August 08, 2004 7:14 PM Subject: AN URGENT APPEAL FOR PRAYER from INDIA

Nagercoil, is a town near the Cape, in the southern part of India. It is 72 km. from Palayamcottai where there is a SSPX house and is 372 km. South of Trichy.

About 5000 catholics residing in the heart of the town Nagercoil had got fed up with the NO--nonsense and approached the SSPX- Priest for the Mass. Their church belonged to the them (the laity), and they wanted the modernist Clerics to vacate. But the modernist priest refused. Appeals were made to the local - administration and after much effort the Civil Authorities settled the matter in the favour of the real Catholics.

Last Sunday the Holy Mass was said in that Church. The modernists unwilling to give-up have started fomenting trouble. One man sneaked into the room were the Rev.Frs.Thomas Blute, SSPX, and Pancras Raja were present. The man in the lay dress claimed to be the former pp. Fr.Benjamin from the diocese. He asked the Priests to vacate. He was offered a cup of coffee which he relished and asked for more. He was given more coffee and he left the room without any incident. After coming out of the room the tore his dress (shirt & dhoti) himself, went to the Police and complained that Rev. Fr. Blute beat him up. As a result of other events that followed the authorities have ordered the Priests to vacate the Church by today or face an arrest.

The Priests are not going to vacate! The Faithful are fully supporting the Priests. The local Bishop is said to be ready throw - in any no. of millions to lead all the souls astray. They want to beat us by money ...

These churches are owned by the laity. Pray for Divine help for the Catholics of India!

However, the Bishops supporters, and the Government people, urged, "Cannot you stop that Mass of yours?"

"Oh, no, we need our daily Mass". "Please, if you would, just STOP THAT MASS!"

(traditional Catholic ping list -- freepmail if you want off or on)

Latest update:

Correspondence from Fr. Blute, August 16, 2004:

...The critical juncture is over. The Bishop bought a judgement from the High Court, in Madras, and obtained rights over the keys of the church, came with police, and entered. We and all the people fled away. With great solemnity, the Bishop celebrated Mass in the very place hallowed by the Tridentine Mass days before: to an empty church.

There were 40 local people, and about the same brought by the Bishop in a bus. The normal crowd is 3000!! The people are themselves asking to set up a tent on borrowed land, and have the Latin Mass within 2 weeks.

The people of Punnai nagar, especially, are bracing for the next onslaught, because they have also rejected the government of the Bishop Leon Dharmaraj (means "Lion King of Virtue" the old women laugh and say Leon
Adarmaraj---"Lion king of vice"). Recall that St. Peter says "your adversary the Devil as a roaring Leon goes about
seeking whom he may devour.") So keep praying for us; there is a harvest to be gathered for tradition, and whether it yield 40, 60, or 100 fold depends on our prayers.

Fr. Blute

These churches are owned by the laity.

Under the jurisdiction of the local bishop. That is Canon Law.

That same Canon Law does not allow laymen to hire and fire priests, nor to disobey the local bishop.

I'd certainly favor more control of local churches by the laity. But, in a civil dispute such as this, governments will defer to the ecclesiastical jurisdiction, and that is the local bishop.

My wife attends Mass at the local Polish Mission, which is owned by the Order of priests fulfilling the spiritual needs of Polish speaking immigrants.

The Mission does participate in a division of its Sunday collection with the Diocese Office, and promotes the annual pledge to the Diocese Fund.

Likewise a Catholic university lies within the Diocese, but the lay faculty answers to the Jesuit Order - who also own the property.

Those priests at the Polish mission cannot function unless given faculties by the local bishop.

Bishops, like it or not, are the ecclesiastical authorities in a diocese

The bishop could also withdraw faculties for the local Catholic university, and it would cease to become a "Catholic university."

Canon Law.

Actually more complicated than that. The current Code of Canon Law expects the Church to live within the civil code where it finds itself, in general. The case in India varies from state to state where there are political realities for parishes that require a Catholic bishop to function in a way that no American bishop could imagine. The bishop in this case is doing what most Catholic bishops are doing in India, smashing and destroying the old civil structures that bound them by using whatever means are necessary. This has been happening since the Council and has been ratcheting up in recent years to a fever pitch in several parts of India.

In this part of India, there are a huge number of Catholics who are more than willing to walk out of their ancient church buildings just to find the real Mass. The Tamil adaptation of the mass mentioned is a syncretistic nightmare. I would never take my own children to such a mass laden with bits and pieces of the Hindu scriptures.

**Those priests at the Polish mission cannot function unless given faculties by the local bishop.**

True with any order. Not just Jesuits.

In this archdiocese we have land owned and operated by the Benedictine's WITH the approval of the archbishop.

American Catholics often fall into the trap of thinking that the way things work in the US or Canada is how they work for the Church in other countries. It is not always so cut and dried abroad particularly where the Church has ancient roots in the midst of hostile powers etc. Unique historical circumstances do contribute to conditions that are inconceivable in America.

The underground Catholic Church in the former Czechoslovakia parallel to the visible Catholic Church in that former nation gave some indication of the unusual situations the Church finds herself in. After the Velvet Revolution, it took a while for the Vatican to figure out it needed to erect the Greek Catholic Church in the Czech Republic to accomodate the underground married priests who were the bravest men and Catholic heroes. The Vatican officials at first treated them like unwanted vermin, but that is not new for God's saints in the making.

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