BTW, I passed along your FReeper name and a link to your FReeper home page to another traditional Catholic who will be keenly interested in your posts.
Dear BearWash,
Thanks for the message. You are free to pass on my FReeper Name and a link to my FReeper Home Page, to anyone who in your judgement is a Traditional Catholic. BTW, I totally trust your judgement with regard to Traditional Catholics.
So, I am happy for what you have done.
Dear All,
I am posting a couple of articles for your perusal.
The First article, show us clearly the extent to which a large number of Indian Catholic Priests who are Heretics, Liberals, and Liturgical Terrorists have gone.
They have gone overboard with this "Evil Inculturation". This Crap was given a huge fillip by Father Bede Griffiths -- an English Benedictine Monk who lived in South India and converted many Traditional Benedictine Monasteries into Benedictine Ashrams specially in Tamil Nadu where he dressed up in Saffron Robes along with a number of his companions for a number of years till his death in 1993.
He was a raving Heretic and Liturgical Terrorist who should have been excommuicated years back by the Pope but it was sadly not done. It has been reported for a number of years that in those Ashrams He and other Benedictine Monks used to openly refer to themselves as "Hindu Ascetics" and even promote this lifestyle of theirs specially the worship of Idols in those Ashrams.
He has done huge damage to the faith of Catholics in India and it is not surprising today that hundreds of Catholics specially in cities are leaving the Church all over the country and joining all kinds of Pentecostal Churches.
Instead of promoting the worship of Christ, a number of Indian Priests like him are leading people away from Christ as a result of their actions. Most notorious now are a number of Jesuits and Redemptorists who in a number of places all over the country have forsaken the traditional white cassock that used to be worn and are now dressed as "Hindu Holy Men" in Saffron Robes with vermillion paste and all.
The second Article is an interview with Archbishop Oswald Gracias on the situation facing Indian Christians. He was interviewed by the Editor of a leading Polish Catholic Weekly.
Finally, please visit www.bedegriffiths.org -- You will realize the enormous damage and confusion this man caused to the faith of Christ's faithful over the last 30 years.
1) An Indian church-Mario Rodrigues
Article published on www.statesman.net on 11-04-05 by this Correspondent.
A conclave of priests and bishops at the Papal Seminary in Pune last week in October called for the renewed “Indianisation” of the Catholic Church and the adoption of Hindu rituals, including aarti during Mass, studying Sanskrit and the Vedas, experiencing ashram life and so on. The conclave discussed this and other issues besieging the Church and the laity in the new millennium.
According to one report in the media, a seminary spokesman said: “The Catholic Church plans to adopt a number of Indian traditions and practices which will give us a feel of being an Indian.”
The issue, however, is not as simple as reports made it out to be. In the first place, the question of what “Indianisation” is and the limits to which it can be encouraged are a moot point.
European missionaries like Roberto de Nobili (the “Roman Brahmin”) and John de Britto, who came with the early Portuguese colonisers, were the earliest “Indianisers” who practised what they preached. Their message was kept alive by their disciples down the centuries but overall, the practices of Indian Christianity were decidedly Western till Independence.
But realisation dawned that the Church must become less Europeanised and more Indian to relate meaningfully to the social milieu in which it existed.
This process was fast forwarded by the epochal Vatican Council II (1962-65) when Rome shed its triumphal bearing and embraced ecumenism, inter-faith dialogue, inculturation and religious liberty.
This allowed the use of local languages (in place of Latin) and customs in Church services all over the world. It also gave a licence for a creative and radical reinterpretation of the Gospels, which in turn was responsible for the genesis of liberation theology in Latin America.
Christians form less than three per cent of the overall population of India and this includes Catholics (who subscribe to five rites), mainline Protestant denominations, other evangelical sects and the Orthodox churches of Kerala, both Catholic and otherwise.
Kerala churches have been proactive in their Indianisation tendencies and activists of the Syro-Malabar liturgy once tried to forcefully put this on the agenda when the late Pope John Paul II visited India a few years ago. In recent times, the process has acquired urgency because of the spate of attacks on Christians and Church institutions by the loony Hindu fundamentalist brigade that peaked during the “saffron raj” of the NDA at the Centre.
Today, Indianisation of the Church has come a long way. How far down the road of Indianisation the post-Conciliar Church here has travelled can be deduced from the fact that new-age churches are modelled after temples, the “Indian rite mass” (conceived by Cardinal Parecattil of the Syro-Malabar Church and the Jesuit Dr Amalorpavadas of the Latin Church, “masterminds” behind the inculturation movement in India) incorporates (Brahminical) Hindu rituals such as the chanting of Vedic and Upanishadic mantras.
Prayers begin with “OM”, readings are taken from the Hindu scriptures such as the Bhagvad Gita, tilak is applied to foreheads of priests and people, priests wear a saffron shawl instead of a cassock and sit on the ground at a table surrounded by small lamps rather than stand at the traditional altar.
In addition, Indian music is played at Church services, the entrance procession for the Mass has girls dancing the Bharatnatyam, kirtans and bhajans are sung at Communion. Priests and nuns are encouraged to adopt Indian religious values and customs in their religious practices and participate actively in Hindu festivals such as Ganesh-visarjan (immersion) and Raas Lila.
Many priests and nuns have anyway renounced their Western names and taken on Indian ones and many Church institutions now bear Indian names such as Jnana-Deepa Vidyapeeth, Pune (Pontifical Institute of Philosophy and Religion), Sadhana meditation centre, Lonavla, Satchitananda Ashram, Trichy and so on. Priests and nuns are besides encouraged to live in ashrams and experience divinity through the practice of disciplines such as yoga, vipasana, transcendental meditation, reiki, pranic healing and so on. Diehard conservatives in the clergy have been appalled by the changes and one searing critic has described this process as a “scandalous ecumenism with Hinduism”.
Such attempts have also not gone down well with sections of the laity. “The leadership wants to inculturate and have been contextualising theology to suit the Indian milieu but lay people are not willing to change,” Fr Allwyn D’Silva, director, Documentation, Research & Training Centre at the St Pius College, Mumbai, said.
He felt this was the “main block” faced by the Church in several regions, especially in a city like Mumbai where the population is cosmopolitan.
But this is not the only problem. Another stumbling road block is the question of what is Indian and whether Brahminical Hinduisation should be the dominant theological and liturgical trend in the Church.
There has, in fact, been stiff opposition to the advance of “Hinduisation” from radical Dalit theologians such as the late Rev Arvind Nirmal, the Rev M Azariah and the Rev James Massey, who have accused the high caste-dominated Church leadership of “Brahminising” Christianity in the name of “Indianising” the church.
“The current or traditional Indian Christian theology, which is based upon the Brahmanic traditions of Hindu religions did not/does not address itself to or reflect the issues which the majority of Christians faced either before or after they became Christians. It is because this expression of theology is based upon the religious traditions of the minority even among the Hindus, because Brahmins (priestly caste) represent 5.22 only of the total population of India,” Rev Massey has argued.
These Dalit theologians have made a stinging critique of the Church’s internal power structures and its alliances with the ruling elite and vested interests, leading to sections of the clergy and laity challenging these oppressive structures both in Church and society and demanding empowerment.
This is one reason for the recent attacks on Christians orchestrated by upper caste-led leaders of the RSS, VHP and Bajrang Dal. Dalits, who form about 70 per cent of the total Indian Christian population, are still discriminated against even in the Church, and their ideologues and leaders would surely oppose such Brahminical trends being imposed from above.
Not that the Church is not aware of these problems. “Christianity does not mean uniformity and has taken into account cultural diversity,” concedes Fr Charangat, while acknowledging the existence and importance of several little cultures and liturgies such as tribal liturgy and subaltern liturgy which have to contend with the “greater culture” (Brahminism).
“For them (Dalits), adopting these things would be anathema since they are fighting against hierarchy,” he avers.
The Catholic Bishops Conference of India, with a view to accommodating contrasting tendencies, has left it to regional bishops to decide what is appropriate Indianisation, informs Fr Charangat. “It is a struggle and a challenge for us how to Indianise,” he says. Indeed, it is. The recent expression of resolve at Pune amply demonstrates that the battle continues.
(The author is The Statesman’s Mumbai-based Special Representative.)
2)http://www.niedziela.pl/
Czestochowa, Polska - 24 January 2006
India
Difficult situation of Christians in India
Wlodzimierz Redzioch talks to Roman Catholic Archbishop of Agra Oswald Gracias, President of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India.
Almost every day we read alarming news about India: Christians in India, the country regarded as the biggest democratic country in the world, fall victims to persecutions by Hindu fundamentalists, supported by the international Hindu organization 'Vishva Hindu Parishad' (VHP) and its political fraction Baratiya Janata Party (BJP). There are various forms of persecutions: discrimination at work, assaults, arsons of their churches and schools as well as forced conversions to Hinduism. Unfortunately, there are also cases of atrocious, often unpunished, murders of Christians. Recently the VHP and the BJP have asked the authorities of the state of Orissa (North Eastern India) to dismiss immediately Christian employees from governmental offices, administration and police. These actions, completely contrary to the Indian constitution and democratic principles of social relationships, have not sufficiently been condemned by the international public opinion, and what we have to do with is a policy, which reminds us of the discrimination in the Nazi Germany! The worse thing is that the world media almost completely ignore the problem of Christians' persecutions in India. In order to elucidate the situation in India to our readers I have interviewed Archbishop Oswald Gracias.
Wlodzimierz Redzioch: - The Church in India originates from the Apostles and her beginnings were connected with the teaching of Saint Thomas the Apostle (in 2002 India celebrated the 1950th anniversary of Christianity). Why is the Church seen as a 'foreign body' in India in spite of this long tradition?
Archbishop Oswald Gracias: - It seems to me that the Church in India has not introduced right inculturation. We have made several attempts but we are still seen as 'those from the West'. The reason is that our liturgy, formation and philosophy are western and the missionaries generally come from the countries of the West. The merging of Christianity and local culture (inculturation) is a challenge that the Church faces worldwide. Today we are trying to do this in a more conscious way.
India is a country of great spirituality. It is the cradle of Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Jainism, but Christianity is perceived as something that was brought to India. I think we need a lot of time to change this view.
- And what about the liturgy?
- Our liturgy is also western since we have not introduced a sufficient number of Indian elements.
- The Baratiya Janata Party (BJP) ruled in India till 2004. It was connected with such radical Hindu organizations as the VHP (Vishva Hindu Parishad) or the RSS (Rashtriya Swaymsevak Sangh). In order to gain power the BJP decided to stake on the card of Hindu nationalism, and the Hindu extremists assumed the highest position in the federal authorities (e.g. Minister Arun Shourie and Minister Dilip Singh Judeo). In this atmosphere anti-Christian politics and forced conversion to Hinduism became an official programme of many Indian states. Some political observers called that Indian policy 'Hindu fascism'. What did the situation of the Church look like in those difficult times?
- The BJP exercised power for 5 years. Christians had many problems - they were attacked, and the police seldom intervened in such cases. However, I would not accuse the party leaders of that action. During that period I was secretary general of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India and that's why I used to have regular meetings with the prime minister and deputy prime minister. Talking to them I had the impression that in a way they were powerless in confrontation with those events. It seemed to me that the Hindu politicians used religion like an object to seize power. They were playing with fire and that's why they lost control over the situation.
That was a very difficult period in the life of the Church. However, I can proudly say that Christians have never broken down. We realized that the cross was a part of our faith, and persecutions as such are nothing new in the history of the Church.
- I can see that you are trying to justify the BJP leaders. But this party supported the policy of religious apartheid with the motto 'India only for Hindus'...
- Surely, it was an evil policy but the BJP did not officially implement it. It should be explained that it was the Vishva Hindu Parishad, the international Hindu organization, which promoted that policy. Many members of the BJP realize that one cannot support such an ideology in a multi-religious country.
But I would like to stress that generally speaking Hindus in India are very tolerant. They can also appreciate other religions. The majority of Hindus are not fundamentalists and only the minority uses religion for political purposes.
- Numerous Indian Christians come from tribesmen and from the lowest caste, the so-called 'dalit'. When people accept Christianity they are aware of their human dignity and equal rights with other social groups, which disturbs the old caste system in India and is a slight to the privileges of the high castes. Is it true that the social-economic issues lie at the bottom of the attacks on Christianity?
- I think this is the core of the issue. In many regions people attack missionaries because they question the social-economic relationships in the local community. If we analyzed the long history of the missions in India we would say that the European catechists and parish priests always dealt with social issues, which shook the prevailing social structure. People of high castes, who exploit low castes, do not like this. No doubt, the system of castes is questioned when low castes become aware of their rights.
- Why do we call India the largest democratic country in the world although the country tolerates the system of castes that sorts people in an even more radical way than the South African apartheid that was demonized for years?
- India's caste system is connected with the Hindu tradition and constitutes an element of Indian philosophy. Hinduism is connected with pantheism according to which we all are a part of God. The problem is that each of us comes from a different part of God, and consequently each has a different rank. The Church has always opposed the caste system and condemned it. However, the caste mentality is so rooted in the Indian mentality that we need many generations to change it. Belonging to a certain caste is more important than religion, education or financial resources. Caste is domineering in the whole social system. One cannot even rationally discuss about this since it has become a generally accepted conviction. I believe that by establishing human rights and individualism we will reach social equality but this requires lots of time. Finally, I would like to say that India's caste system is our biggest problem.
- We get the news that the Hindu extremists still force local Christians to accept Hinduism. Is this true?
- Yes, that is right. The Hindu fundamentalists organize special camps in which, they claim 'people come home', i.e. become converted from Christianity to Hinduism. However, our sources say that very few people reject Christianity and the publicity that such cases gain is for the purpose of propaganda. Furthermore, some Christians become Hindus because of certain benefits. But I want to repeat again that this is not a mass phenomenon although they try to make people believe that it concerns thousands of Christians.
- What changes have been made after the Congress Party won?
- Before the elections all people were convinced that the BJP would win. Thank God it was the Indian National Congress that won, which was a nice surprise. The government opposes fundamentalists and announces that India is a country of all religions. The problem is that the changes concern the highest authorities and the local bureaucrats have retained their posts. I would like to explain that the previous government had some economic successes. Unfortunately, only the middle class became richer whereas the poor became even poorer. The previous authorities were not interested in the lot of the poor and peasants. The present government is to change this policy. We have a good prime minister whom all people hold in respect for his honesty, discipline and wise approach towards problems. There is a special commission on the problems of minorities and its activities aim at protecting minorities and providing them special rights.
- Do you think that the government of Prime Minister Singh will succeed in guaranteeing all citizens religious freedom?
- Prime Minister Singh has said that this is the aim of his policy. The prime minister and members of his cabinet often repeat this. I think that all people want this, too. Since every citizen must be treated as if he/she was a part of the country. It seems to me that the government cannot give up its policy aiming at religious freedom because they would lose people's confidence. One cannot make radical changes in the society without making fundamental changes in the leadership.
- I hope that the authorities will also change textbooks that served Hindu propaganda...
- This is bitter truth. The previous government tried to change history and thus cultivated children's minds. If those manipulations had been successful they would have had lasting effects. Fortunately, they were stopped.
- Has the economic growth contributed to the secularization of the Indian society?
- I think this will never happen in India. India has deep spiritual roots and religion plays a vital role in every citizen's life. By nature India's people are close to God. Even if they do not pray regularly God plays an important role in their personal and family lives. Therefore, welfare itself will not eliminate God from people's lives. Only a minority may be secularized but India will remain a religious nation in which God will always be present.
- What can Catholics from other countries do to help Indian Catholics and to prevent them from the aggression of the Hindu fundamentalists?
- Words of solidarity and support give us courage because we need support and assurance that Catholics from other countries are with us and that we are one family. We do not want to make the impression that we are the 'western' Church, and that's why we do not ask the West for help in those issues. On the other hand, we appreciate that other Catholics take interest in us and help us since we are a definite minority. This is very important to us.
- The fact that we demand respect for minority rights from the Indian authorities does not mean that we interfere in internal affairs...
- That's true. Human rights, religious freedom, freedom of consciousness for every man - this is the philosophy prevailing in the whole world. With your help it can also become India's philosophy.
- Thank you for the conversation.
"Niedziela" 29/2005
Editor: Tygodnik Katolicki "Niedziela", ul. 3 Maja 12, 42-200 Czestochowa, Polska
Editor-in-chief: Fr Ireneusz Skubis
Translation: Maria Kantor
E-mail: redakcja@niedziela.pl
Dear All,
Some Information regarding the situation concerning the Catholic Church in Goa. BTW, I had posted a message concerning the dastardly attck on Bishop Thomas Dabre of Mumbai(Bombay) and 2-3 Priests which had taken place on Sunday near Bombay. I posted it on Catholic Caucus Readings for the Memorial of Saint John Bosco for the 31st of January 2006.
This article is as follows:
Tabernacle stolen, hosts defiled at India church
1/31/2006
UCAN
PANAJI, India (UCAN) – In the latest in a series of crimes involving Catholic churches in Goa during the past year, robbers broke into a church, carried off the tabernacle and scattered consecrated hosts.
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The incident occurred on the night of Jan. 26-27 at Sts. Cosmas and Damian Church in Bogmalo, 30 kilometers (about 20 miles) south of Panaji, the state capital. Panaji is 1,910 kilometers south of New Delhi (about 1,200 miles).
The parish sacristan noticed the church door open and the tabernacle missing on the morning of Jan. 27.
Parish priest Father Emidio Braganza told UCA News he gathered parishioners by ringing the church bell. With the help of police dogs, the tabernacle was found abandoned on a nearby hillock. The consecrated hosts were scattered on the ground and the gold-plated ciborium was missing, he said. Some 100 rupees (US$2.20) also were missing from a collection box inside the church, he added.
The theft is the 13th church break-in Goa Archdiocese has recorded since February 2005. Most of the incidents involved thefts of antiques and artifacts. There was no defilement of consecrated hosts earlier. The archdiocese covers Goa state, which was a Portuguese colony until 1961.
The "spate of robberies has become a growing concern" for the church, according to Father Joaquim Loiola Pereira, secretary to Archbishop Filipe Neri Ferrao of Goa. "We are at a loss to understand how not a single culprit has been booked," he said.
Father Braganza said the latest incident seems to have been carried out by "people who do not know what they were doing." He said the parish prayed for God's forgiveness for them. Experts reportedly lifted fingerprints from the tabernacle. The parish priest "did not hear any noise – not even the church lock being broken." The "heavy" tabernacle was not affixed to the altar, but at least two people would have been needed to carry it outside, he said.
However, Father Pereira called the latest event "alarming" and said it "seems to be calculated to offend the Christian community." In his view, "It seems most unlikely that the holy tabernacle was mistaken for a strongbox."
Father Maverick Fernandes, co-coordinator of the archdiocesan Social Justice and Peace Cell, said the archdiocese is "terribly disappointed and let down" by the "indifference and lack of seriousness" from state police.
Each break-in incident has been reported to the police, but "not a single" lead was followed up or perpetrator apprehended. "To us, there seems to be a clear pattern to these robberies. Unfortunately, it does not seem so to the police," he told UCA News.
The Bogmalo break-in happened two weeks after the archdiocese held a meeting Jan. 7 seeking a strategy to protect church's heritage. Father Braganza said the meeting of priests and lay leaders resolved to undertake round-the-clock security for churches containing valuable objects.
Creating strong rooms for church treasures, installing alarm systems and hiring night watchmen also were suggested as preventive measures. Participants further decided to document and record religious art objects, with the possibility of insuring them if necessary.
In Jesus and Mary,
P.S.- The Situation is quite alarming in Goa where 30% of the population considers itself Christian as well as Catholic. In the B.J.P. Ruled States it is getting from bad to worse to hellish.
In some Congress ruled States it is also bad but to varying degrees.
Dear Folks,
I have some "breaking bad news" from Goa again concerning the ongoing vandalism against Catholic Churches and Chapels there. This story is available at http://www.theindiancatholic.com also check out http://www.spiritdaily.com -- An Orthodox Catholic Web Site run by Michael Brown an eminent American Catholic Apologist and Journalist.
The Article is as follows- This happened on Monday Night in Goa, the 30th of January I.S.T.
In Jesus and Mary,
Latest case of vandalism: Cross desecrated in Goa
Panaji (ICNS) -- Unidentified people desecrated a wayside cross in Goa, which church people say was the latest event in a series of acts of vandalism against churches in the state.
The cross in Carona-Aldona was broken into pieces Monday night. It happened just four days after a church was broken-in and its tabernacle removed.
In that incident in Sts. Cosmos and Damian Church at Bogmalo the miscreants also scattered consecrated hosts. Several Church people see it as an act of desecration than robbery.
The latest event adds to that. At the foot of the desecrated cross were scribbled the words 'Shree Pardeshi' (Mr Foreigner) in Roman script.
People who noticed the desecrated cross in the early hours of Tuesday alerted the Chaplain of St Rita Chapel at Carona. The cross was in an enclosure.
Chaplain Fr Mathew Rodrigues said communities in the locality had no history of enmity. He said the incident surprised him.
Local people say the cross was donated by a couple after they were blessed with a child. Some seven years ago Catholics and Hindus together build grills and put an asbestos sheet over the cross.
Church people have recorded at least four cases of cross desecration and another some 15 cases of robberies in churches of Goa. Police have not yet arrested any one for these crimes.