National Catholic Reporter, May
4, 2001
Asdrid Leles Gajivala
Professor and lay member
Indian Catholic Theological Association
Bombay [Mumbai]
We have a new cardinal [Ivan Dias,
archbishop of Bombay]. When he came here one of the first things he wanted
was to do away with the social justice commission and make it a pro-life
group. A small group of us came to the conclusion that we must become part
of the peoples' movement to do social justice work. That way it could be
done without being under the control of the local hierarchy. That way we
can work for social justice irrespective of the hierarchy. .
Many of us women are empowered by
Christianity. You come to see and know the vision. It is a vision that
moves you to work for justice, to work for equality. You put your whole
life into it. And soon it puts you up against your own institution, the
church. This is something I cannot understand, disturbs me tremendously.
I always have to explain my church. I always have to explain the attitude
of my bishop. Why? Why aren't we on the same side? We are both empowered
by Christ. I ask whether it is worth my while to remain in the church.
I have three small children. They
allow me to live out my Christianity. Being concerned about women and wanting
to be in solidarity with women, I cannot waste my time banging my head
against the wall. I am at a point in my life when I ask if it is worth
trying to transform the church. Isn't it much better that I join a secular
organization? I can still act. I am still empowered by Christ.
My writing on feminist issues has
been a real drag for the cardinal. Before he came to the see, I used to
give feminist theology courses. No longer. The excuse he gives [for discontinuing
the courses] is that my children are not baptized. My husband is Hindu.
I have raised them in the Catholic faith. They go to church with me. But
my husband and I have agreed this [decision on religion] will be a decision
they will make when they are grown up. In the meantime, they receive all
the religious education they would get at any Catholic school.
We have a Catholic women's group.
We get together and talk about our lives and faith. We talk about the church.
We talk about women and our common plight. We have ideas and want to share
them. But the archbishop said he did not want to meet with a woman's group.
Imagine. What kind of attitude is that?
We have decided we don't want to
be part of this priesthood. We are not interested in the kind of priesthood
that is happening now in our church. We want a new priesthood, a different
kind of priesthood. .
When I was on the Catholic women's
commission, you could not even use the word feminist. So when you would
write for the commission you would have to be careful. If you used the
word feminist, people would think you are talking about something extreme.
All we were talking about were women.
We are grown women. We are adults!
We know how women think and feel. Who are they, these bishops, to tell
us how and what we think? I find this very difficult. Why waste time working
for this church?
====================
Fr. P. Arockiadoss
Director of the Regional Jesuit
Theologate
Chennia [Madras]
If our theology [in India] today
has tried to enter into new areas, with new agendas, with new issues, it
is because the church -- at least the thinking people here -- are involved
in the day-to-day problems with the poorest of the poor, the dalit people
[outcastes]. Their sufferings, their longings, their aspirations are what
motivate our theological reflections today. So we are taking up issues
that are meaningful to them. That is why our theology is a living theology,
a relevant theology, a creative theology. The Spirit is acting here.
I strongly believe that the aspirations
of the dalits for humanity, for equality, for fellowship, for justice,
for freedom, coincide with the aspirations of God. The God of history wants
freedom, want equality, wants justice. Therefore, today they [dalits] become
the mediators of God's will to us. So when we vibrate with that, our theologies
become meaningful and living and life giving.
That's also why the theologies from
the West are so foreign to us today, so strange to us. They seem to be
living at an academic level, discussing issues that are maybe related to
philosophical things.
That's why the language of Dominus
Jesus [a recent Vatican document on non-Christian religions] seemed so
strange to us. What hurt us, what shocked us, what surprised us, is the
issue that the poor were completely absent in Dominus Jesus. That the Vatican
can send us a document on Christ completely ignoring the poor and the issues
of the poor is a shocking thing to us, because we cannot talk about Christ
without talking about the poor.
====================
Auxiliary Bishop Bosco Penha
Bombay [Mumbai]
For me the big problem became ritualism.
But what was it leading to? I searched for an answer. I kept wondering
how to move from ritualism as the center of church, making it come to life
in order to transform the world. After a while the answer came to me: small
Christian communities. That was the answer. I am convinced that this is
what the church needs. In Bombay, we have active small Christian communities
in most of the parishes of the archdiocese.
Indian culture has come to be so
varied. It's really an amalgam of a lot of hues and colors. Buddhists,
Moguls, Muslims, Dutch, Portuguese, they have all left remnants. Beyond
that, Bombay is the most Western city in India. This makes the process
of inculturation especially difficult. Inculturation? Yes. But into which
culture?
I will give you a recent example.
As you may know, our girls do beautiful Indian dances. They may come to
the church in mini-skirts. Then they dart to the sacristy and change into
Indian dress, do some dancing, put back on their mini-skirts and go home.
You can see the problem.
====================
Fr. Jacob Theckanath
Director, National Biblical Catechetical
& Liturgical Center
Bangalore
I have been with this center since
1976 and director for the past 10 years. This center has been the pulse
of the renewal of the church in India. People involved in church renewal
come here. We get people from all backgrounds. Today we train as many lay
as religious. We just finished a seminar on the leadership of the laity,
and over 100 came from Tamil Nadu [a state in southern India].
I am hopeful for the renewal of
the church, especially from my experience. Even those who were negative
to the [Vatican] Council now accept and even embrace the challenge of renewal,
not only here, but also all over the country. I get a very good feeling
that renewal is a process. No one can stop it. People may be able to slow
down the momentum of renewal, but renewal itself will go on.
The laity are awakening. They come
here [to the center] for the training. When we started the program hardly
10 percent of the participants were laypeople. Today it is nearly 50 percent
that are laity. About 2000 come each year. This represents the awakening
of the laity. They want to play a larger role in the church. They want
to have a participatory church. In the process, the church in India is
becoming more concerned about the world and its peoples and their real
needs.
====================
Fr. Julian Saldanha
Professor of missiology
St. Pius X College Seminary
Bombay [Mumbai]
What strikes me in the life of Jesus
is that he does not seem to be primarily concerned about teaching doctrines.
He is primarily concerned with how we should live and what is the meaning
of a human life. For me, therefore, the central revelation is summarized
in the paschal mystery: Jesus' whole life, death and resurrection. It is
in and through this that he reveals to us the meaning of human life, the
destiny of our life and of the world. This is really what he has revealed.
.
I feel that one of the ways in which
East and West differ is the concept of truth. The West thinks more in the
principle of non-contradiction, that is, an exclusive idea of truth. In
Asia, there are a lot of inclusive ideas, both/ands. That is why Indian
theologians often clash with people like [Cardinal Joseph] Ratzinger on
the notion of truth. This is also why Indians are known for their tolerance.
We are not so much concerned about orthodoxy and unorthodox. Rather we
have a kind, tolerant and inclusive understanding of truth.
====================
John Dayal
National convener
United Christian Forum for Human
Rights
New Delhi
We don't need unending food banks
for the poor of India. We need programs that eradicate injustice.
I asked to take leave from my newspaper
position so I could do my social action work. So I could draw attention
to the persecution of Christians here. I was told I could not take leave.
Then I was forced to leave. So now I have no income at the moment. But
I am inspired by my faith and the call to justice.
So you ask, "What does Christianity
mean to me?" It means intervening in those processes that keep people poor
and oppressed. It means standing up on behalf of the Untouchables. Christianity
is all about social activism. That's where we find its salvific meaning.
====================
Lorna Barrett
Secretary
Archdiocesan Women's Desk
Bombay [Mumbai]
While there is a move toward a global
church, the experiences of the Eastern churches are not being acknowledged,
maybe even negated, by the Western frame of mind. Even so, the Eastern
churches seem to be moving in their own directions, which, I think, is
a sign they are being guided by the Holy Spirit. We are also being guided
by the experiences of the people who are suffering in the East.
I find the church in the West taking
a position of dominance, and it affects all our leaders in the East. This
is especially true in the area of inculturation. While there is a very
strong sense among our people about the needs for a multicultural society,
constantly we receive documents or statements from Rome that say the universality
of the church is more important and it must be maintained at all costs.
I am hopeful because the number
of people who want change is growing. I am also hopeful for the youth.
I see hope in the solidarity of our bishops who want to bring about a strong
Asian church. My hope is that we will emerge with a strong Asian identity.
And who knows? The old men in the Vatican will die soon.
====================
Virginia Saldanha
Executive secretary
Office of the Laity
Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences
Bombay [Mumbai]
My girls don't like to go to church.
They come back angry. Yet they work with the poor. They do good work. I
keep telling the bishop this. I say that by the year 2020 the churches
will be empty and there will be no women unless the church wakes up to
the way women feel about things.
The young people will not put up
with some of the things we put up with. So I end up feeling tremendous
anger and pain. Often the things that are being said in the gospels are
not being practiced in our church. I cannot leave the church, but my daughters
will not be a part of it. This makes me sad.
We recently had an archdiocesan
synod. During the four days a lot of subjects came up. There was a lot
of talk about what we should address, how we should be in solidarity with
the poor. On the fourth and last day, the issue of women came up. The priest
who was running the meeting said we should give women a chance to express
themselves. Some did.
Then it was time for the closing
Mass. It was a time the archbishop [Ivan Dias] told us he had listened
and would respond to our concerns. He went through the list mentioning
all sorts of subjects. However, one was most absent. It was the subject
of women. He left women out completely.
In Bombay the church allows altar
girls, but there was none during the synod. No young girls were allowed.
What kind of signal does that send out? As a token, two young girls were
allowed to stand at the far side of the altar and hold a miter and a cross.
They sat in the corner the whole time. A man read the words. It could have
been a woman.
The archbishop was giving us a signal
that he did not accept women. This is the man who tried like anything to
close the [archdiocesan] Women's Desk. In the end, he was not able to because
we stood up for our rights. This is sad for the church of Bombay. We have
a cardinal, but he does not have an Asian mind. He comes to us from the
Roman diplomatic corps. This is bad because Bombay gives direction to the
rest of the church in India.
