Author: George Menezes
Publication: The Times of India
Date: May 6, 2001
By far the most outstanding characteristic
of the Catholic Church in Mumbai is Hope. On the Richter scale it is greater
in intensity than Faith and Charity.
And that is what I witnessed at
the magnificent outpouring of joy on April 21, enhanced by the choir of
Fr Aniceto Nazareth and the outstanding organisational abilities of Bishop
Bosco D'Penha.
The occasion marked three causes
for Hope: the felicitation of Archbishop Ivan Dias' elevation to the rank
of cardinal, the consecration of Mumbai's two new Bishops and the release
of the document of the Archdiocesan Synod 2001 (Synod, Latin for 'walking
together' or 'meeting' of the clergy and laity).
Archbishop Dias is the third red-hat
in succession in Mumbai (the first two being Cardinals Gracias and Pimenta),
an accomplishment which the cardinal wittily dubbed the red-hat-trick.
Felicitating the cardinal, Prof Elaine Charles listed the qualities that
made him truly our shepherd.
The second part of the celebration-the
rites of the Episcopal consecration of the two bishops, Fr Agnelo Gracias
and Fr Percival Fernandez-was the focal point of the function. We were
treated to the brilliantly conceived homily by Archbishop Oswald Gracias,
who reminded us that whereas Father Percy had spent most of his life in
the healing of the sick, Father Agnelo had spent much of his life helping
the healthy to grow. In fact, their charisams so beautifully complemented
each other that it seemed that God had all these years been preparing them
for special responsibilities in our Archdiocese.
As if to herald this hope we had
the release of the Cardinal Ivan Dias' Pastoral letter and the final document
of the Bombay Archdiocesan Synod 2001. In the Pastoral Letter there is
a genuine attempt to give the background of the Synod, its preparation
and functioning and the listing of the pastoral goals, a deeply felt need
for communion within and outside the Church, a challenge to his flock to
"make the Church the home and school of communion", and a dream that "through
the Synod's recommendations we shall be faithful to God's plan".
To translate this dream into reality
the cardinal has appointed a 'dream-implementation' committee which includes
Dolphy D'Souza and Capt Joe Lobo. It is a pity that no lay woman, apart
from Valerie D'souza who works for the Pastoral Centre, has been appointed.
A pity too that the difficult task of implementation has been given to
people who are already over-stretching themselves for the Church and community.
Does it say something about the bankruptcy of willing leadership in our
Church?
Finally some words on the Synod
itself. The great achievement is that it took place at all. The recommendations
make a lot of sense but many are not new. For the simple reason that the
Synod 2001 addressed the age-old problems of the Archdiocese discussed
in the past by several Synods and by a convention of 400 Catholics organised
by Cardinal Pimenta and the laity. In all cases the massive failure has
been non-implementation.
I would have liked to have seen,
for example, in the areas of empowerment of the weaker sections, recommendations
like "in the next five years every parish will have enabled 50 per cent
of its domestic help to learn to read and write". Or "in the next three
years every parish will empower at least one worker to become an union
leader in his company".
Specific, time-bound and with someone
accountable. No, this is not management jargon, this is Scripture. Jesus
had a plan, he set goals and he asked for accountability. What good is
it to stir up a crowd if you do not give them a constructive outlet for
their energies?
Many people also felt that there
was not enough time for preparation. Three members of a team of 12 working
on the position paper said that they were not given a free hand in finalising
the Position Paper and there was no scope for an alternative view. This
does not augur well for the Archdiocese. The members illustrated their
point with the example of Pope Benedict XIV who in 1924 declared that every
element of the Bible was to be believed as literally true. Years and years
of listening to other views led Pope Pins XII in 1942 to accept that the
Bible was made up of different genres of writing and not everything was
to be considered as literally true.
I also believe that a truthfully
courageous review of the functioning of the Small Christian Communities
(SCC) should have preceded the Synod. The Position Paper would then have
had the wealth of knowing what the real situation was and how it could
be tackled. The real Church finally is at the grass roots, SCC level. Are
we willing to let go of the concept of the Church only as a building where
authority is closely held?
The problems of our Archdiocese
are many. Large-scale unemployment, absence of housing, illiteracy and
labour exploitation. Valuable people are leaving the Church in large numbers.
The phenomenal number of 'nominal' Catholics is a crying shame. Catholics
in high positions (whom we invite as chief guests) are hardly involved
in the daily struggles of their parishes. There is no forum for laity and
hierarchy to meet and resolve differences. There is no mechanism for reconciliation.
The lip service paid to 'lay participation' which does not include 'decision
making' is a mockery of Church teachings. There is a need for a high-power
professional Communication Centre with clout with the secular media and
the ability to respond to the continuous propaganda against the community,
which at present is left to well-meaning writers of 'Letters to the Editor'
column.
Equally worrisome is the creation
of new structures. Will the creation of new 'cells' and the position of
a paid coordinator make existing organisations lose their identity and
increase the parish priest's work?
There is a fear that no one will
protest or suggest alternatives. Recommendations will be implemented in
letter but not in spirit. I pray sincerely that I am wrong. For the sake
of our cardinal, our bishops, priests, religious and laity who have given
so much of themselves, I pray that the Holy Spirit will help us see this
effort through.
Otherwise we will have missed the
bus once again.
