Church without Caste (Latter to Editor)

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Publication: Indian Currents
Date: January 8, 2006

Forty years after the conclusion of the Second Vatican Council the message contained in its voluminous documents has not been properly conveyed to one and all. The significance of the Council was that it was meant, as Pope John XXIII said in his opening remarks, to renew "ourselves and the flocks committed to us, so that there may radiate before all men the lovable features of Jesus Christ". But has this message on the need for renewal been properly understood and communicated to the faithful?

As Fr. Josef Neuner, who served the Council as an expert, says in an interview, which we have featured as the cover story in this issue, the "Council was not well communicated to the people, and the blame (for this failure) goes to the clergy." The Second Vatican Council had given a basic orientation to the life of the church, but we have not been quite successful in tackling the challenges we face today on the basis of this orientation. The Church authorities should imbibe the spirit of the Council and this spirit should penetrate the whole church.

One of the most important achievements of the Council was the rediscovery of the charismatic dimension of the Church. But the developments in Indian church do not tally with this dimension, but bring out the rot prevailing at many levels. The failure of the Indian church to pin an end to the practice of caste system, which is playing havoc in various parishes and dioceses, puts a question mark on the 'charismatic dimension' of the Church. As such the practice of caste system should be eliminated and the church authorities should take a lead in this respect.

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