The Leftist Hypocrisy Behind “Church Act”
By Johny Plathottam
09 January, 2011
Countercurrents.org
Kerala holds the unique history of electing the first ever communist government in the world. It is also history that the Church and other reactionary elements in Kerala society ganged up against the government to bring it down through the infamous "Liberation Struggle." Now the same communist government is pandering to these same reactionary elements by withholding the potentially path breaking "Church Act"
There is a story of a boy who has all answers on earth, except the correct one. Any party in any country who loses in the elections is very much like this boy. There is one difference, though. The boy does not give the correct answer because, he does not know it. However, the political parties know the causes of their failure. But they do not speak about them. The LDF lost the recently held three level Panchayat elections. Even the bishops are aware that this happened not due to their pastoral letters or not showing respect to the priests. Yet the LDF explanation of the reasons for their defeat as “religious polarisation and consolidation of minority votes” shows the attitude of “mea culpa” which is really unfortunate. It will only gladden the church- people.
It is often said that the communist movement was sprouted in fire. During its beginnings, it was not supported not only by the Catholic Church, but by any other religious organization. Many Christians became communists in its early period inspite of being ostracized by church authorities and being hunted everywhere. They faced excommunication and the threat of being buried in the place earmarked for rogues. Christians voted for communist party defying the Pope and the bishops. Even when the party came to power they received only these votes.
Now, if there are those who refused to become candidates on the advice of bishops, the fault does not lie with the bishops. Such persons should not have been selected at all to become candidates. The communists should not have accepted, the votes forbidden by the bishops. Complaining to bishops on such matters is not appropriate to the tradition of the party.
Had this government shown the necessary political will to leave the appointment of teachers of aided and unaided schools run by private managements to PSC, there could have been thousands of new voters for the communist party from Christian families defying what the bishops had to say on the subject. Had the criminal case charged against the meditation centre at Potta, after due investigation by police on the order of the court, not been sabotaged, the same thing could have happened as well. The Supreme Court had decreed that the section eleven of Mundasserry Education Bill formulated by the first Communist Government (1957-59) was not against the constitution. After that four left Governments assumed power. None of them did anything about this. Result is that crores of rupees are flowing to the church from the Government treasury even today. At lest this Government should have been prepared to do justice to the eleventh section.
The law exists for the Government to rule over the material wealth of all other religious bodies. But there is no such law in the matter of Christian religion. Instead communist Governments have been rendering help to bishops and priests to govern the material wealth of the Christian community in a dictatorial manner. The Government could have made the “Church Act” suggested by the committee on Law Reform under the Chairmanship of Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer, into law through which democracy and transparency in the control of material wealth by the church could have been introduced!
Had this happened the communist leaders would not have had the occasion to listen to the roar from church authorities. Not only that the bishops and priests would have been satisfied with doing their duty as priests and lived peacefully, observing the three vows, in the houses of bishops and priests. (There is no implication here that they are personally bad; the problem lies with the system in the church.) At the same time, even if Pope came personally to prohibit, communist party would have got tens of thousands of Christian votes.
Earlier the communist party was at the forefront in handling crisis. All political parties are today in a crisis of ideas. Because they have no new problems to present to the people.
The proposed “Church Act” is much more powerful in its impact, than the land reforms bill implemented by the first communist government. As a matter of fact, atleast the leftists should have realized that it is not merely the problem of a community. In the much talked about liberation struggle all religious communities, priests and political parties ganged up against the communist party; but the party committed the blunder of forgetting that in the election held in 1960 the left received four percent more votes.
Confidence of Church authorities
Ninety percents of the serfs to pastoral letters are horses which behave like donkeys in front of bishops because of their anxiety regarding the education and jobs of their children-particularly the nursing training of their daughters and the jobs in self-financing colleges. Today a Christian is not bothered about the difficulties he may have to face in conducting marriage and burial ceremonies. Priests have had the experience of a prominent church authority being punished and warned by the court of the land for denying a decent burial to a believer. His punishment also included payment of lakhs of rupees. There were occurrences of believers saying the prayers and burying their dead, when priests refused to conduct the burial service. These believers are now capable of getting a court decree to bury the dead body, after exhuming it, in the cemetery under the leadership of the very priest who denied such a decent burial at the first time.
Most political parties fear that their fingers will be burned, if they touch the church. The reasons behind this fear are the indestructible confidence of the church authorities, favourable court decrees, and the Delhi connection. But the fear is a myth. As a matter of fact, the ‘health' secret of the bishops is the vast wealth of the church which they handle, without giving a part of its accounts to anybody. The reason for their provocative exuberance are the powers they have taken away from the members of the community. Both these are possible because Christians alone do not have a law passed by the Government to regulate the administration of their wealth. Government has passed laws in the case of both majority land minority communities.
Many have forgotten that earlier their was a ‘diktat' from the bishops to vote for communists. In the 1980 election Sri. K.M. Mani had to share power with the communists. Thus even form the convents votes in groups fell in the ballot box in the symbol of sickle, wherever communists were the candidates. Naturally it was an unwritten ‘order'. Therefore there was no need to withdraw it later. The end result of this contact with the church was that at least some leftists entertained the hope of receiving block votes. (At the same time nothing much happened to the believers and the nuns. To those who have the grace to forget what is not needed, the bishops anoint them with the oil of stability to lie without a feeling of remorse. Above all there is the sacrament of confession). This may be one of the reasons behind the non- enactment of laws regarding the eleventh section as well as the “Church Act”. Thus is forgotten the reality that “palace connection” does not augur well for the left.
Do not disappoint the progressive believers
The trust administration of the Churches suggested by the Church Act is close to the one thousand six hundred year old tradition, which was prevalent till the Portuguese came. The similarity of the Church Act to the church assembly of that time has become a headache to the church authorities. According to the decision of the Vatican Council, which is the topmost body of the Catholic Church, the regional churches have the freedom and duty to go back to their old traditions and style of administration. This also cannot be directly opposed by the bishops. They collected the signatures of the believers widely, on the basis of subjects like mercy killing and divorce. In the memorandum sent to authorities there is not even an jota of opposition by the believers. It is a highly meaningful matter that the Church Act has not been opposed by any of the prominent leaders of the Christian community.
The most attractive consequence of the Church Act is that the churches, and the church properties like schools, colleges, hospitals, estates, commercial complexes, etc. will be placed under the administration of the Christian community. Schools, colleges, hospitals and such innumerable socially related institutions will be taken over by trusts, which would have elected Christians as members. They would not be a replica of people having a limited thinking, educated in the dark world called seminary. They also do not hold the view that Christians should be educated only in Christian institutions. Their behaviour will be humble and humane. There will be transparency in financial transactions. This will spread to the whole society and will be developed through a process of action and reaction providing a new breeze, light and beginning in the community. Great political acumen is not required to conclude that, if ever the congress party becomes capable of ruling alone, the first act of theirs would probably be to pass the Church Act. Because the politically miraculous merger of the two Kerala Congress groups is an indication of the mental shock that the proposed Church Act has produced in the bishops. It has also been one of the main inspiration for the merger. Two years ago a member of the legislative assembly had raised the question whether the Church Act would be passed into law. This, even if everyone forgets, will not be forgotten by church authorities. The Congress is aware that this merged alliance will take deep roots in the society, which cannot be then controlled by any one at all. It is with more trepidation than the Communists, that the congress views the scenario of Kerala Congress growing under the wings of each bishop. The intelligentsia in the Congress circles have also evaluated that the only solution to the growth of Kerala Congress, which has the reputation for growing through splits, is the Church Act.
If E.M.S. were alive, as soon as the LDF Government came to power four years ago, he would have won over the Congress support for the self-financing colleges Bill introduced by the LDF. In those days the Congress was ashamed of being deceived by the bishops after obtaining Several Engineering Colleges, one after another, on the basis of the formula, ‘two self-financing colleges = one Government college'. Even through the Church Act was formulated by the Law Reforms Commission, it also indicates an intervention relevant to the times. The Act is also symptomatic of a social revolution. The dictatorship imposed on a religious community by few bishops, who can be counted on one's fingers, is something crude enough to have been thrown out by civilized societies from the face of the earth long time ago.
Be prepared for ‘Great loss'
The communist movement has the destiny of being established to root out the poisonous teeth of all dictatorships. Therefore is it necessary that they should still be afraid of falling into hot water as they did during the liberation struggle? The old circumstances do not exist any more. Other communities are no match for the games of the bishops to capture benefits and are neglected. They stand with an inferiority complex before the financial splendour and growing power of influence of the Church.
Even if the power to rule is lost in the name of the Church Act, it would be a “great loss.” But loss suffered in proclaiming a social transformation by destroying the conservative, politico-religious fortresses. Even today history lauds the failure of the 1957 Communist Government. It may be remembered that none of the communist governments that came to power later have a place either in history or in the mind of the society.
It is the impure blood of pomp and authority that flows through the veins of church authorities. This impurity can be let out through this small operation. With that they will cease to be dangerous. They will also put an end to handling undeserved position and their temptation to evil will be uprooted.
Only law making can find lasting solution to the problem of Christian community, without conflict. Such a law as envisaged in the Church Act has been the demand of prominent personalities such as Joseph Pulikunnel, Justice K.T. Thomas, Prof. N.M. Joseph, Dr. M.V. Pylee and others for years.
Warning of fellow Travellers
There are now more than a dozen organizations, which do not fear the authorities, that have banded themselves together. They have announced that they will vote only for those who will implement the Act. The church authorities observe their firm steps and voice with anxiety. It could be the destiny of the communist movement and the LDF government to pass this Act into law, which would rewrite the coming epoch. They have sufficient time for it; but what is required is political will and intelligence.
LDF have suffered losses in the elections held to regional self - governing bodies. The reason for this is neither communal polarisation nor pastoral letters. It is not also the consequence of something the government has done. As matter it is the upshot of not doing what is needed to be done. It is a shock treatment to arise from the slumber of inactivity. This warning is given either by the leftists themselves or by their fellow travellers. When their existence was in danger, Indira Gandhi and the Congress became symbol of social revolution by nationalising Banks and putting an end to the Privy Purse system. There are many lessons of history right in front of us. Indira and her Congress decimated two feudal fortresses which the rulers were afraid to touch but Indira got an international image of a revolutionary, who will not bow down to any pressure. She became the hope of young people all over India . LDF has the tradition of winning many battles. They should show they still have the youth to wage another battle.
In the coming elections to the legislative assembly, what will be their plants for seeking votes? Shadow fights and feigned quarrel among themselves to hood wink the voter is of no value. The people expect from the Left the vigour to fight. Stating it in a modern style, it means they should be ready to work towards risk - filled social transformation even at his late hour.
For different reasons all political parties are afraid of the church. But now it is the bishops who are afraid. Since two or three years they are having sleepless nights over it. The merger of Kerala Congress, the strict attitude adopted vis-à-vis the problems at CMS college, the interventions of Inter - Church Council even when there are differences of opinion between churches, are remedial measures. Like political parties, bishops also consider attack as the best form of defence. But bishops are not invincible. Their towers of power will fall like fortresses of sand, the moment church trusts come into existence. Today, bishops are not capable of moving even half the number of Christians for a street fight against the Church Act. Other communities, which took part in the old liberation struggle will let out a sigh of relief if the Church Act becomes law. Because the bishops are bending towards them like a tree creating shades over them.
The events at Narrakkal, running away of Bishop Thattunkal taking with him crores of rupees of church funds, to foreign lands, Abhaya case, the wayward life style of some priests, unnatural deaths of nuns that continue like a serialised story, deaths of seminarians and catechism students, the expose by Sister Jasmy and Fr. Shibu - all these have made them a laughing stock in society. Those who were spokesmen before the media have been withdrawn and new ‘boys' are replacing them.
So far there were lay organizations fostered by the bishops. But today there are organizations like the Joint Christian Council which are capable of asking searching and relevant questions. The Christian community including the non-resident Indians in America and Gulf-nations look forward to their activities with considerable enthusiasm. Nevertheless no one need to entertain hopes that the aggressive tendencies of church authorities can be contained without the might of law. It is the ‘black hole' that will swallow anything and everything that comes towards them.
The majority of citizens in the community is looking towards progressive organizations and the ruling elite to break the chains and breach the prisons in the Christian Community.
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