chhotebhai's Writings

  • DECALOGUE SIX & BOOK SIX

    Lest one go into sixes and sevens over this title; it was occasioned by a recent headline in the Times of India that read “New Vatican Law criminalizes sexual abuse by priests, laity”. It was referring to Decalogue Six, the sixth commandment, “You shall not commit adultery” (Ex 20:14, Deut 5:18). It was also referring…

  • MURDER AT THE ALTAR

    This title could be shocking.  Is it some kind of Agatha Christie “who dunnit”?  But such an event did take place about 1000 years ago when St. Thomas Becket was murdered at the altar of Canterbury Cathedral, of which he was the Archbishop, on 29/12/1170.  This was at the behest of King Henry II, who…

  • FORTY EUROS FOR A RED HAT

    The red hat is synonymous with cardinals. I have no idea of the cost of such a hat in Rome; whether the cardinals have to purchase their own, or they are presented to them by the Pope. However, the tag of Forty Euros (E40) is the limit that Pope Francis has now put on the…

  • A PENTECOSTAL CATHOLIC

    Does this sound like an oxymoron, a contradiction in terms? Is it possible to be both a Pentecostal and a Catholic, when there is so much animosity between the two?  I have another question, as we prepare for celebrating the feast of Pentecost. Where was the Holy Spirit before Pentecost? Let me answer the first…

  • THE TEACHER & THE PEON

    (Concluding part of the Trilogy “Love’s Dark Secrets” & “Love Jihad- Catholic Style”) Tubal Cain was a man of might In the days when the earth was young. Tubal Cain faded into the twilight By the queen bee he was stung! The first two lines of the verse are from a poem that I recall…

  • THE BLAME GAME

    The Blame Game, and shirking responsibility for one’s acts, is as old as the hills. When God questioned Adam, he blamed Eve, who in turn blamed the serpent (cf Gen 3:12-13). Their son Cain also sought to deflect responsibility for his brother’s death saying “Am I my brother’s guardian?” (Gen 4:9). This passing the buck…

Latest Comments

  1. The term ‘Laity’ (Greek word) that means the common man, devoid of knowledge or power, still holds good today in…

  2. Your play on the words scribe, scribble, scrabble and scramble is very apt and has neatly traced the route to…

  4. Thank you for this insightful piece. Your parallel between the biblical scribes and modern bureaucracies hits the nail on the…

  5. Quantum of sorrow appropriate title Just thinking of the trauma those Altar boys r going through