Category: Church Reform
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THE YELLOW CARD
There are two reasons why I remember the Yellow Card. The first dates back to boarding school more than 60 years ago. We had monthly tests for which we got cards – Gold for excellence, Blue for good work, Yellow for average marks and Pink for failure. During my eight years of boarding I got…
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SHIFTING SANDS & STANDS
On Tuesday 4th November two events occurred that seemed like undermining our very foundations. One gets such a feeling while standing on the seashore when the tide is running out. As the water recedes one feels that the ground (sand) under one’s feet is shifting, leaving one struggling to stay erect. What were these two…
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DOES GOD PLAY GAMES?
Last night (30th October) my wife and I sat to watch the last two hours of the semi-final match between India and Australia in the ICC Women’s One Day World Cup. It is headlines today. Australia was defeated after 7 years, that too despite piling on a massive total of 338 runs. India’s star opener…
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KINGS OR NO KINGS
Both Kings and No Kings are in the news for very different reasons. First there is King Charles III of England who just visited Pope Leo in the Vatican and held a joint prayer service with him. The other is the No King rally in the USA on 18th October where a reported 7 million…
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MULLALLY OR MULAKKAL?
Other than similar sounding surnames, is there anything in common between these two? They are as different as chalk and cheese. Former bishop of Jalandhar diocese, Franco Mulakkal, nicknamed Frightening Franco, is a familiar name to Indian Catholics. A lower court in Kerala has acquitted him of charges of multiple rape of a religious sister…
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DID JESUS SPEAK LATIN?
Readers will pardon me for asking another audacious question. They will also note that I often write in response to current issues. This time it is a riposte to an article “Reviving the Old Latin Mass would be a colossal mistake” published in Union of Catholic Asian News (UCAN) on 26th September, written by Robert…
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THE TRINITY IS NOT A MYSTERY
(A presentation at Bishop’s College, Kolkata to commemorate 1700 years of the Nicean Creed, organised by the various Theological colleges of Bengal) This paper has an audacious title, considering the oft repeated experience of St Augustine on the seashore, and bearing in mind that our present Pope Leo is a follower of that same spirituality….
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THE POWER OF 2X2
Most roadways buses have a 2×3 seat configuration; that is, 5 seats in a row. Since that is cramped, luxury buses are 2×2 giving long distance travellers enough leg space. I am writing this after attending Mass on Sunday 20th July. The first reading (Gen 18:1-10) and the gospel (Lk 10:38-42) both had two principal…
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HONEYMOON CHEATERS
Till recently we used to hear about wife beaters – aggressive male chauvinists beating up their spouses. Have things turned full circle? Are women the new aggressors – chopping up their husbands and sealing them in blue cement drums? Or the latest shocker from Shillong where Sonam Kushwaha of Indore went for an outdoor honeymoon…