Category: Church Reform
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JESUS & THE ROLLING STONES
Most of us would have heard of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s 1970 musical “Jesus Christ Superstar”. It was an attempt to re-present Christ in a modern day idiom. Nobody will have heard of Jesus and The Rolling Stones, the jazz group Mick Jagger founded in 1962. Rightly so, for the rolling stones that I am now…
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THAT VACANT LOOK!
One wears a vacant look when lost, in love, or both! A vacant glassy look is also associated with death. Who has this vacant look – the Catholic Church in India? Why? Because 21 of 174 (one in eight) dioceses in the country have no bishops – the Sees are vacant. The question therefore arises…
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IN DEFENCE OF NORTH EAST CHRISTIANS
Not belonging to the North East (NE), why should I bother about what is happening to the Christians there? As always, Sacred Scripture has the answer. While describing the community of believers as a body, we are told that “If one part is hurt, all the parts share its pain” (1Cor 12:26). Again, “Each part…
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BAD APPLES, SAD COUPLES, GLAD TIDINGS
Fortunately I belong to a small parish where just a handful of people come for the Sunday evening Mass. It is therefore a time of quiet reflection for me. These reflections then are based on the first two readings of the first Sunday of Lent. The first reading was from Genesis on the “fall” of…
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INDIAN SYNOD – FORWARDS OR BACKWARDS?
Synod, what’s that? Are we suffering from collective amnesia? The next round, the Continental one, is slated for 24th – 27th February. For Asia it will be held in Bangkok, Thailand. If I correctly recall, our Asian bishops had earlier met in Pattaya, Thailand, better known for its sex tourism! Back to the Synod; how…
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CHRISTIAN UNITY IS IMPERATIVE
Let me shoot from the hip. Efforts for Christian unity, or ecumenism, are imperative, not an optional extra. We have just concluded the Christian Unity Octave that is held annually from 18th to 25th January, concluding on the feast of the Conversion of St Paul. The Octave was celebrated with both solemnity and sincerity in…
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CONTRASTING & COMPLEMENTARY COUSINS
This piece is occasioned by the Gospel reading at the third Sunday of Advent. From prison, John the Baptist sent his emissaries to Jesus with the question “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to expect someone else?” (Mat 11:3). A seemingly innocuous question, but pregnant with meaning. In the midst…
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IS CONVERSION NECESSARY?
By “conversion” I here mean the explicit act of baptising a non-Christian to make such a person Christian. We know that the right-wing Hindutva brigade has always been against religious conversion, thinly veiled as “forceful conversion”. Several anti-conversion laws have been passed in various States, not just by the BJP, but even by the Congress…
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ADVENT ADVENTURES
The Advent season is upon us. It is a preparation for Christmas, depending on our priorities. The Hindi word for Advent is Aagman. It is the same word used at airports for Arrivals. Advent means just that – the coming or arrival of somebody or thing. Can Advent be an adventure? It can. However, the…
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PETER UNCHAINED
(A SEQUEL TO “Generally Speaking”) In February 2017, I was in Rome to attend the marriage of my niece to an Italian. The nuptials were held in the church of San Giuseppe Dei Falegnami constructed above the Prigione Dei SS Apostoli Pietro e Paolo, near the Roman Forum. This is where Peter and Paul were…