Category: Church Reform
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JESUS & THE TV ANCHOR
TV anchors were recently in the news (pun intended) because of the strictures passed against them by a Supreme Court bench of Justices K.M. Joseph and Hrishikesh Roy, in the matter of promoting hate speech. They termed it “multi-layered, like killing someone, you can do it in multiple ways, slowly or otherwise”. What is wrong…
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GENRALLY SPEAKING
This reflection begins with two Generals, but doesn’t end with them. It is actually about an action packed octave from Sunday 25th September to Sunday 2nd October. I met the first General in Kanpur on the 25th. She was Sr Elvira UMI, former Superior General of the Ursuline sisters. I had last met her in…
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WAS MOTHER MARY A PRIEST?
The answer apparently is “No”, because the Catholic Church doesn’t accept women to the ordained priesthood. Does this merit re-consideration? Though not a theologian or church historian I would address the question from three angles: (i) The objections to women’s ordination (ii) The nature of the priesthood (iii) The life of Mother Mary. THE OBJECTIONS:…
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IS CELIBACY A DELICACY?
(A sequel to “The Gay Priest”) A delicacy is usually related to food, my favourite indulgence. It is different from the daily fare of dal-chawal or sabji-roti. For me a delicacy is something like succulent pork chops. Obviously one cannot eat that everyday. A delicacy is something special, not the norm. Celibacy is like a…
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THE GAY PRIEST
When we were young, being gay meant that we had the joyous abandonment of a child, an attribute that St Paul gives to being children of God (cf Rom 8:21). Today, being gay is understood as a man having a sexual relationship with another man; just as lesbian means women being in a sexual relationship…
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HAT – TRICK
The just concluded Indian Premier League (IPL) would be fresh in people’s minds. Hence one cannot be faulted for presuming that this piece is about cricket! It isn’t. It’s not about red balls but about red hats, the red Berettas given to Cardinals. They are the flavour of the season thanks to the announcement of…
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FARCICAL FRATERNAL FANTASY
There is celebration in some circles that Pope Francis’ latest directive that non-ordained “Brothers” in men’s religious orders that also include priests, may now become Major Superiors, albeit with Vatican permission. What is the hullabaloo about? Will it have any impact on the ground? Though not a fan of Shakespeare, the Pope’s directive reminded me…
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FEAR NOT…
Ash Wednesday, Lent, Holy Week, done and dusted. Life can now return to normal. Really? If the preceding 50 days was a drama, then “Yes”. If it was a spiritual experience, then “No”. Post Resurrection we cannot possibly return to normal life. A believing Christian’s life can never be “normal”. Nor is it abnormal. It…
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TRANSFIGURED, CONFIGURED, DISFIGURED?
This morning (13th March) the Church celebrated the feast of the Transfiguration. While the gospel was being read my thoughts raced ahead. The three Synoptic Gospels refer to the Transfiguration (cf Mat 17:1-8, Mk 9:2-8, Lk 9:28-36). Peter, who was present then, also alludes to it (cf 2 Pet 1:16-18).Significantly, all three synoptic writers situate…
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MAKE LOVE NOT WAR
As teenagers in the 1960’s we were exposed to the anti-establishment pop culture of the Beatles, and the anti-war protests of the hippies. The latter’s war cry (sic) was “Make love not war”. As I write this the Russian invasion of Ukraine has entered its second week. Time will tell how and when it will…