Category: Church Reform
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DO WE NEED BISHOPS?
In the light of the recent appointments of bishops and archbishops, this question may seem audacious. But it is not altogether without merit. Do we really need bishops, what is their role in our lives, and if at all we do need them, then who should decide on their appointments? The role of the recently…
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NUNC DIMITTIS NUNCIO
This title would be intriguing for those who don’t know Latin. Neither do I! It is the title of the prayer in the Breviary that priests are expected to recite before going to sleep at night. It is the prayer of the Prophet Simeon who had been waiting unendingly for the coming of the Saviour….
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SUICIDE MISSION
During the Second World War this term referred to Japanese pilots who went on suicidal missions, where death was certain. The Kamikaze pilots flew their bomb-laden aircraft straight into enemy targets. Then we had the LTTE suicide bombers, like the one that assassinated former Prime Minister Rajive Gandhi. It gave rise to a host of…
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SHOULD ONE GO TO CHURCH NOW?
A week ago religious leaders heaved a collective sigh of relief when they came to know that places of religious worship would be opened w.e.f. 8th June. Some even issued victorious press statements hailing the decision. They had obviously not read the fine print on the distinction between places of worship, and holding of religious…
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A CATHOLIC PENTECOSTAL
Absurd! This is an oxymoron, a contradiction in terms. How can one be both a Catholic and a Pentecostal? When we use caps to denote Proper Nouns then it may seem contradictory. But if we use small letters to denote adjectives, then the apparent contradiction is removed. Catholic, as we know, means universal. It was…
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What’s Good This Friday?
As the Secretary of the Legion of Mary in my parish 51 years ago it was my lot to give a commentary on the Holy Week liturgy. That got me thinking on what was so unique about Jesus’ rather “limited” suffering on the cross. Take the number three. Three temptations in the desert, three years…
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NANO POWER
The Tokyo Olympics 2020 have been postponed indefinitely because of that wicked little pathogen – the Corona Virus. The irony should not be lost on the world we live in. The Olympic motto is “Citius, Altius, Fortius” the Latin words for “Faster, Stronger, and Higher”. The ancient Greeks held the Olympics from 8 BC to…
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HANG RELIGION, SPIRITUALITY IS THE BIG BANG!
(Concluding part of the trilogy “Is Religion Dead?” and “Was Jesus Religious?”) My previous two articles were in response to questions being raised about religion in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.They have elicited varying responses. One school of thought still clings to the belief that Religion is now dead and we have ushered in…