Category: Church Reform
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WOMEN RELIGIOUS REPORT – A LAY PERSPECTIVE
One must appreciate the lengthy report by Ladislaus D’souza on the status of women religious in India, as published in The Secular Citizen (9/8/21). It is based on an international webinar organised by Voices of Faith on 10/7/21, occasioned by an 86 page book “It’s High Time: Women Religious speak up on gender justice in…
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CUSTODIANS OF WHAT TRADITION?
The magician was dressed in .flowing robes. He had his back to the audience. He claimed to be an alchemist that could change lead into gold – transubstantiation. In between his secret mumbo-jumbo he would suddenly turn around to face his audience, raise his arms, with his index fingers touching the thumbs, as in a…
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WEAPONIZING COMMUNION – DEMONIZING PEOPLE
(A sequel to “Hello … Can you hear me?”) A middle aged man with a shock of dishevelled straw-yellow hair approached the altar of the cathedral in London, in wedding attire. He had been born a Catholic and subsequently joined the Anglican Church. He had been twice married and divorced, and now had a child…
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HELLO … CAN YOU HEAR ME?
“Ciao,questo e` Papa Francesco” (Hello, this is Pope Francis calling). “Aap jis number ko call kar rahe hain,vah kaphi samay se network coverage se bahar hai” (The number you are calling has been out of the network area for some time)! Pope Francis was desperately trying to get through to the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…