POLICE PROTECTION IN SYRO MALABAR CHURCH

After the conference of the priests of the Church, the Apostolic Administrator was to be escorted by police to come out. How pathetic the priesthood have fallen in the minds of the ordinary members of the Church and public as a whole. It is not the first time that similar untoward things  happen in the Church. A few weeks earlier, according to a video spread in the society,  in an identical circumstance a good number of people were

fighting each other with wooden logs and iron bars in front of the office of the Cardinal.  Subsequently many were reported to have admitted in the hospital with injuries. Another video shows that a priest performing a holy mass was pushed out from the Sanctum Sanctorum and the Holy Books etc were thrown out from there.

What went wrong with the Church? The simple answer would be - the excess wealth of the Church. Where wealth is accumulated, power and corruption are likely to be flying around there. Sometime back, as per media reports, Rs 6,000/- crores were caught by Punjab police from a car came out of a Catholic Church establishment, as the authentic source of the money could not be made available. As on date no official communication is understood to have made among the community whether the money could be retrieved or lost for ever.

The priesthood might think that the sheep are idiotic and innocent animals. But one thing is certain that there cannot be a sheep pen without any sheep in it and no shepherd is required  when no sheep and pen left.

Further to this, the whole world is open to the youth of today. Interpretation of the verses from the Holy Book by many intellectuals reach them and they get enough oppertunities to assess and reassess words of faith and many observations in the Church. Jesus Christ has never established any religion, any holy mass, any confession and not even a prayer. He only taught "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." Every priest tries to teach this to the sheep day in and day out but unfortunately they never try to learn this themselves. When Lord Jesus taught us pray the Father in a closed room in secret, the priesthood have printed and circulated ship loads of prayers among the people. There are umpteen such things are concealed in the Church but the people are not keen to explore them. However, the priesthood should not forget the fact that the Syro Malabar Church is at the verge of a break up, may be into several pieces. Let us not forget that the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many. Jesus said the "Leader" is "as the one who serves".

K V George