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Saturday, October 18, 2014

Just one Takeaway from Synod for Laity ...

(റോമിലെ സിനഡില്‍ പങ്കെടുത്തുകൊണ്ടിരിക്കുന്ന സിറോ മലബാര്‍ മെത്രാന്മാരെ ആകെ അസ്വസ്ഥരാക്കുന്ന നടപടിക്രമങ്ങളാണ് റോം ഇപ്പോള്‍ ആവിഷ്കരിച്ചിരിക്കുന്നത്. ഒരു പക്ഷേ, കേരള കത്തോലിക്കര്‍ വിവിധ ഇടങ്ങളില്‍ നിന്നും റോമിനയച്ച പരാതികളാവാം  മാര്‍പ്പാപ്പയുടെ സ്വരം ഇത്രമേല്‍ കനത്തതാവാന്‍ കാരണം.  സാധ്യമായ എല്ലാ സാഹചര്യങ്ങളും സമഗ്രമായി അത്മായന്‍ ഇനിയും പ്രയോജനപ്പെടുത്തേണ്ടിയിരിക്കുന്നു - അഡ്മിന്‍)

According to reports just received from Rene Reid President of the Catholic Church Reform International (CCRI) in Rome, Friday Oct.17:

      "Bishops from all over the world will have to listen to the laity in their respective dioceses…. I expect laypersons to be protagonists who search for real solutions with their heads held high!" Bishop Bruno Forte at a press conferece, Rome.

      To this the undersigned has only one idea to stress. The sleeping giant Laity renamed Church Citizen is waking up all over the world and making its impact felt at the Rome Synod. It is outspoken in Almayasabdam, in Kerala  and among Keralites in Delhi, but still slumbering in the rest of the country. Those still sleeping should be coxed and helped to wake up to join in the on going dialogue and discussion through Amayasabdam.

       The place to start is at the diocesan  and parish levels. Running the parish or the diocese, is your responsibility,(like Government is your business, in politics) not the sole responsibility of the Parish Priest or  Bishop who come and go but of your responsibility, individually as members of each family, now known as the Domestic Church, on which is founded the Universal Church. That is why the Synod is studying  “Challenges facing the Family”.

        Meet those challenges, we must,  at the parish and diocesan levels and the Universal Church will be hale and happy. Briefly: Don’t pass the buck, speak up and act when your turn comes imitating St.Paul: “I opposed Cephas(=Peter) to his face since he was manifestly in the wrong,.. I challenged him in front of everyone.” Gal.2.11. It is happening at Rome Synod. It must happen at individual level in Parishes and in families -- the Domestic Churches. Let the battle ground now shift from Rome to your homes, parishes and dioceses. 

James kottoor
jkottoor@asianetindia.com

2 comments:

  1. Passage of the Church Act deliberately ignored by the UDF govt to keep the Catholic Church in good books is a priority for us. Once the Church Act takes effect and the laity enjoy a say in all Church matters, most our problems will be solved.

    Jose Kallidukkil (USA)

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  2. You are so correct Dr Kottoor in saying that Running the parish or the diocese, is the Laity's responsibility, not the sole responsibility of the Parish Priest or Bishop who come and go but of our responsibility, individually as members of each family, now known as the Domestic Church, on which is founded the Universal Church.

    We should not pass the buck (which we are used to doing and watching the fun sitting on the fence), speak up and act when our turn comes.

    The sad part is it is always the same voices which speak up (with others keeping mum and watching the fun). This makes Parish Priests and Bishops mark them even if they speak the truth, as "disgruntled elements" or "anti-church" elements and isolate them.

    The local church journals are controlled by the Bishops and the true voices of the Laity are censored badly or not published. The Herald Kolkata under the editorship of Fr Julian Das, who is highhanded and autocratic, is a clear case in point.

    In a separate email I have forwarded to you the views of his Provincial (Jesuit) to justify my comments for publication in Amayasabdam.

    Regards,

    Isaac Gomes -- Kolkata,
    isaacgomes@hotmail.com>

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