Only Remedy: Damascus Treat for Hierarchical High Horse Disease!

An Article by James Kottoor

An open response to Bishop Alex Dias of Port Blair’s  Candid  plea to “His Holiness, Eminences, Beatitudes, Excellencies, Graces and Lordships”  in the Church to come down from their high horses and thrones, echoing a temple-cleansing, to become accessible to ordinary humans in the street as Jesus was.

Yes, the need of the hour is “more ‘Pauls’ in the church who will be prepared to talk, with the power of the Risen Lord, even to Peter!” My heartfelt  congrats, thanks and humble appreciation to you Bishop Alex for your bold statement in: “Needed: Church Shorn of Grandeur,”(IC 18/3/12)  Alex Dias is the Bishop of  Port Blair, capital of  Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a union territory of India.

Dear Alex (I call you so because I believe you are perfectly right when you say, “I find these titles come in the way of a warm and friendly conversation. I would just like to call a person by name, and be called by name, dropping all formalities and titles”) you have excelled in demonstrating how to be a Paul today to all especially to your hierarchical confreres -- bishops, cardinals and the Pope, today’s Peter. You have done it with utmost finesse, power of the Risen Lord and spiritual concern of a shepherd mingling with and guiding his flock through the desert land ( present Lenten season) to the green pastures of  the promised land to become “an Easter People’. I am humbled and edified by your example.

Kick of Grace a Must

You wrote we need “Pauls”, not just another Paul. That we have in you. One or two swallows won’t make the summer. We need a crowd of them; yes a crowd of bishops speaking up like you and giving the lead in every field in every country. How to produce them? Saul did not become Paul all by himself. He needed the Kick-of-Grace to send him sprawling, blind, bewildered and weeping on rough terrain from his comfortably placed high saddle on his horse back. Who did it? The invisible person who spoke: “Saul Saul, why do you persecute me?”

Personally I tremble at the thought of playing Jesus the author of that voice, to administer a kick to those on thrones, although you have done it gently and gracefully without hurting. But then aren’t  we, both you and I called to be other Christ’s (equally or you more than me?) and or to be extensions of the caressing hands and kicking feet of Jesus? So the moot point is: who will bell the cat? Who will administer the kick? No matter who does it, it has to be both hurting and healing, because there will be no gain without pain, no crown without the cross. Your performance as the opening batsman, it is hoped, will surely embolden an unending string of better qualified persons from your tribe and ranks once you are balled out.

I purposely said “opening batsman” because honestly I cannot recall any bishop in India or abroad who has spoken (nay written, because many lack that additional courage to put down in black and white their spoken words) so clearly, humbly, bluntly and with concern  to imitate both the Temple-Cleansing ministry and the foot-washing ministry of Jesus in our day and age like brothers and sisters, neither superior nor inferior.

Historical Examples

Your example first reminded me of St. Bernard’s words to Pope Eugeniusz III to become a successor not of Constantine but of Peter. His papacy was between 1145-1153. The next was that  of St.Augustine: “For you I am a Bishop, but with you I am a Christian”, then   of Pope John XXIII’s call to cleanse the dust of the empire of Constantine  from the throne of Peter downward.  All three of them  I quoted many times in my articles. It was done to contribute my mite to help the church I love to come down from her high horse of imperial, worldly grandeur as you say. French theologian Conger in fact wrote at length, also to instil a sense of shame into these Bishops gone crazy decorating themselves in gold, silver and glittering finery “like brides on their wedding day”.

Another written example to beat them all, that came to my mind was the pages-long interview of Cardinal Suenens  of Belgium published in La Croix in France, National Catholic Reporter in US and New Leader in India. The last was the beginning of the end of a kick of grace causing my own down fall from the high horse of its editorship. Suenens  was giving an inimitably balanced but down to earth critique of the worldly ways of the Papacy of Paul VI. And make no doubt; Pope Paul and Cardinal Suenens  were very close friends. Proof? After his papal election he came out to give his first blessing accompanied by Cardinal Suenens (never done in company before), of which I am the living witness from St.Peter’s Square. Collegiality and co-responsibility were the two themes of the interview and he set an example that close friendships should never become a hindrance to brotherly public criticism.

Become ‘o’rdinary not ‘O’rdinary

A recent example is that of   the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conference (FABC) appealing to their confreres to desist from projecting the Eurocentric imperial hierarchical model of Constantine instead of the image of a Church of the poor much needed in Asia. But  to my knowledge, no single bishop has come forward  as you have, to do some plain speaking that the Ordinaries of the church with capital “O” have to  become  ordinaries with lower ‘o’ among ordinary people of our times, if they are to reflect the ordinary life Jesus lived among the ordinary people of his times. Until that is done, JESUS of history ought to feel uncomfortable in the company of present day bishops and in posh churches which you aptly compare to the “INN”s with no place for Him.

Of course there was an exceptional bishop, Sopane  of Daltangang who used to be described as the  “beedy-smoking, cycle-peddling and karat-sporting bishop” with whom I had the opportunity to rub shoulders when he chaired the Evangelisation Seminar  in  Delhi dressed in Kurta long, long ago. I was there thanks to late Fr.Amalor of Bangalore who wanted me to report the deliberations in New Leader.

“Beedy smoking” brings to my mind images of a Jesus being called “friend of drunkards and prostitutes” who are Vitandi (those to be avoided) for bishops and priests though they are to be first among humans to be saved.  Jesus came seeking sinners, not saints. Bishop Sopane also had the temerity to present himself for his  ad limina Visit to Pope Paul VI in kurta, it is said. Other bishops who revel in overdress, costly dress, and precious worldly ornaments or “obsolete, grotesque, mundane attire,” as you describe in your article, used to feel uncomfortable in his company and avoid it.

Do you think that the Jew called Jesus and nicknamed as the carpenter of Nazareth, if he were to barge into our company today would come dressed in a clerical garbage with high priestly mitre and crosier to be saluted as “Your Holiness Jesus,”  “Your Eminence Jesus”, “Your Beatitude... Grace...Excellency...” or as an ordinary working carpenter, mason or farmer called  Thomas, Krishnan or Nazar to be addressed as Hello Mr.?

Think also of Pope John XXIII visiting prisoners in Rome and telling them: “I came to see you because you can’t come to see me,” and of the Priest cardinal who went on a similar mission in France to meet a prostitute and happened to die there and therefore the news papers the following day splashed it with an explosive sexy slant.

14 Sisters who Played Paul

I recall here also the letter of 14 Sister theologians from India sent on 31st October 1994, to the then Pope  John Paul II addressing him as “Dear Father” (not your holiness or any such rubbish)  and requesting  him to change his stand on ordination of women for theological reasons stated in their letter. The result was the 14 were kicked off their high horses of responsible teaching or administrative posts in their congregations for playing the Paul challenging Peter. To read the entire letter please visit:

https://sites.google.com/site/jameskottoorspeaking/

and see the article: “Indian Sisters on Women Priests” in content section. For related articles see: 1.Jesus the Revolutionary... 2.If Priesthood doesn’t exist... 3.Bethlehem: House of Bread,

4. Syromalabar Church.... etc.

If the BBC telecasting of the coronation of our princes of the church was “jarring to my eyes and to my mind” and boring to sane thinking, you  have company dear Alex. I too was feeling so miserable at the hype visual and print media were making of it that I resorted to Face Book to give vent to my frustration and wrote: “While appreciating the crowing of Alancherry as prince of Church, and his public statement not to address him as the "most highly placed" I am surprised at his propensity for pomp and pageantry, gold and silver -- 14 carat gold ring, red hat with Marthoma cross (a symbol of distinction or division?) --and the picture showing him blessing people in Orthodox style with golden cross. Recall "gold and silver, I have none of Peter, get up and walk". I wish he and all cardinals had the power to make the downtrodden get up and walk” February 20 at 4:49 am, since no Catholic paper would oblige me space to write such an honest comment. Earlier, I had written articles and comments, congratulating him, praying for him and wishing him well highlighting his achievements.

Damascus Experience a Must

So the challenge before all of us is this: How to make the leadership in the Catholic Church and in all churches to go through the Damascus experience. Saul was going to Damascus to capture and imprison Christians. He was truly convinced he was doing the right thing. It proves the way to hell can be paved with good intentions. So could be many of our leaders. The remedy to correct this mindset may be called: the cross of Christ, Damascus experience, Kick of grace or flight from the worldly ways. All boils down to one’s own self-emptying like Jesus, without which we can never hope to have more Pauls like you my dear brother Alex.

The proof of the pudding is in the eating. Let us hence wait and see how many bishops or higher prelates will come out with their frankly speaking. It could be you Alex and me james are totally wrong. If so they have a brotherly duty to correct us convincingly. Silence on their part can’t be taken as approval. At worst it is cowardice, at best it is politics.  The middle is: Qui tachit nihil dicit (one who keeps quiet says nothing) If they still persist in their silence do not be surprised at what people will do. What? My former Archbishop Louis Mathias of Chennai used to say half in joke, half in earnest to test the proficiency of his young clerics in Latin: “Fuge Prelatum tanquam peccatum” (Flee from prelates(bishops and cardinals) as from  mortal sin) and ask them for its English rendering.  Let not the thinking and critical section of the laity be forced to do just that: Flee from bishops as from sin!

The writer can be contacted at jameskottoor@gmail.com