The archdiocese of Trivandrum is all set to celebrate its Platinum Jubilee! It had a similar exercise for the golden Jubilee celebrations too. The difference was that the former was caught hold of by a good number of well meaning priests, if not the majority, as a Providential occasion to sail the diocese to safe shores from a turbulent sea like situation. When the 'status quo' establishment resisted it, that young and energetic group of priests slowly and steadily convinced the rest to have a live-in at Kottar to evaluate its 50 years of faith life and its impact on its people's social, educational, economic, cultural and political life among many other such concerns.
It was rather a peoples'/ priests' need and thereby movement and not a bishop's or one that was steered by the 'ruling fronts' movement like the present one. As such the present one could not have any impact among the people, let alone its priests and religious! It is the 'authority's agenda and not the people's.
The authorities seemed not have any sensitivity and seems to be in the fool's paradise. In the midst of its three inaugurations, the preparations were on to suspend one of its priests! They seem to have lost their moral ground to call the concerned and dialogue with them and win them back. There wasn't any genuine attempt on that. Glaring procedural errors are being alleged of. Fair deal and natural justice are allegedly denied to them!
The system is not transparent and as such not accountable, especially in the area of finance and other temporal affairs. Every one is expected to toe the line fixed by them arbitrarily. If anyone dares to challenge or question; instead of proving their integrity, they ignore. Fed up of their insensitivity, if people keep quiet for the time being, they consider that to be a convenient situation to carry on with their agenda.
Priests working in the ministries don't have a friendly relations, even the ones living next doors. It has reached the very portals of His 'Grace' even! Knowing his physical and moral inability, he runs the show depending on the spineless lieutenants and counsels! They seem to 'convince' him that everything is fine, when in fact he is sitting on a live volcano. Even the Benjamin among the priests is not edified, to say the least.
When essentials are ignored, they seemed to be worried about the liturgy and its rubrics. Even when priests are not good singers, they burden and irritate people with their spoil sport throats. Even the con-celebrants are not spared of this oddity. The poor fellows have to stand acting as if they too were singing (even the consecration words) when in fact they stand like mere candles.
Preaching is another ritual for priests. They don't read or reflect and apply the scriptures based on the hard, real life of the people just in front of them. His 'Grace' seems to think that he is the preacher 'par excellence!' He never bothers to be punctual nor does he confine his talks knowing the time constraints of others. They seem to think that faith also is static as the scriptures are said to be! They conveniently forget that the best interpreting tool is the life of the people. [to continue...]
