From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru
Bengaluru, Sep 14: Several prominent leaders of the Catholic community, including former MLA Michael Fernandes, retired Director General of Police F T R Colaco, Lillian Xavier and Prof John B Kutinha, ex-KPSC members and Pericho Prabhu, have strongly condemned the recent public utterances of "anti-Christian persons" like Karnataka Rakshana Vedike President Narayana Gowda and Dr Chidananda Murthy and have demanded action against two of the Catholic priests Fr C Selvaraj and Fr A Thomas for abusing and defaming the Archbishop.
While some of the Catholic leaders submitted a four-page signed memorandum to the Archbishop voicing their demands and concerns, many others including Michael Fernandes separately addressed a press conference denouncing the actions of the two Catholic priests Fr C Selvaraj and Fr Thomas and the utterances of Narayana Gowda and Dr Chidananda Murthy.
The other prominent Catholics, who were part of the delegation that called on Archbishop of Bangaluru Dr Bernard Moras and were present in the press conference included C J Rayappa and Nathan Daniel, President and Secretary respectively of Karnataka Christian Political Front, Kennedy Shanth Kumar, State General Secretary of BJP Minority Morcha, Alphonse Kennedy, Joint Secretary of KRCBC SC/ST/Backward Commission, Joseph Manoharan, Vice Chairman of Federation of Karnataka Christian Association, Anthony Joseph, ex-Treasurer of Catholic Association of Bangalore and R Susainathan, retired Government officer.
AKUCFHR too condemns
Meanwhile, the Vice President of All Karnataka United Christian Forum for Human Rights (AKUCFHR) Bishop Dr Samuel Mathew and Acting Secretary R Jayaraj, have released copies of the resolution unanimously adopted at their recent annual general body meeting condemning Narayana Gowda and Dr Chidananda Murthy, Clergy and others for attacking the person and the office of the Archbishop Dr Bernard Moras and the administration and functioning of our churches.
"While the church respects and advocates all languages, it being a congregation of multi-ethnic people, demanding Kannada to be the only language to be used in the church is unconstitutional and undemocratic. The Church has the responsibility to care for all its faithful people of all languages and cultures," the resolution said.
Warning to the trouble-makers
Fernandes and other leaders, while addressing the press conference, said "as faithful members of the Church, we desire to warn these priests (Fr Selvaraj and Fr Thomas) that if they do not function as priests in union with the Archbishop and follow his guidelines we will not only boycott them but also ask for their expulsion from the Church."
Further, they said: "We also would like anti-Christian persons like Narayana Gowda and Dr Chidananda Murthy not to interfere in the affairs of the Catholic community and defame the Archbishop, and if they do we may have to have recourse to the court of law to get justice."
They pointed out that at the protest meeting attended by the two priests Fr C Selvaraj and Fr A Thomas from the Archdiocese of Bangalore and two more from outside the Diocese, and addressed by Narayana Gowda and Dr Chidananda Murthy in the Freedom Park, Bengaluru, on August 13, there was a publicly made demand to release the two priests now in jail in the on-going case relating to the murder of Fr K J Thomas, Rector of St Peter’s Seminary in Bengaluru, in 2013.
"The speakers have opined that the two priests in jail are framed by the Archbishop of Bangalore in nexus with the Home Minister (K J George). They have further declared that the two jailed priests are totally innocent. There were also abuses heaped on the person and office of the Archbishop in the addresses by both the speakers," the Catholic leaders said.
Language policy on primacy to Kannada welcomed
Fernandes pointed out that the second denunciation at the meeting was on the newly issued guidelines on the liturgical (worship) languages for the Archdiocese of Bangalore that gives primacy to Kannada while respecting all other languages of the people for worship in churches and religious services.
"These guidelines were first discussed in the Archdiocese and approved by the Vatican. Except one Telugu priest who holds an important position in the Archdiocese (and may have personal designs), all the other priests of the Archdiocesan Council had signed the policy and expressed happiness about it," Fernandes said and affirmed that, "We are lay persons with different languages as our mother tongue and yet part of the Church. We are shocked and dismayed by the behaviour of the protesting priests and the hate language of the two anti-Christian speakers against the person of the Archbishop and his office."
"We want to state clearly that we are happy with the way the State has pursued the murder case of Fr K J Thomas, though at a slow pace. To say that the jailed priests have been framed in nexus with the Home Minister is an allegation, we think, of a guilty conscience. We believe that the State and the Judiciary will unearth the truth and do justice," he contended.
On the Church/Language of Worship policy, he held that "We want to state that Church is a community of faith where people of all languages have a right to worship God in their own tongue. The Archbishop’s circular of April 12 reflects the thinking of the Indian state. As the administrative language of the State of Karnataka, Kannada has been given the place of primacy in Church services. All the City churches are, however, told to have an English service since there is a section of people who have migrated to the City for employment. Depending on the population of the place, services in other languages are seen as necessary so that all people can come before God in their own person and language."
"'Only Kannada, no other languages' not acceptable"
But the two priests Fr Selvaraj and Fr Thomas with some other silent supporters within the clerical fold with their fanatical stand "Kannada alone and no other language” have made use of language for power and resources demanding control over important Churches and Offices, a purely worldly design, Fernandes stated.
In acting negatively, these protestors have gone against the provisions of the Constitution of India and the United Nations Charter of Human Rights in the matter of upholding the religious and linguistic rights of people, particularly of the minorities (both religious and linguistic). Articles 25(1), 26, 29, 30, 51A, 347 etc of the Indian Constitution and various Articles of the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights (of 1948) and the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religions and Linguistic Minorities (of 1992), have been thus violated by the organizers and speakers of the above protest meeting on August 13.
"Their negativism deserves to be condemned by all because it utterly negates the several noble principles and human values underlining the relevant Articles of the Indian Constitution and the UN Charter of Human Rights," he said argued that some of these principles require that every human being shall enjoy human dignity, justice and peaceful existence with freedom from fear and freedom of speech and expression, equality before law and rule of law etc, in order to promote "social progress and better standard of life in larger freedom” in an all-inclusive manner for every human being.
"To achieve all these lofty human goals, we all need to develop broad-mindedness and large-heartedness with purity of heart at all levels of society," Fernandes demanded.
Disobedience of Vatican directives
However, in the four-page memorandum separately submitted to Archbishop Moras, the Catholic leaders, who claimed to be the "Concerned Catholics of Bangalore Archdiocese, demanded that he should as "Head of the Archdiocese and Spiritual Guide" act against the "scandalous and treacherous behaviour of Fr C Selvaraj and Fr A Thomas, whose actions are likely to damage the image of the Church in Bangalore." They also demanded the Bishops of the other Dioceses must take action against the priests of their respective Dioceses for being party to the condemnable actions.
"Both Fr Selvaraj and Fr Thomas through their actions have publicly manifested their disobedience and disrespect to the person and office of the Archbishop and refused to be persons of communication" as set out by the directives issued by the Congregation for the Clergy besides flouting the Decree "Presbyterorum Ordinis" issued by the Vatican. "The two priests have acted as divisive forces in the Church through attacking the Archbishop on the language policy that has been approved by the Vatican and accepted by all because of its inclusiveness and universality. Their behaviour is an attack on the Church as well, a Church that is discovering its unity in diversity," the memorandum said.
The memorandum also demanded that legal action be taken against the two non-Christians (Narayana Gowda and Dr Chidananda Murthy), who have defamed and demeaned the person and office of the Archbishop.
The Catholic leaders have in their memorandum suggested the creation of a standing committee headed by a lay person comprising representatives of laity such as lawyers, media persons, activists, academicians, public persons, religious and credible priests of the Archdiocese to address the concerns that need immediate action and response and also to act independently in the greater interest of the Church.