Introduction
There are
conflicts of perception and priorities in the life and ministry of priests
today, especially during these Covid-19 pandemic times. We have to accept this
fact honestly and face it squarely. How do priests understand their own roles today
and what is the expectation of the laity from the priests? But we will be completely
off the point if we attempt at an answer before we ask a few other questions. How
do the Gospels present the role of a priest? In what way did Christ, the only
High Priest, exercise his Priesthood? What do we mean and communicate when we
define priest as ‘another Christ’ or representative of Christ? We will attempt
to deal with these questions without going into a comprehensive exposition of
the theology and spirituality of priesthood.
I would like
to emphasize
three observations or
presuppositions.
First of all
, we underscore the
fact that our reflection on the role and task of priests today – for that
matter at any time of history – should be based on the Gospel perception and
should never contradict it, viz. the personal life and ministry of Jesus.
Secondly
, the image and functioning
of the Church also should be part of our reflection, because a priest is situated
primarily in the ecclesial community, although certainly not limited to it.
Thirdly
, we should make a
distinction between priests who are directly called for and committed to the
pastoral service to the people (i.e., secular, diocesan and priests of
communities of apostolic life) and the monks and hermits who may also be
ordained priests, but are not first and foremost ordained for pastoral,
administrative and organizational responsibilities in the Church.
In such cases,
priests are ordained for the spiritual and sacramental care of their own
religious community. The so-called apostolic religious are living a sort of an
amphibian life, but their pastoral involvement is usually limited by persons,
time and place. That means, according to the need of the time and place, some
of them may be allowed/requested to be
avant-garde
pastors to fill the gap of the secular/diocesan priests. Canon Law has clear
distinctions in this regard.
The ‘eclipse of God’ in the temple of worship
Let’s begin
with the basic questions that are raised these days: Where are our priests now,
especially since we don’t find them where they used to be? What are our priests
doing now, since they are not doing what they used to be doing all the time?
They are not seen in their vestments, they are not seen in the church!
Why are those
preachers, miracle workers and visionaries absconding, though they always
claimed to have a hotline, a direct link, with God? On further thought, we
realize that these are reflections of the questions about God Himself!
Where is God
when we are in most need of Him? In the place of ‘
an epiclesis of God’, we are confronted with
‘an eclipse of God’! In the same way, we are experiencing ‘an
eclipse of priests’ too. Suddenly they have become invisible and inadequate to
face the current challenges. The empty skyscraper basilicas remind us of the
wailing wall (of Herod’s temple) of Jerusalem.
Remember,
during the time of Jesus too, there was an eclipse of the real and true God,
and correspondingly, an eclipse of true priests and prophets. The God, exposed
and adored in Jerusalem temple, was not primarily the God of the poor and the
downtrodden. He was not the God present with the people of Israel in Egyptian
slavery and Babylonian exile. He was not the God of Jesus Christ too. The
temple of Jerusalem was not central to the life and ministry of Jesus.
The real God,
the God who walked with our first parents in paradise, and the God, who
intervened in real history and liberated an enslaved people from Egypt, was
kept hidden behind all sorts of legal and liturgical paraphernalia. Jesus did
not mince His words while criticizing the leaders for their indifference to the
suffering of His people and their arrogance and audacity as well as their exhibition
of extravagance in lifestyle (cfr. Mt 23). However, remember that there were
many simple people as well as people of goodwill, from all walks of life, who
recognized the presence and action of God in the person of Jesus, the true
incarnation of God.
Hence,
we see ‘an eclipse’ of a particular notion
of God and his priests during the lifetime of Jesus. Instead, Jesus facilitated
‘an epiclesis’ of the true God in and through his ministry. It was ‘an
anamnesis’ (a reminder and a revelation) of the true God of love and
compassion, the God of exodus and the God of the prophets, the God who loves and
nourishes His people and the world they live in.
1.
The context of the Priest and his ministry in India
Paulachan
Kochappilly (Dharmaram, Bangalore), in an enlightening and thought-provoking
article “Whither the Church in India”, published in Jeevadhara (July 2019),
narrates the malaise afflicting the Church in India.
Let me quote
some of the crucial issues he raises: “… misconceptions of our mission,
parochial mindedness, domination of priests and indifference of the laity, pomp
and show of our pastors, our faulty attitudes towards politics, insufficient
interest in social activities, reluctance to take a stand on the side of the
workers and the poor, ( …) a relish for power and glory, bane institutionalism,
too much diplomacy among bishops and priests, a lack of Church consciousness as
a pilgrim people on earth, etc.” What brings us to a disillusion is the fact that
these allegations/self-criticisms have been repeatedly raised from the time of
the All India Seminar conducted in the late sixties under the inspiration and
leadership of late Fr. Amalorpavadas and a few others.
Paulachan
points out
four major setbacks in
the Catholic Church, in which the clergy is directly involved.
First
, the recent sex and
financial scandals precipitate the anger and anxiety of a large section of the
Faithful, undermining the integrity and credibility of the ministers of the
Church.
Second
, an unhealthy and
irreligious trend that has been growing in our ecclesial life is the craze in
and race for constructing huge and highly expensive luxurious places of
worship.
Third
, there is dwindling enthusiasm,
energy and zeal for evangelization, which is the mission of the Church, the
very reason for her existence. In the past few decades there has been no
concerted official effort to redefine the content and style of evangelization in
the multicultural, multireligious Indian context. It is unchristian to equate
evangelization with expansion of the Church in area and number. (Unfortunately,
while the Latin Catholic Church in India has been plagued with a
‘territorial-possession mania’, the Oriental Catholic Churches are possessed
with an ‘expansion mania’! Both are neglecting the call to be authentically
Christian in their life and ministry.)
Fourth
, authoritarianism
and arrogance are on the increase while accountability and transparency are on
the decline. I suppose that an elaboration with examples is unnecessary here.
I would like
to add
a fifth one, i.e., there is a
growing confusion and competition between the clergy, religious and laity. For
example, the religious priests want to administer parishes, the secular priests
want to be formators of the religious,
and the clergy – both secular and religious – feel
commissioned to be mentors of women – both religious and lay.
Interestingly,
it is not a competition in which the three groups – the secular priests, the
religious and the laity – are trying to protect and fight for their specific identity
and unique contribution in their respective field of apostolate; on the
contrary, everybody is trying to do everything they can get hold of in the
Church. Even some of the lay leaders prefer to step into the clerical shoes,
rather than take pride in their own dignity of being a layman/laywoman.
The new questions raised and the challenges posed
With this
brief description of the situation of the Church in India, with special
reference to the clergy, we shall examine the role and ministry of priests in
India, especially in the Covid-19 context.
All of us will
agree that we are in an exceptional situation and that will warrant us to
engage in extraordinary ministries and to set up short-term priorities, until
the situation gets normalized. However, what is happening in the Church in the
past three months has great significance and should not be just brushed away
from our minds.
I see certain indications and inspirations for the
evolution of a new Church, and correspondingly a new priesthood, more agile,
more engaged, more transparent and accountable, more participatory and
dialogical, as well as more ecumenical and inclusive.
(1)
‘An inclusive secular spirituality’ emerging?
Many believers
have started thinking on a deeper level about their own identity and
engagements, priorities and preferences, relationships and friendships, lifestyle
and food habits, etc. What has been taken for granted for long is now taken
under the lens in order to examine the de-facto situation of our personal
lives, relationship with family members, co-workers, co-religionists, neighbours,
etc.
A close
observation of nature reveals that the earth and the atmosphere are recharging
their energy and there are signs of improvement of environmental health. People
are realizing their intimate relation with nature and what it produces for their
food. Even the food habits are changing – viz., NO to junk food and YES to
home-made healthy food and drink. It is no more difficult to find out that we
have been using and spending too much without proportionate returns. We are invited
and challenged to reflect on the meaning of expressions like, ‘small is
beautiful’, ‘simple lifestyle makes life enjoyable’, ‘sharing and partaking
bring more joy than accumulation’, ‘take your time rather than waste your life
in haste’, ‘to stress and to fret leads to distress and disruption of harmony’,
‘consider not merely my affordability, but also accountability to the society’,
‘by fighting alone we despair, but together we shall repair the world’, ‘we
need to overcome the ‘TINA’ syndrome (There Is No Alternative) and adopt the
‘TIAA’ slogan (There Is An Alternative)’, etc.
My basic questions
in our present context may be framed as: Can’t we discover ‘
an inclusive secular spirituality’ behind
these expressions, if adopted and lived as free choices? Does it in any way
contradict the spirituality lived by Jesus? On the contrary, is it not really
close to the Christian perception of a moral-spiritual life? If so,
what is the role of a priest in this
gradually emerging inclusive spirituality?
Can a priest assume the role of a protagonist and facilitator without
in any way trying to be possessive and dominating the scenario?
(2) Inter-religious sensibility and collaboration
The Covid-19
pandemic has opened up a great opportunity for reform of life with
reorientation of priorities. Experts in the field of economy, medicine, education,
psychology, geopolitics, ecology, etc., have warned with substantiating
evidence that the world will never be the same again at least for the next
decade. My apprehension is that
, from
the part of the Church and Spirituality, we have not given sufficient thought to
innovative possibilities and pro-active interactions with people of other
religions.
The new
situation puts all religions in the same boat – what was thought of as
indispensable and obligatory are dispensed with and at least temporarily
discarded. People of all religions stand helpless before the threat of the virus,
irrespective of the colour of their skin, the dress they wear, the food they
take, the ideology they profess, the education they have, the language they
speak, the faith and religion they cherish and the liturgies they celebrate.
It will be a colossal loss if we miss this
opportunity, hoping to return to the usual routine as early as possible. I
would like to underline the fact that so many WhatsApp groups came up
spontaneously and sporadically to provide urgent help to people who are caught
up in the after-effects of the pandemic –
probably much more, due to the consequences of ‘Lockdown’ at the national
level. People of all religions, languages, regions and ideologies joined
together to provide transport and other amenities to the hapless panic-stricken
daily labourers (who are wrongly called ‘migrant workers’) across the length
and breadth of India. There have also been numerous people providing
food-packets as well as cooked food to the poor workers in the unorganized
sector, who are out of job and suddenly thrown on the roads in the scorching
heat of the midsummer. This concerted action is an eye-opener to people who
look for new expressions of ‘down-to-earth’ spirituality, rooted in our common humanity.
Many Christians, including bishops, priests and religious, have been in the
forefront in providing such service.
In this
context, the question is:
What has been
the role of a priest in this whole adventurous, unparalleled programme of
inter-religious collaboration. Are we not somehow still guided by the principle
of “do it alone or leave it”? Our recent popes have been encouraging the
Faithful to seek and promote the collaboration of all people of goodwill for
the good of the humanity. Are our priests functioning as promoters or roadblocks
for such collaborations? I feel that we need to pursue this matter much more
intensely in the near future.(3)
Has our
contemplative tradition gone sterile?
Many priests
are feeling ill at ease with the solitude and silence during the ‘lockdown
period’ forced upon them by the civil authority. Instead of making use of the
time creatively to initiate personalized spiritual accompaniment and care to
the most deserving families or individuals through phone and possibilities in
the internet, many priests, I’m afraid, are tempted to waste away their precious
time irresponsibly.
When people
were looking for consolation and encouragement to solve their spiritual and
psychological problems during the quarantine or ‘lockdown’ period, the Church,
in spite of her centuries-long experience and expertise in ‘voluntary
isolation’ of contemplative life in hermitages and monasteries, was conspicuous
by her absence. In fact, astronauts were approached for advice on ‘how to
survive lockdown and social distancing’, since it is part of their training for
space travel!
The Church was either busy with online liturgy and
devotion, bible quiz and retreats, as well as meeting the material needs of the
people affected by the coronavirus pandemic. This is definitely a praiseworthy
service and the Catholic Church is second to none, as far as the humanitarian
relief service is concerned.
(4)
A deeper insight into the liturgical
celebration of the Eucharist and the Confession is in place. The absence of
liturgical celebrations and non-reception of sacraments invite us to examine
honestly what we miss and whether we miss something! Online mass with live
telecast is not new because there have been many channels offering it for the
benefit of the elderly as well as sick people, for whom physical participation
in the Eucharistic celebration is not possible. Now during these pandemic-affected
days, online mass has gradually become a convenient substitute for the
celebration of the Eucharist. In fact I was shocked when someone told me a few
weeks ago: “Honestly we can’t complain about the present arrangement. We don’t
miss the mass; rather now we have a larger choice – we can attend the mass of
the pope, or a bishop or a priest of our choice, at a time convenient for us, we
don’t have to mess up with all sorts of people,
and the mother superior will distribute the consecrated
host at the end of the mass”!
Now what is the understanding of the Eucharist? What
about the breaking of the word and breaking of the bread that has to take place
in the context of the community and for the building up of the community?
The sacrament is being reduced to a magical devotional practice. Sometimes
I feel that Eucharistic adoration and procession are given more prominence than
the sacrament of the Eucharist itself! These devotions developed in history as
a reaction against those who doubted the continued real presence of Christ in
the Eucharist after the celebration of the sacrifice of the mass. Honestly, I
think that we have not given sufficient thought to the theology of the
Eucharist and the pastoral consequences or repercussions of propagating online
mass. At the same time, I should admit that there have been many useful and
valuable attempts to give online retreats, recollections and discussions. I am
sure that many have profited from the same.
(5)
Leadership without clericalism is
possible. The Christian concept of priesthood is diametrically opposed to
clericalism, to be more precise the male chauvinism and clericalism fused into
male clerical domination. Probably this
has done the most serious damage to the image of priest and Church itself.
As Pope Francis points out repeatedly, clericalism is a cancer that
endangers the Church today, because it is expressing its domination not merely
in the liturgical life, but in the language, dress, behaviour and lifestyle of
the priests.
The four pillars
of any established religion are the famous/notorious four Cs – Creed, Cult,
Code and Community. The priest teaches what to believe; he leads the cult and
determines the details of it; he makes the laws, interprets them and judges on
the basis of these laws; and he understands the community as those who are in
tune with his whims and fancies!
Excuse me for
exaggerating a little bit, but see how terrible and lamentable the situation
is! In all these four aspects or levels of religion, the ordinary Faithful,
especially women, have been exposed to the domination of male priests. I don’t
say that it is a consciously chosen exploitative malpractice and obsessive
oppression typical of the Church.
I would say that
the system and tradition have grown to such an extent that the meritorious
examples of numerous good and holy priests go unnoticed. Priest defamation
novels become best sellers easily, whereas the biographies of saints are not
sought after. [However, I should acknowledge that the heroic examples of the
recently canonized saints St. Damien of Molokai and St. Archbishop Oscar
Romero, and the non-canonised martyrs Fr. Arul Doss and Fr. A.T. Thomas, as
well as my friend, a champion of the rights of the poor and marginalized, Fr.
Thomas Kochery, who had to undergo indescribable agonies at different times in
his life, attract appreciation beyond the boundaries of Catholic Church.]
The Covid-19
pandemic gave the Church an opportunity to reflect on the real Gospel
understanding of priestly leadership and an invitation to return to live it
concretely.
Avery Dulles
gives seven models of the Church, but
there
is only one acceptable model of leadership in the Church; it is the leadership
exercised by Jesus Christ, viz., servant leadership.
The leadership is
embodied in the parable of the Good Shepherd who risks his life and sheepfold
in order to regain the lost sheep, and expressed in Jesus washing the feet of
the disciples, an example without parallels. A priest need not be always
successful; he need not know all the answers; he need not be the strongest, and
he may not be even the holiest. But he has to be authentic and sincere; he has
to be forgiving and seeking forgiveness; he has to be praying and inspiring
others to pray; he has to be transparent and accountable; he has to intercede
before God for his people; and he has to be available and amiable.
Dorothy Sayers writes
about three humiliations of God, viz., the incarnation (solidarity with
humanity), the cross (solidarity in suffering) and the wounded Church
(solidarity with the sinful believers).
A
priest also will have to participate in these humiliations and sufferings of
Christ, knowing and accepting them as salvific and life-giving. When tempted
with clericalism, let priests remember that the Biblical heroes, like Abraham,
Joseph, Moses, Job, Mary and a number of others were not triumphant heroes but
survivors of the silence of God; most of the saints and martyrs did not have a
halo over their head while on earth, instead they had to undergo ‘the dark
night of the soul’. This is the privilege of participation in the salvific
death and resurrection of Christ, the Messiah.
(6)
Luxury and extravaganza are real sins in a
world in which the majority are faced with deprivation and impoverishment. The
forced constraints in the number of participants in religious festivals,
ordinations, religious professions, marriages and other family festivities and
even funerals during this Covid-19 pandemic would hopefully provide us an
occasion to check the extravaganza of our own celebrations – from birthdays to
parish feasts. We notice that these celebrations often reach absurd levels. Even
the Church leaders are tempted to go for the maximum allowed/possible rather
than be joyful with the minimum necessary. I narrate this in order to remind ourselves
that
priests have a definitive role and
a moral responsibility to dissuade people from all sorts of extravaganza in the
context of widespread and increasing poverty and deprivation. Only a priest
who is happy with the minimum necessary for life and shares joyfully what he
has can convincingly persuade the people to simple life and social
responsibility.
(7)
The ‘Ghar Wapsi March’ of the so-called ‘migrant
workers’ has opened our eyes to the dismal situation of the huge number of
unorganized workers – almost four crores – and the exploitation and insults
they are exposed to. Often they are not treated any better than beggars and
criminals! Arrogant and inhuman treatment meted out to them, dismal disregard
for their security and dignity, and the sheer hunger and thirst pushing some of
them to a miserable death on the road, will remain an aching sore wound on the
conscience of the people of India for a long time.
Their
transportation back home was a fiasco and utter failure from the part of the
central government, which declared the lockdown that caught people unawares
like thunderbolt. It was the voluntary groups and NGOs that came to their help.
They did praiseworthy service to numerous displaced hapless workers. For
example, a WhatsApp group called “Indian Migrants Transport,” comprising of
some 200 people, has been doing an unparalleled humanitarian service
irrespective of caste and creed, gender and language, in various cities of
India, where the politicians and bureaucrats have been shirking away from their
obligatory responsibilities.
They have been
facilitating transportation and providing food for the workers to reach their
homes safe. In my own diocese, the bishop, priests, religious and laity joined
hands to help these people on the road in scorching heat with free food and
transportation till the borders of the state. Many dioceses and other religious
groups came forward with such initiatives.
It is a crude
joke to call these workers ‘migrants’ in their own country. They are citizens
of India, entitled to live and work anywhere in India without discrimination or
intimidation. Living in their midst and interacting with them, how do we
understand to be a Church of the poor and with the poor?
When we think for a moment what Jesus would have done in such a
situation, the priests of Jesus can’t sit comfortably in their rooms; they
cannot but feel challenged to be on the roads to seek and save them as our
brothers and sisters, to break bread with them, to share our food and drink
with them. Will it not be the celebration of the Eucharist on the road, where
Jesus would become present in our midst and our hearts would burn with compassionate
love!
2.
By way of conclusion:
Now, coming
back to our first question: Where do you place your priorities – a priest of
God or a priest for the people? The New Testament doesn’t present a cultic
priest, but a prophetic priest. His place of activity is not limited to the
church and its liturgy, but the wide world, the whole creation of God. Hence,
to be a priest of God and to be priest for the people are two sides of the same
coin. However, both in the beatitudes (Mt 5 and Lk 6) and in the description of
the last judgment (Mt 25,31 ff) Jesus makes a clear prioritization through what
he says and what he does not say! Only when a priest lives for and serves the
people, he becomes a priest of God!
