Thursday, March 06, 2008
Many friends have asked me about why I reacted like I did to
the church appeal. Let me explain, and please don’t criticize my viewpoint
personally.
I am
NOT anti God.
I hear some of you ask, “How can
you write this and say you aren't?” I see a clear distinction
between what is essentially a man-made organization (the catholic church) and
God. My reading of the history of the church upsets me enormously. I’m sure it
has done many good things, but there APPEAR TO BE so many really bad ‘sins’
committed by
the organization, which are still unrepented. This needs to be rectified and
quickly. I need not elaborate on the ‘sins’, which range from ALLEGED
collaboration in
genocide to the outright persecution of scientists. And where do we start with
the whole area of child abuse? Did it just never happen in India? Come on
folks, let’s get real. It MIGHTwell be on-going somewhere.
1b. And I’m not anti-church any
more than I am anti any-other-human-creation. But I have no qualms analysing
anything
man-made, church included. Criticism is not taboo. It makes for a healthier
organization.
The
church is RICH.
One of the richest organizations
on the planet and yet over the last 25 years I can recollect at least 3 appeals
for the upkeep for the church in Saligao. Sadly, I can recollect not one appeal
for Saligao’s poor.
Is our church building a heritage site? Yes. Of course it is. It represents so
much to so
many. But is it our GREATEST heritage, as some claimed? Of course not. We
have to learn to think about the
feelings of others as we make our unsubstantiated claims. Such claims don’t
upset me… but what about others? I object to religion being flaunted
without evidence. I believe as soon as that happens, problems arise.
Flaunted
religion is deeply divisive. (can give 1000 references). Tie that in to
economic disparity that seems ethnic and one has the fuel for major conflict (
most
of our poor are hindu, though not all hindus are poor of course).
I smile
as I remember the word 'Gothic' being used to describe our spire. Please
just Google (images)
‘gothic spire’ and see the sheer magnificence of the spires of those
European cathedrals (and there are hundreds- hardly a dying breed).
Against that backdrop, our spire seems pathetic;
more a completely out of place reminder of a previous colonial institution.
The
way we were (all of us) converted from Hinduism to Catholicism, needs to
be explored and aired. We have to re-visit history. Only the most naïve
will
believe that Catholicism simply came into our ancestors’ lives. The
history of the spread of Christianity in Europe, Latin America and Africa
is not pleasant reading. Like all religions, its spread was brutal and
coercive; linked to land ownership, patronage, subsidized education etc.
We need to make peace with our past, like the truth commission in South
Africa.
6. Lastly, lets ask ourselves the
question: How many non-Catholics are active members of this web site? Answer
‘zero’. Why? Because we tend to be divisive by over-doing the church thing and
making them feel excluded. I recollect once we even had the church services
published on-site. Can’t the church manage its own web site? C’mon, of course
it can, and it should. Do we ever say
any thing about our Hindu brethren? Do we talk about the temple services/
events? No. Given their exposure on our site one could be excused for thinking
they didn't exist in saligao.
7. But there are many non-divisive issues
we need to address on our much-oved web site:
The state of the
village environment (fountain, garbage, water etc included)
The health of
the village populationOur Education systemsIntegrative activity that brings us
all together.
Support for the
village poor
How the
govt’s decision to cancel loans to farmers in India may affect our very own
brothers who toil pitifully each day to eke out a living (as we sail past in
our Sunday finery to partake of the bread and wine)
8. My dear
friends, please forgive me if I have upset sensibilities. That is not why I
have written this short piece. I know I have opened a complete can of worms but
I ask only one thing of those who reply: Keep it impersonal. Discuss the
issues, and – most importantly – try to understand my points before refuting
them. I have chosen my every word carefully, I think.
Yours sincerely
Joe
Any questions?
Ask me when you see me at church on Sunday
_________________________________________________________________
Express yourself instantly with MSN Messenger! Download today it's FREE!
http://messenger.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200471ave/direct/01/_______________________________________________
Saligao 403511 website http://saligao.goa-india.org
Saligaonet mailing list
[email protected]
http://lists.goacom.org/mailman/listinfo/saligaonet
