New Evangelization in the Parishes

Last Sunday marked the conclusion of the 13th Ordinary Synod of Bishops on “the New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith” in Rome. In his final address Pope Benedict noted “it (new evangelization) applies, in the first instance, to the ordinary pastoral ministry… to inflame the hearts of the faithful who regularly take part in Community worship and gather on the Lord's day to be nourished by His Word and the Bread of Life eternal.” It can be read as an invitation to transform our parish activities, especially the parish life around Sunday observance as instruments for the new evangelization. The list of 58 prepositions suggested by the Synod to the Holy Father gives us some directions for the two-fold New Evangelization strategy of kerygma and catechism. Kerygma means the initial proclamation of the good news and catechism refers to the deepening of that experience in faith. Traditionally, parishes tend to be strong on catechetical efforts. So, the challenge of New Evangelization is to open new frontiers in Kerygmatic proclamation of Jesus along with renewed catechetical efforts. Synod suggests every parish to have a “Pastoral Plan of Initial Proclamation” that “animate its members to become agents of the New Evangelization, witnessing through both their words and their lives” as a first step towards becoming a kerygmatic parish (Propositions 9 & 44). Meaningful celebration of the Liturgy, sacrament of reconciliation, family visits, integrating migrants to parish community, parish missions, parish renewal programs and parish retreats are some other instruments proposed by the Synod (Propositions 21, 26 & 44). Let this Year of Faith help transform us into an evangelizing parish.

Ref: Synodal bulletin avaiable at: http://bit.ly/XVbfZv
Published in Corpus Christi parish bulletin on Sunday, 4th Nov 2012.

Nobody’s Perfect!

 One the inspirational thoughts roaming around Facebook will read like this:

Nobody’s Perfect!

NOAH got drunk.
ABRAHAM was too old.
ISAAC was a daydreamer.
JACOB lied.
JOSEPH was abused.
MOSES was a murderer and couldn't talk.
RAHAB was a prostitute.
JEREMIAH was too young.
JONAH ran from God.
NAOMI was a widow.
JOB went bankrupt.
The SAMARITAN WOMAN was divorced

PETER denied Christ.
and LAZARUS was dead!

So, No more excuse!

We are called to perfection - perfection of our Heavenly Father. But we will never be perfect for we are humans and limited in time and space. So too Church. But we don’t have excuse not to try for it and get near to it. That’s why we don’t have excuse not to take care of the victims of abuse whose lives are damaged by human weaknesses. Also we don’t have excuse, not to stand for gospel values but to speak for all good things we value in our lives: children, marriage, refugees and much more. This is because we are called to be healers - wounded healers - the true shepherds who don’t scatter, but gather. We are called to do it with humility and compassion in this year of grace. 

* To be published at the Corpus Christi parish bulletin for the weekend - July 14-15

Love, Kindness, Marriage and Bishop Pat Power – on the Feast of Sacred Heart of Jesus - 2012

Jesus’ heart was pierced and came the last drops of blood and water – a powerful imagery of Jesus’ love, God’s love - to us and to the whole humanity. God loved the world so much that he gave his only son and His Son loved the world so much that He gave even the last drops of water and blood from His heart to the world, which became fountain of grace flowing through the sacraments in the Church.

St Paul encourages us “to comprehend the breadth and length and height and depth,
of the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge”. The power of love is very well depicted in this short story.

A MOTHER'S HEART         
There is an old tale         
About a boy,         
An only son         
Who fell in love with a lovely girl.         
`You don't love me,        
 You never did,' said she to him.        
`But if you do, go then        
And fetch me your mother's heart.'        
 Downcast and distraught         
The boy walked off        
 And after shedding copious tears         
Came back to his love.          
The girl was angry         
When she saw him thus.And said, `Don't you dare come back again         
Without your mother's heart.'         
The boy went and killed         
His mother, and as he ran         
With her heart in his hand         
He slipped and fell.         
`My dear child, My poor child,' Cried the mother's heart,         
`Did you hurt yourself?'
By Armenian writer,  AVETIK ISAHAKIAN

 Jesus’s love is like the mother’s love. He loves even when it hurts and his love is compassionate.It gently, but powerfully invokes us to love and show kindness.
Yesterday after 21 years after receiving the Nobel Prize, Ang San Suu Kyi – Burmeese democracy fighter – delivered her Nobel Prize acceptance speech. Suu Kyi used her speech to promote kindness and warned against kindness fatigue. It was an emotional ceremony, as you might have watched. She said:

"Of the sweets of adversity, and let me say that these are not numerous, I have found the sweetest, the most precious of all, is the lesson I learnt on the value of kindness. Every kindness I received, small or big, convinced me that there could never be enough of it in our world. To be kind is to respond with sensitivity and human warmth to the hopes and needs of others. Even the briefest touch of kindness can lighten a heavy heart. Kindness can change the lives of people."

It is this kindness the mission of Christ and Church today in this world. Church does that with great care, but many a time it can be misunderstood. Going back to the story of Mother’s heart, the Church’s heart would add something like this, I guess:

`My dear child, My poor child,         
`Did you hurt yourself?'
`You poor thing. Watch over! There are hurdles ahead.'

That attitude of concern also come from great love and care. One of those issues would be that of the debate on marriage in Australia and this week is very critical for that debate.
As Peter Jensen – the Anglican Archbishop of Sydney noted: “There are some glossy slogans out there (like marriage equality), but the difficulty with slogans is that they are not arguments and, so, are hard to refute, except by slogans in return.” Unfortunately, Church is not in the business of slogan writing. But we can just say with great love and kindness that we value marriage – and the right of our children to be born, raised and nurtured in a family atmosphere – with the care and love of a father and mother.

And we will be remembering the contribution of such a wonderful parental figure in our archdiocese this week – our retiring bishop Pat Power. We acknowledge the love and kindness he has shown to all in our archdiocese and his farewell Mass is on this Tuesday evening at the Cathedral. Let’s say thank you to him.. and to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Reference:
http://www.groong.org/tlg/tlg-20061125.html
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2012/06/16/excerpts-suu-kyis-nobel-peace-prize-speech.html
http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/stylish-samesex-campaign-glosses-over-real-issues-20120615-20f6e.html

* Delivered at Corpus Christi Parish, South Tuggeranong, Canberra on 17 June 2012

A Tribute to Archbishop Mark Coleridge

“He is a great builder of the Church”, commented Archbishop Phillip Wilson (Adelaide) on Archbishop Mark to me once. It sums up what Bishop Mark is. He leaves a great legacy and solid foundations for the future as he leaves Canberra and Goulburn, which he built on the good works of his predecessors. As Mons. Kevin Barry-Cotter rightly pointed out in his farewell address in Cootamundra – the greatest achievement of Bishop Mark was realizing the long-term dream of a “Pastoral Institute” in CatholicLife at Rheinberger Centre, Yarralumla. The successful Archdiocesan Assembly few months ago and the follow-ups in setting up a mission model of pastoral care in different centres will shape the future of the archdiocese, for sure.

To be Catholic means to be universal, which truly Bishop Mark is. He was always at the heart of the Church – when he gave leadership to the liturgical translations and frequently visited Vatican to be part of various committees he is a member of – and we felt listening to the orthodoxy of the Church whenever he delivered his eloquent and animated homilies and addresses.  He is a great teacher.

He shared a very special heart for the youth. The leadership he provided to the success of WYD-Sydney and Days-in-the-Diocese prior to that was inspirational. He inspired a new breed of youngsters to priesthood, which resulted in a healthy number of seminarians and young priests in the Archdiocese.

We wish him well and offer prayers for his future ministries.

New Year 2012 – Reflections

 

The past year was a kind of mixed bag - the Arab spring and end of dictatorships in many countries were mixed with global economic woes, centered-round Europe. Our personal life stories many not be too different. This time is the best time to reinvent the ancient Christian spiritual tradition of “examination of conscience” - to take stock of our deeds and actions. Let’s find out some time to sit and relax, may be at the beach side (weather permitting!) and to look back and evaluate our life – both materially and spiritually.

It’s also a time to look forward and to make new resolutions. We may have dreams and wishes, like “I want to pass my exams this year”. But a resolution is bit different where I would say that “I will devout an extra hour everyday for study to pass my exams”. January 1^st is also the feast day of Mary - the Mother of God, who was prepared to put her efforts to realize that title.  Luke chapter 2 verses19 and 51 show us how she “treasured the word and pondered it in her heart" to respond concretely to the plan of God in her life. She not only said “Yes” but also was ready to corroborate it with actions, which we will see all through out her life – till the cross at Calvary and the Upper House with disciples.

Year 2012-13 is called by Australian bishops’ conference as “Year of Grace”. Wish you all a grace-filled New Year. 

Publish in the Parish Bulletin of Corpus Christi parish, Tuggeranong, Canberra, Australia

Child Protection Sunday - Sept 11, 2011

"Child Protection Sunday is about safeguarding children and young people from abuse. This calls for the involvement of each person in the Church and in the broader Australian community" puts National Committee for Professional Standards (NCPS) - a committee of the Australian Catholic Bishops and the leaders of Religious Institutes in Australia, declaring September 11th, Sunday as the Child Protection Sunday. It further encourages that "as a Church, we must continue to put in place policies and procedures to promote the safety of children and young people, respond with openness and compassion to victims of abuse and to educate people so they can identify the signs and effects of abuse."

The theme of Child Protection Sunday for NCPS is "Safeguarding Children and Young People". National Association for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (NAPCAN) also calls this Sunday, Child Protection Sunday with an emphasis to “Play Your Part” (more info at: www.playyourpart.org.au). These two themes give us a real sense of the important role, each and every one of us has to play in protecting children and young people.

Church is to be the light of the world. So, it is fare that its dark places be exposed and illuminated first. We do have a responsibility to keep vigil to keep it clean all the time and be made an example to the world, so that it becomes a world leader in child and youth friendly policies. We do also share a responsibility to take child friendly policies to our families, work places and other areas of human interaction. 

The Poetry and Extreme Life of Pentecost: Reflections

Last Tuesday, while speaking at the Guinness and God event at Civic, Canberra, Archbishop Mark encouraged the audience (of mostly youngsters) to grow beyond the traditional good boy/good girl Christianity. He quoted James Cowen from his book “Journey to the Inner Mountain" in observing that we are “grown tired of [Christianity’s] entrenched moralism, its desire to mould people into some kind of polite entity devoid of the essence of poetry and extreme life”.

There is a danger for all of us to become just polite entities for many reasons. The disciples too had the same dilemma, soon after the death of Jesus. It was out of fear and uncertainty they faced in their life at that time. They lost the leader and the vision. They couldn’t see anything but darkness in front of them. So they just wanted to be polite and ordinary Jews or citizens. Except Thomas, none even dared to go out.

There was need for something extraordinary - something that comes from the breaking of the threshold of grace. The grace of the resurrection bought that to them. The resurrected Christ allowed that grace to stay with them and that was the Pentecost. The grace of God - Holy Spirit – came to them and set them on fire. They became extra-ordinary men and women.

We live in similar salvific times, where we expect the breaking of threshold of grace for a new Pentecost for many reasons, Archbishop Mark suggests I think. We need individuals who find the poetry and extreme life in the grace of God, in Holy Spirit for the Next Big Thing in the Church. We had St Francis of Assisi or St Anthony of Desert, when times demanded such outpouring of Spirit in the Church in the past. Let the Pentecost challenge all of us to respond to such big grace in our personal lives to live a life of poetry and extreme life in the Spirit.

How to listen the interview with me on Vatican Radio?

The interview will be transmitted on Vatican Radio on Friday, 11th March 2011 and re-transmitted on Saturday 12th March 2011. Thanks a lot to Fr William at Vatican Radio who interviewed me and to Fr Isaac Arickapillil CMI (Director, CIIS, Rome) who took initiative to put in on Vatican Radio.

The easiest way is to access it through Internet.

Access the interview on the following link (Broadcast on Demand) and select "Malayalam".The audio is available in mp3 and real audio format.

http://www.radiovaticana.org/in4/on_demand.asp

The interview will stay one whole day in the Vatican Radio site. So you can access it from 5.00 pm (Indian Standard Time) on Friday 11th 2011 to around 5.00 pm (Indian Standard Time) on Saturday 12th 2011.

The next way is to listen it in a "Radio".

As for my interview, it will be transmitted on 11th Friday 2011 evening 8.40 pm(Indian Standard Time) and there will be two re-transmissions on the following day (Saturday) at 6.30 am (Indian Standard Time) and 8.10 am (Indian Standard Time) on the following frequencies. You need to have a radio with shortwave frequency reception capabilities to listen to it.

Why shortwave radio? I had to research a bit to find that out. However, the research outcomes were quite interesting.

To begin with there are two types of transmissions in general.

1. FM (Frequency Modulation)
2. AM (Amplitude Modulation)
   

AM is further divided in to two:

• Medium Frequency (MF), which broadcasts on frequencies between 531kHz and 1602 kHz.
• High Frequency (HF), usually known as "short wave" radio, broadcasts on frequencies between approximately 2 MHz and 26 MHz.

Vatican Radio Malayalam is a short wave (HF) transmission. Short wave transmission is used for long distance transmissions (usually to receive broadcasts from another continents), because shortwave frequencies bounce off of the ionosphere of earth and return to earth halfway around the world.

Shortwave Radio (HF) is divided into the following bands:

3900-4000 kHz (75 meter band) 13600-13800 kHz (22 meter band)

5950-6200 kHz (49 meter band) 15100-15600 kHz (19 meter band)

7100-7300 kHz (41 meter band) 17550-17900 kHz (16 meter band)

9500-9900 kHz (31 meter band) 21450-21850 kHz (13 meter band)

11650-12050 kHz (25 meter band) 25600-26100 kHz (11 meter band)

And how to tune to it in India or elsewhere

രാത്രി 8.40-ന് തുടങ്ങുന്ന പ്രക്ഷേപണം ( 11th Friday, Indian Standard Time: 20.40)

41 മീറ്റര്‍ ബാന്‍ഡ് 7585 കിലോ ഹേര്‍ട്സ് (41 meter band, 7585 KHz)

25 മീറ്റര്‍ ബാന്‍ഡ് 11850 കിലോ ഹേര്‍ട്സ് (25 meter band, 11850 KHz)

22 മീറ്റര്‍ ബാന്‍ഡ് 13765 കിലോ ഹേര്‍ട്സ് (22 meter band, 13765 KHz)

രാവിലെ 6.30-ന് തുടങ്ങുന്ന മലയാള പ്രക്ഷേപണം (12th Saturday, Indian Standard Time: 6.30)

49 മീറ്റര്‍ ബാന്‍ഡില്‍ 5895 കിലോ ഹേര്‍ട്സ് (49 meter band, 5895 KHz)

41 മീറ്റര്‍ ബാന്‍ഡില്‍ 7335 കിലോ ഹേര്‍ട്സ് (41 meter band, 7335 KHz)

രാവിലെ 8.10-നു തുടങ്ങുന്ന പ്രക്ഷേപണം (12th Saturday, Indian Standard Time: 8.10)

19 മീറ്റര്‍ ബാന്‍ഡില്‍ 15460 കിലോ ഹേര്‍ട്സ് (19 meter band, 15460 KHz)

Child Friendly Church - I'm hopeful!

The other day, when we priests gathered, we were commenting: Catholic church is becoming a world leader in one more area - dealing with child sex abuse issues.

It's not a very impressive title, I admit. But it is a good thing. With humility, we can say that no other organization/association in the world might not have done so much to address this issue NOW. (Yes, we had our faults in addressing it at the "very first place". But better late than never.)

And personally I think, it does make sense that cleansing in this area starts from Church-not necessarily because this problem is only within Church or Church is THE highest offender (there's no data to suggest that), but because Church should be the "light of the world" and its dark elements have to be illuminated first.

And also I believe that the public (as well as Catholic faithful) will see through this smoke created around the Church over this issue (many a time by vested interests), by seeing the efforts Church is taking to address this issue and the other good things Church continue to do in the world and bring their children (and youngsters) back to Church. I can see a lot of evidence for that and I am hopeful :)

-----------------
This is posted as a response to Facebook post by Suraj AB

I told you so :) (About Catholicism's Future!)

Last year, Mr Michel from Norfolk, Virginia, United States commented on my blog post ( http://bit.ly/vSdMP) that Catholicism is fighting a loosing battle against other Protestant/Anglican churches, because of it stand on many issues including Same-Sex marriage etc. I told him that I was more optimistic than him on Catholicism's future. After one year here we stand.

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Senior Anglican bishop reveals he is ready to convert to Roman Catholicism

The Rt Rev John Hind, the Bishop of Chichester, has announced he is considering becoming a Roman Catholic in a move that could spark an exodus of clergy.



Reported by: The Telegraph

Australia put break on Catholic Church!

Here is the Breaking News!

Australian government has updated the immigration rules to bring priests to Australia. Now the process to get a religious visa to take up to 36 weeks or sometimes more before the Department of Immigration advises them of their decision (this is after launching the whole documents, which usually takes an year's work!). And also all temporary visa applicants must participate in an English test and attain a certain level of competency in English. (Religious workers were exempted in the past)


Let me put my reflections.

It seems that there were some serious issues brewing between Aust govt and Catholic Church migration agency (I sensed it earlier, because I am in Canberra). Basically now the govt has stripped Catholic agency of its right to bring priest in its own right. They are introducing new barriers - IELTS (English Test) and a wait period of up to 36 weeks!

There are people who do not support the very idea of bringing priests from outside Australia. Their intention is to push Catholic Church to married clergy/female clergy by starving Church of celibate/male priests. I think, the push by the left (present federal govt who are supported by greens) and the atheists are bearing fruits and changing the clergy immigration landscape of Australia. Personally I am open to the question of married/female clergy. But I cannot accept anybody to starve Church to make decisions in their favor. God help Australia.

An Open letter to all "Jesus Youths"

This is my reply to a discussion at JYMACE (Jesus Youth, MA College of Engineering, Kothamangalam, Kochi, India) yahoogroups. I attach my reply first and the mail of Chanchal which provoked it. It is basically a general question and an open challenge to all Jesus Youths.

------------------------------
My Response
------------------------------

Hi All,

I thought, I should reply to this mail (now bit old though).

What I havent seen in JY (better call Jesus Youth, according to Chanchal) regarding "long term commitment" is that Jesus Youths opting for the real "long term commitment" - ie, vocation into priestly and religious life. I worked with Jesus Youth after dedicating myself to Jesus through CMI congregation in the first place. I have seen so many zealous JYs after that (my friends and colleagues). But I havent seen any of them taking the real challenge of committing themselves through priestly or religious vocation. I always thought why? JY is supposed to be the biggest Catholic movement in Kerala/India. But how much/many JY has contributed to the ministerial work of Church? A BIG question to be answered? At some point I doubted JY has become a distraction to the vocations to ministerial priesthood and religious life, by over-emphasizing laity role in evangelization and even sometimes keeping a distance from the local Church authorities for the "development" of Jesus Youth itself. From my experience, I know one thing, there is no substitute for ministerial priesthood and religious life in the life of the Church. But I dont know whether I am fully right/wrong regarding my comments on JY (I know JY is now starting a new priestly ministry and hope this new emphasis on "long-term commitment" is not simply directed at it :). An introspection is always good.

I would encourage all young men and women in Jesus Youth to look into this challenge. If you really feel that you are called to a life-long and complete commitment, please seriously consider the prospect of a religious or priestly life in a religious congregation, in a diocese or in a society. Church needs more priests and nuns. Jesus needs more priests and nuns. God bless.

With love,

Fr Jaison Paul Mulerikkal CMI

------------------------------
Chanchal's mail
------------------------------

Hello George,

Let me be straight. So you have got new insights about Catholic Faith and Life time commitment etc.I have a friend who was a fulltimer some years back in the north east of India, who now believes that what he did then was just an act of impulse. He lives in his own ways now. As you are aware of, this is not a single case, you can find a very large number of such cases.

Are you sure you will not end up like that, when this feel good feeling is all over?

A qn to all: How can we ensure each of us will not end up like that. Just for thought..

Chanchal

Response to Irish Church Priest Sex Scandal Report

I was told by a young Indian Catholic youth lives in Europe, how she was shaken by the Irish Church Priest Sex Scandal Report. This was my reply:

--------------------------------------------

Its there. Its a cultural thing. That's what I think. I haven't heard of such things in such proportions in Catholic church in India or some other Asian countries. There are always exceptions, but not like this. The West liberalized too much. Families gone. The effects resonate in Church as well. If there are no good families in India, the same would happen in India too, I guess.

I dont know whether we can relate these incidents to celibacy of priests. If we can relate, then these things should not happen in families. But that's not the case, as we come to know. Priest sex abuse scandals are only tip of an iceberg. This was shared by a scholar works in this area.

But this exercise is good for Church. We have to purify first before we preach. That's good. So I accept it. I am not panicked.

CMIs and Cash (some say, it is Cash Making Institute!)

(Pic::CMIS in New York)
I got the following question from a young Catholic girl, who is my chat friend. I also add my answer to it. This is my conviction.

Why are Chirstian institutions so adamant in making money and investement?(This question was asked in the context of your congregation acha,CMI). Aren't you diverting from the cause of Jesus?

I like this question. It is very pertinent to me, as a CMI. We dont make money for the sake of making money. In reality, we are the great debtors. In my province, we got 100+ priests and it is said that every priest's head carry a debt of around 7-10 lakhs!

Yes we do have great institutions. All of them are for the benefit of humanity and for Church and its people. We are running a University in India (which is just one of the many other initiatives). It's all for good. Do we need to stop them? We can.. Then what will be the fate of those beneficiaries, which belong to all religious groups... of Church and Christians in India? The Xians still flourish and are respected in India only because of these institutions, even if they are a minority. If we abandon them, Christians will go down like the dalits or Muslims.

Now, it is my conviction that, Indian Church should make money. It is not to get 'rich'. But to stand on its own feet. In the past, we were relying of foreign money for our projects. But that is not good for Indian Church and India. If Church needs to stand on its two feet, it should be self-sufficient. Either, the Indian faithful have to contribute heavily or Church should raise it on its own. When Bl Chavara started CMI congregation, all of the initial monasteries were erected using the money from people. But, that scenario has changed. People's mentality does not support that method any more. And Church has got the capacity and human resource to do it on its own. So, it must take that responsibility than passing on it to its people. Moreover, India is in a better economic position now than in the past and so there's no point in importing money from outside. That is not social justice. On the contrary, Indian church should be able to support the missions in other poor nations around the world. That is our responsibility. We received when we were in need, now we have to give it back, when we are in a position to do that. If we are hiding away from that responsibility, we are just irresponsible. There's a danger of victim mentality (out of poverty) in our mindset, which actually hinder us from 'generously giving' to others (other poor missions world around).

If we need to be self reliant, if we need to venture into world missions, we need money. Church in India should do whatever possible in legitimate terms to amass it, so that it can keep sustain what they got in India, expand those services and to share its benefits with the Christ's mission around the world.

WYD and the Colonial hang-over

One of the beautiful parts of World Youth Day final Mass was the gospel procession by the Pacific Islanders. I was there, right beside. It was really beautiful, touching (watch it here) . But,... that's a BIG BUT!

The end of the gospel precession really tasted bitter.. The symbolism! The Pacific Islanders 'entrust the Gospel' to a European convoy (at least all looked like Europeans). Then they takes it to the alter, as the Islanders passively look at it! Black and White!

Just reminded everybody of the new Cadbury ad on the TV. The Pacific Islanders wage war over coffee and the Emperor wins, only to see that European colonials came to take the throne.

Dont think that I am too critical. But there are things to be fixed up. In God, there's no race. When we do a liturgy for WYD, which is supposed to celebrate the universality of Church, these things should get right. The powerful symbolism could have all changed, if we had, at least a black or brown person among the convoy who received Gospel from the Pacific Islanders.

Tail piece: During the Saturday vigil, one of the Indian young pilgrims told me. "Look father they pray in almost every language on earth. But why not in any of Indian languages?". He was right. The representation of Indian subcontinental languages were almost nil, except for one of the prayers of the faithful during the final Mass in SriLankan Sinhalees.

I want to answer RIGHT to my fellow young pilgrims from Asia next time. After all Jesus was an Asian and Asia is the cradle of Christianity!

CHRIST University, India - The first ever Catholic university in India

Here is the much awaited good news: Christ became University!! (as reported in www.cmi.in) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Ministry of Human Resource Development of the Government of India, in its notification of 22 July 2008, has declared Christ College, located in Bangalore, Karnataka, as 'Deemed-to-be- University’. Christ College, till now Autonomous College, is now a University Rev. Dr. Augustine Thottakara, CMI, Rector Dharmaram College, President of the Board of Trustees of Christ College, and President of the Governing Body, has been elected as the Chancellor and President of Christ University by the Governing Body according to the directives of UGC. The Chancellor and President has appointed, according to the UGC Rules, Father Dr. Thomas C. Mathew, CMI, hitherto Principal, Christ College Autonomous, as the Vice Chancellor of the University. Other office-bearers will be elected/appointed in due course of time. Hearty Congratulations!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is my reply to cmigroup mail:

It's a great moment of pride in the history of Indian Catholics. It's a decisive moment in the history of CMI congregation. Blessed Chavara would be shedding tears of happiness in heaven! My heartfelt congratulations to all - especially Fr Chatamparmabil, the Vice-chancellor of Christ University (and not forgetting all previous and present visionaries of Christ and Dharmaram) - who worked hard to realize this dream. Well done. Let our Lord continue to bless!

Jaison Paul Mulerikkal
12 Chewings Street
Page, ACT 2614
Canberra, Australia

World Youth Day an awakening time for all Australians of goodwill

The following is an article send by me to the Print Media in Australia during WYD 08 and was not published!!!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As tens of thousands of young people from around the world flock together in Sydney for World Youth Day, it gives all Australians of goodwill to look deep into their own spiritual and religious self. As Prime Minister Kevin Rudd rightly puts it, these youngsters have come here as 'pilgrims of peace' rather than marching for a war as most youngsters have done in the past. It is really a history-making event.

As one among those young ones who is going to be in Sydney for the WYD celebrations and hosted around 70 of those young happy pilgrims in our parish, I am happy to confirm that they are proud young Catholics, who are determined to follow their leader and God - Jesus - and his Church. They got first hand experience of the Catholic Church and its teachings and they are well aware of its failures in the past too. Even then they love their God and Church. The big question before all people of goodwill in Australia would be, "What these young people have to convey to us?"

In spite of all apparent failures of Catholic Church - like the recent priest sex scandals in the Western countries and ruthless attack from various philosophies - whether it is communism or atheism or consumerism - the youth of the world comes to the beautiful realization that there are no other system or philosophy that has ever succeeded as Christ and his Church throughout the history of humankind.

Many of the allegations surfaced against Church at the wake of this great awakening of Spirit along with World Youth Day are misleading and many other stories have been allowed to explode without proportion.

Priest sex abuse scandals are very much confined to certain cultures and regions in Catholic Church and that cannot be attributed universally to Catholic Church. Church has repeatedly assured its assistance to heal the wounds of victims and is ready to refine its processes. But at the same time, since priests comes from the families, it could very well be the reflection of deep wounds within the society and those elements in the cultural psyche may have to be healed and refined to address these issues in the long run.

In almost every online newspaper bloggers and many articles in leading newspapers have alleged that Catholic Church is responsible for almost every wars in the history of mankind. When we read the history and especially when we try to read between the lines of history books, it is very clear that the wars were started by some crooked people who were cleaver enough to drag even religion into it and finally put all their blame on religions, including Catholic Church. And they just hid themselves into the deep abbeys of history as centuries pass by. Blaming Catholicism for all the wars in history is as absurd as saying that the war on Iraq was a Christian war on Muslims! But it is as clear as sunlight that it was the bloody oil greed of the West to keep enjoying their cars created Iraq war. But still after 200 years some Dan Brown could "uncover the truth" and say it was Catholic Church who put up that war, because it is the only institution, which survives the test of time (even not any state), and popularly could give the status of a "cult". It is always a fashion to blame a "cult".

I haven't heard any Catholics annoy the Mardi Gras Parade nor requesting the court to allow them to do so. But still the young Catholics who pay their way for their faith party could very well be legally annoyed in this country. Even still they are blamed for intolerance towards those people. No homosexual genes have yet been identified and the concept is not accepted unequivocally in scientific and medical circles yet. So, it may be premature to pressurize Church to make decisions on those issues. The Church is always as compassionate as Jesus - who welcomed everybody into his companionship - to those people but may reserve the right to gently remind them against their behaviour as long as it is not proved otherwise without doubt. The Catholic youth do understand the Church's position.

As many wanted to portray, Biblical God is not a jealous, murderous God. It was the understanding of the God by the humans that went on a transformation as we witness in Bible from Old Testament to New Testament. As Jesus himself made it clear he had come to perfect the law. The nature of God as a loving merciful father is been truly and perfectly revealed in Jesus and the New Testament Bible is a witness to it. There is no point in trying to understand the nature of God without reference to New Testament revelation about Jesus Christ, and every attempt to ignore it is an attempt to misguide masses by feeding half-baked truths.

Another allegation is that Catholic Church is the root cause of the whole AIDS epidemic in the world and especially in Africa. The best practice against AIDS, as everyone would agree, is committed married life as a lifelong union of both the man and woman involved in marriage. With any scientific procedure we can compare the successful rate of "committed married life" and the use of condoms against AIDS and see the conclusions (pretty well we all know what the result would be). And if Catholic Church wants to promote the best option for the Catholic youth and the youth of the world, the youth do understand and respect that stand.

World Youth Day is a wake up call, especially for the youngsters and young couples of Australia to decide in what direction they want to mould their personal life, family, society and their Church. It is a call to be inspired by Jesus and the great Catholics like Francis of Assisi - a true ecologist, Mother Theresa - a true humanitarian or the great Australian educator - Mary McKillop. It is also a call to be inspired by those thousands of cheering happy young faces around Sydney who find their meaning and peace in a loving God and his vibrant Church.

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Jaison Mulerikkal CMI is an Indian Carmelite priest, belonging to the Eastern Catholic rite of Syro-Malabar and a research student at Department of Computer Science, Australian National University. He lives in St Matthew's Parish presbytery, Page, ACT. He can be accessed at his website www.memyviews.com

WYD & Priest sex abuse in the Australain Church

The Australian media has been running a vicious campaign against Catholic Church during WYD (world youth day). They dig up decades old 'priest's sex abuse' cases and trying to put Church on the back-foot. I honestly think that there's a ploy behind it... (and Church authorities have failed to foresee it too)

The Church is not unaware of the sex-scandal issues in the West. The Western church has to fight it's daemons. But what we are witnessing is systematic, biased and out-of-proportionate attempt by the Australian media (especially Fairfax media newspapers (online as well) and ABC television) to humiliate and demoralize the Church in the wake of all good things happening in Sydney. God save Australia!

Here is comment by me on one of their articles in Herald Sun online
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It seems that the media and a section of community (those who oppose Catholic Church for various other reasons) are using priest sex abuse cases as an instrument to destroy the morale of Catholic church in the wake of a great awakening in the society. We all sympathize with the victims and actions must be taken. But it has to be differentiated from what we are witnessing at Sydney at the moment. God bless Australia!

Posted by: Jaison 11:29am today (16th July 2008)
Comment 29 of 32

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/comments/0,22023,24028147-662,00.html

World Youth Day condom protest comic, says Catholic Church

There's a World Youth Day condom protest! The Church reply was really funny!

This is my reply to that article in Herald Sun
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I agree with Bishop Fisher. It will be a comedy. I am going to WYD. But I don't really understand the logic of those people who plan to promote "health issues" (as they claim) during WYD. If they are serous about their cause, they should organize different programs or events for the same. Please dont do it at the expense of Pope! (That's the real joke!). And regarding the best practice against AIDS, I would say the best solution is committed married life as a lifelong union of both the man and woman involved in marriage. Without any doubt that would bring the best positive result against AIDS (or any other venereal diseases). The youth of the world (of course of Australia too) deserve the best. So let them distribute a replica "marriage ring" to the youth of the world (as a symbol) to give them best chances against AIDS. YesToPope!

Global Mission of CMIs

Today I have received a copy of the Report of the first session of XXXVI Ordinary General Synaxis of CMI Congregation (religious order, which I belong to).

To my great surprise, No. 10 of the report says:

In the light of the discussions and deliberations the Synaxis arrived at a consensus that there would be 4 major thrusts in our Congregation for the next 6 years.

1. Reorientation of our community as a spiritual movement
2. Global mission
3. To be with the marginalized always and everywhere
4. Affordable quality education for poor

It continues, Guided by the charism of founding fathers, this transformation will help us take new and bold initiatives in the areas of global mission.

I am really glad. This was the gist of my one-page working paper send to the General Synaxis (You read it as a post somewhere below.. My friend - Micheal's comment came as a reply to that post). With the collective will of synaxis fathers, it has been come out as a major thrust of the congregation for the next 6 years. Let CMIs surges into the world with a new mission of Christ. Jay Yesu!