Prof. Dr. M. Mary John –
The ecclesial tradition of the Catholic Church in India is the caste tradition of the Indian Catholic hierarchy and clergy. This is most conspicuously evident from the Catholic hierarchy that continues to be caste dominant. It calls for Imminent Intervention of the Holy See in the spirit of Synodality to stop this contemptuous situation.
The first session of the “Synod on Synodality” held in October 2023 focused on the nature and description of a Synodal Church as one in “communion, participation, discernment and mission”.
The second and final session is scheduled for October 2024 in the Vatican and it will be on “How to be a Synodal Church in Mission”
To be a Synodal Church as described above, it is necessary and inevitable to identify the serious obstacles and hindrance to Synodality itself. Discernment for Synodality must focus on this more than on any other thing concerned. It has to be done more particularly at each country level rather than the Universal Church level.
For a Synodal Church in the Indian context, it is undeniably important to identify the draconian casteism, caste discrimination and domination prevailing historically in the Catholic Church. It was declared by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) itself that casteism is a grave sin. So the primary mission of the Synodal Catholic Church in India should be to root out this most inhuman and pernicious untouchability practice and caste discrimination against the Dalits within. Synodal Mission is not just a concept and doctrine. It should be in action with concrete agenda and roadmap.
There are, of course, other serious concerns namely, equal participation and role for the lay faithful in the ministries and administration, and equal role and rights for the women faithful including even promotion of nuns to bishopric. These are issues common to all countries. But the caste issue is unique to Indian Catholic Church which the Dalit Christian Liberation Movement(DCLM) has been raising in recent decades.
In the first place, it is a blatant victimization of Dalits by the caste hierarchy, abusing its ecclesiastical power in the name of “Grace of God’ or the ‘call of the Holy Spirit’ as a ploy.
Dalits comprise about 65% of the Catholic faithful in India and they are Christians for centuries, converted from the early days of Christianity in India. They are about 12 millions which is more than the Catholic population of many European Countries. But they still remain excluded from the hierarchy.
There are about 180 Catholic bishops in India, but only 12 among them are Dalit bishops, that is hardly 7% representing the 65% Dalit Catholics. In Tamil Nadu & Pondicherry region Dalit Catholics comprise about 75%, but among the 18 Catholic bishops only one is a Dalit, that is hardly 5%. In spite of this, among the 16 bishops/archbishops appointed consecutively in this region during the past 17 years, no one is a Dalit bishop. This is outrageous even to a common sense of proportionality.
It is important to understand that, exclusion of Dalits from the hierarchy and superior positions does not end with that. It is the prime cause that perpetuate and sustains their exclusion marginalization and deprivation of their rights at every other level in the Church Viz. leadership and administrative positions, in educational and employment opportunities, in the institutions, resource sharing etc. It is because of this, majority of them are impoverished, illiterate, unemployed and left to struggle for livelihood, in spite of the vast network of educational and professional institutions, enormous properties and financial resources, infrastructural facilities, human and other material resources owned by the Catholic Church. It is a plunder on the rights and opportunities of the Dalits in the Church.
With this caste domination, discrimination and inequalities against Dalits, a Synodal Catholic Church in India will be only an elitist and pious concept expressed in prolific writings and as mere documents, but it is not going to be a reality.
When we question the exclusion of Dalits from the hierarchy, they explain it away farcically or cover it up with a single stroke by saying that it is all “Grace of God” or the “Call of the Holy Spirit”.
The perverse caste discrimination is writ large in the exclusion of Dalits from the hierarchy, but they mystify and justified it in the name of Grace of God as if it were a Holy Writ. It is covert caste discrimination perpetrated by human agency in the Church.
Also, the criteria of merit, suitability, capability, etc. are used to justify and defend this chronic exclusion and inequality. But, these should not be the answer or reason to sideline the superior values of liberation, equality and inclusivity of a historically oppressed and excluded people as advocated by Jesus himself.
“Putting the last and the least or the weakest in the first” is the principle and paradigm of social justice that Jesus advocated. It is a core value of God’s Kingdom. So, to the Church hierarchy this spiritual assertion should be more than the social justice jurisprudence and the statutory affirmative action of governments to the weaker sections.
It should be also pointed out that there is no dearth of merit, ability or qualification among the Dalit priests. It is not really or simply the merit constraint as projected, but it is the caste constraint that always puts Dalit priests behind. This is what we are forced to fight.
Explaining away their exclusion with the procedure and process of selection or even citing Canon Law as reason only confirms that it is a systemic injustice to Dalits. In this situation there has to be a serious application of mind by the Apostolic Nuncio in India, not just following routinely or mechanically the procedure and process of selection of candidates for bishopric.
There has to be some appropriate and special procedure and process to address the exclusion of Dalits which is of historical nature.
The historical exercise for Synodality well intentioned by Pope Francis should not end up in proliferation of documents with mere concepts, pious whishes and doctrines, but it should ultimately give rise to concrete action for seminal changes in each country context, especially to end injustice, inequality, marginalization or exclusion anywhere in the Church.
In the context of Indian Catholic Church, an Agenda and Roadmap should be initiated to resolve Dalits problem and it should be monitored by a Committee of Cardinals and authorities from Vatican appointed by Pope. The top priority should be their inclusivity at the crucial levels, particularly in the hierarchy and leadership.
The Indian Catholic hierarchy behave as if the question of caste discrimination, denial of equality and rights to Dalit Catholics has nothing to do with Christian faith and religion. They treat the whole thing as non-issue in the Church or extraneous to faith. This is, in fact, the very mission of Jesus to the oppressed.
So, the Indian Catholic hierarchy should follow up the Synod on Synodality 2024 with concrete Agenda and Roadmap to end Dalit Catholics exclusion. It should certainly and unequivocally start with their inclusion at the hierarchical and leadership positions, as it would then follow at other levels.
Time-bound steps should be initiated to appoint equitable number of Dalit bishops in every State of India. The following steps are imminent as a way forward.
- As there may not be many bishops’ vacancies existing, Dalit priest could be appointed as Auxiliary bishops in several dioceses, to start with.
- Some large dioceses can be bifurcated and Dalit bishops could be appointed in the new dioceses created.
- Opportunities could be created by the Vatican specially for Dalit priests to get higher training and qualifications to prepare them for bishopric.
- A high level Committee from the Vatican appointed by Pope Francis should monitor the above, as otherwise nothing worthwhile would be done for this by the Indian hierarchy, which is the experience so far.
The Apostolic Nuncio in India who is an important leader of Catholic Church and a Diplomat representing the Holy See need to take cognizance of the stark reality of Dalit Catholics and properly represent it to the Holy See in the spirit of Synodality as exhorted by Pope Francis.
The CBCI Dalit Policy of Empowerment of Dalits in the Catholic Church declared in 2016 proclaimed that 65% of Catholics in India are Dalits and it owed to abolish caste discriminations against them. But, disappointingly there is only one Dalit member in the Indian Team of 12 representing in the Synod on Synodality in the Vatican. He is included as he happens to be a Cardinal (the only Dalit Cardinal so far!). The Team is certainly not representative of Dalit Catholics constituting the majority among the Catholics in India.
Finally, the caste discrimination and exclusion of Dalits is a serious hurdle for Synodality in the Indian Catholic Church. Our Movement is forced to raise concern about it on the eve of the final session of the Synod on Synodality, because the Indian hierarchy and clergy in the Synod will be only silent about it, even while they may speak for women and lay Catholics. However, Dalits inclusion and empowerment should be unequivocally the matter of centrality to establish a genuine Synodal Church in India.
Prof. Dr. M. Mary John is President, DCLM, Chennai, India. His E-mail: [email protected]