By Mr. Jacob Punnoose IPS (Retd)
Concluding my paper on – The Catholic Church in India – I wish to reiterate that we must hope for the earth itself. Over-exploitation of natural resources threatens us with possible extinction as Our Common Home becomes unliveable due to climate change, global warming, water scarcity and oxygen depletion[1]. As a church, we are bound to save the earth from degradation and destruction[2]. The cry of the earth becomes the cry of the poor[3].
Driven by the culture of greed, “throwing away” becomes a habit; first we throw waste that clutter our roads, drains and streams; in greed, we destroy forests and rivers throwing many species out from the world of the living; in pursuit of selfish comfort, we throw away unborn children; craving time and space to earn more and more, we throw away unwanted parents in their old age; for greater living space, as in Hitler’s lebensraum, we throw away unwanted neighbours; Earth is filled with refugees and migrants driven away by systems created by men; in many ways all become refugees, as everyone asks each other “Am I your keeper?
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“Throw away; drive them away” has become the mantra of universal doom. Protection of environment has thus become a moral issue, affecting our relationships with fellow human beings as well as the nature around us. As we mindlessly exploit nature for our pleasure and for amassing wealth, we are robbing the poor now and the unborn generations of the future. It can even be thought of as a sin[4] as we condemn others to death and destruction when we indulge in selfish excesses for pleasure. Therefore, Church today must promote an environment-friendly lifestyle and support ecologically sustainable initiatives.
Resistance to Corporate Greed
We need to extend our love to the victims of corporate greed. The greed of an individual is limited by the human condition; there is only limited time and span over which an individual can pursue his selfish gain. But corporate greed is never troubled by the niceties of a conscience and tends to be unlimited in scope; they seek to grow from year to year, ad infinitum. Their God is the Market. Dreams of unlimited material progress[5] mesmerize them. They conjure up schemes to utilise the resources of the weak to generate huge profits for the shareholders. Nexus with the rulers of the poorer countries having huge natural resources and crony capitalism lead to the accumulation of wealth in the hands of a few which further impoverish the poor[6]. When GDP grows, none examines, “who is the one who got the benefit of the growth?[7]
As a church, bound to feed the hungry and to tend the sick, we need to reflect on this. To those who predict benefits from the trickle-down theory, we can say this too; “Nothing trickles down”[8] The modern corporation does not even leave the gleanings after the harvest for the poor to pick.[9] As a church we need to recognise the need for mercy to the discontents of globalisation, the huge shift in populations due to migration and the alienation of large numbers of the poor.
Promotion of Lay Leadership
All these need intensive and extensive participation by the laity, both men and women. The witness and the mission of the church are rendered beneficial to the society by the involvement of the laity in all the activities of the church. The laity is also an inexhaustible pool of diverse talents given by God. Bolstered by God’s Grace, the laity can radiate the cheer and joy of faith in every arena of human endeavour. This involves promoting lay leadership in academic, professional and public services as well as in fostering greater collaboration by both men and women in the socio-pastoral activities of the Church.
Intolerance Will Acquire New Forms to Find New Victims
Intolerance towards minorities is dangerous for the nation as a whole since intolerance, once allowed free sway, will never confine itself to religious minorities. Other types of segregation based on race, caste, language etc are also possible and will surely follow if persecution of one type of minorities succeeds. Those who enforce one type of discrimination will search for and find the next one, once they finish off the first. Intolerance is an attitude which will grow if not discouraged initially.
Based on caste, language and race, practically everyone can be segregated as belonging to some minority. Those who run the State must realise this danger. Once Intolerance is unleashed, it will not be easy to prevent it from seeking out new victims based on some other norm. Thus enforced conformity becomes dangerous and self destructive. This is why internationally it is recognised that[10] promotion of the rights of persons belonging to ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities is an integral part of the development of society. It is also accepted internationally that all nations must take measures to ensure that minorities may fully exercise all human rights and fundamental freedoms without any discrimination. It also stands declared that all nations shall take measures to create favourable conditions to enable minorities to develop their culture, language, religion, and customs.
Conclusion
Faith is eternal. But the manner in which we witness the faith and the contexts in which we exude mercy cannot remain static in Time and Space. They have to necessarily vary with the passage of time as well as the transformations taking place in the land. So the Church is called upon to evolve new paradigms in enthusing Hope to remain meaningfully relevant amidst contemporary challenges. So the Church – and the laity too- has to remain in a state of permanent renewal to radiate Jesus Christ, the Way, the Truth, and the Light.”
Mr. Jacob Punnoose IPS (Retd), 1975 batch, is former DGP & State Police Chief of Kerala, India and Vigilance Director. He was instrumental in starting the People Friendly Janamaithri Suraksha (community policing) Project of Kerala as well as the vastly popular Student Police Cadet Project which is now nationally adopted.
Footnotes
[1] A generation back, most people in India would have considered the carrying of bottled drinking water either as crazy or too cumbersome. Today the opposite would be deemed insane and unhealthy. Even two years back, carrying oxygen cylinders for safe breathing in our urban centres would have sounded bizarre, but with the reports from Delhi last year, we know that portable personal oxygen modules will hit the market soon.
[2] Yet we are called to be instruments of God our Father, so that our planet might be what He desired when He created it and correspond with His plans for peace, beauty and fullness. Pope Francis : Laudato Si: para 53
[3] “… a social approach; it must integrate questions of justice in debates on the environment, so as to hear both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor” :Pope Francis : Laudato Si: para 49
[4] “To Commit a crime against the natural world is a sin against ourselves and a sin against God”: On Earth as in Heaven: Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew,
[5] “We can finally leave behind the modern myth of unlimited material progress. A fragile world, entrusted by God to human care, challenges us….. limiting our power” : Pope Francis: Laudato Si, para 78:
[6] “ .. multinationals. They do here what they would never do in developed countries..Generally… they leave behind… liabilities such as unemployment, depletion of natural reserves, deforestation, … open pits, riven hills.. polluted rivers …” : Christmas Message, Bishops of Patagonia, Argentina:
[7] Is it enough that the rich and the poor grow at the same rate? Even if that happens, it will only serve to increase the differences in economic power. If one man makes ten million a year and a hundred men get 60000 Rs each, uniform distribution of 10% GDP growth rate would give one million more to the millionaire while doling out only 6000 Rs each to the daily wage earner. High GDP growth by itself need not bring anything much to the poor.
[8] Nothing will trickle down from the rich; they became rich because they excel in preventing the pennies from trickling away from their pounds. Only crumbs will fall from their tables; are the poor to await the crumbs?
[9] “ … And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner”: Lev 19:9-10:
[10]Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities Adopted by UN General Assembly resolution 47/135 of 18 December 1992