Cardinal Vithayathil Counts On Cooperation Among Rites For New Diocese
Apr 28, 2008
Cooperation among India's three Catholic rites will help the Oriental Syro-Malabar Church (SMC) have a diocese in India's national capital, according to Cardinal Varkey Vithayathil of Ernakulam Angamaly.
NEW DELHI (UCAN, April 25, 2008) -- "I hope the new diocese will be born out of love between the rites and not out of war," said the cardinal, who heads the SMC as its major archbishop.
The Redemptorist prelate, who is based in southern India's Kerala state, made these remarks in Delhi on April 23 while addressing a program the Syro-Malabar Catholic Association organized in his honor, following his election in February as head of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI).
The cardinal, who will turn 81 on May 29, was on an official visit to New Delhi after becoming president of the national conference, the only forum of all Indian bishops. India's Catholic Church comprises Latin, Syro-Malabar and Syro-Malankara rites. The Latin-rite Church, the largest, is the result of missionary endeavors since the 16th century, while the other two Churches, both based in Kerala, trace their origin to Saint Thomas the Apostle.
The Latin Church has 128 dioceses across India, but Cardinal Vithayathil's jurisdiction is restricted to Kerala and nearby places, where the SMC has most of its 26 dioceses. The SMC bishops have been demanding more "administrative structures" and dioceses across India, a move resisted by Latin bishops.
"I do not say we have no problems," he said, referring to some speakers who mentioned demands for an SMC diocese in the territory of Delhi archdiocese.
SMC lay leaders say Delhi and other major Indian cities have a large number of SMC migrants whose spiritual needs continue to be addressed by Latin bishops, but structures in the migrants' own rite would serve them better.
"As far as the (creation of new) dioceses is concerned, it is up to Rome" to decide, the cardinal told the gathering. He also alluded that local campaigns and lobbying would have no impact.
Attending the congratulatory assembly for Cardinal Vithayathil were Cardinal Oswald Gracias of Bombay, the CBCI's current first vice president, Cardinal Telesphore Toppo of Ranchi, who was CBCI president for the past four years, and Archbishop Vincent Concessao of Delhi.
Archbishop Concessao has been "so open and understanding" to the needs of the Orientals, and has "granted 23 personal parishes for us," Cardinal Vithayathil said to the applause of the 700-strong assembly.
"I always tell this to my people here. Delhi (Latin rite) archbishop is your archbishop. If you cut off with him, you are out of the Church," the cardinal also said, as Archbishop Concessao smiled.
In the past, some Delhi parishes experienced tension when some SMC groups accused archdiocesan systems of curtailing their rights to have SMC liturgies.
The cardinal stressed the need for the rites to remain in "love and unity" so as to witness to "Christian love" and work for a society "of freedom and justice." Such love and cooperation, not tension and conflict, he stressed, would lead to the establishment of a new diocese.
The cardinal also related that he had worked 40 years in the Latin Church as a member of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, and that his major appointments outside the congregation had been aimed to resolve conflicts.
As a priest, he was appointed by the pope to "resolve a conflict" in a Benedictine monastery in southern India, he said. "Then the pope asked me to go" to SMC "where there were some problems among bishops."
He was named in 1996 as apostolic administrator of Ernakulam archdiocese. He became SMC major archbishop in 1999 and a cardinal in 2001
"My prayer has been always: Let us all remain in love and unity," he said.
Archbishop Concessao, who addressed the gathering before the cardinal spoke, said the population of Delhi archdiocese is composed mostly of migrants from different parts of India and some from outside the country.
Without directly mentioning the demand for an Oriental diocese, he said Delhi archdiocese is uniquely diverse and Catholics in his archdiocese should try to "integrate in the local Church."
Cardinals Toppo and Gracias, who also spoke before Cardinal Vithayathil, did not mention SMC demands for dioceses. In talks lasting less than three minutes each, they wished the cardinal good health to "lead" the Church in India.
Cardinal Vithayathil elected new president of Indian bishops
Feb 20, 2008
The newly-elected president talks to AsiaNews about his priorities: the unity of the Catholic Church, the defence of the downtrodden and the protection of religious freedom. He stresses the need for dialogue and tolerance. He receives Cardinal’s Gracias best wishes.
New Delhi (AsiaNews, 02/19/2008) – Card Mar Varkey Vithayathil has been elected president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI). The prelate, who heads the Syro-Malabar Church (some 3.5 million of India’s 16 million Catholics), spoke to AsiaNews about his work and the Indian Church.
“My priority is to make the three Episcopal bodies (the Syro-Malabar, Syro-Malankara and Latin Churches) work together with greater cohesion, communion and cooperation in unity of spirit,” he said. Even though “my election as president was completely unexpected given my age (81), [. . .] I humbly accepted.”
For the cardinal India has to cope with many great contradictions. The country is undergoing “great economic development” but still faces “immense misery”. Its “constitution guarantees us freedom to practice and propagate our faith and yet fundamentalist forces unleash their reign of terror on minority” communities.
“The CBCI will try to use all the resources and personnel of the Catholic Church to ensure that in Asia, the poor and the vulnerable sections of society get a better deal, that the marginalised are embraced with the charity mission of the Church through education and healthcare services.”
For the cardinal the CBCI wants to remove “misunderstandings and prejudices towards the Christian faith [. . .] through dialogue” in “a climate of understanding and mutual exchange of views.” Hence the “CBCI will work towards building a society and a nation of peace, unity and mutual understanding and tolerance.”
“Our beloved John Paul II in ‘Ecclesia in Asia’ had said that the Third Millennium belongs to Asia and this is the renewed commitment of the Indian Church.”
More importantly, “evangelisation” is “not merely doing social work, but the explicit and direct proclamation of the message, works and promises of Jesus Christ. It is essential that we communicate the Good News with courage and commitment, bringing joy and fulfillment into people’s life,” he said.
Card Oswald Gracias, a former CBCI president, expressed “great joy” for a choice that “sends a strong message that the Eastern Churches are important and an integral part of the one Catholic Church.”
“The appointment,” he added, “also highlights the growing importance of the Church in Kerala (the new president’s state) which is truly God’s country.”
la comunicazione della fede è un dovere primario
Feb 19, 2008
“La comunicazione della fede è il dovere principale di ogni Vescovo”, ha dichiarato l'Arcivescovo Maggiore della Chiesa cattolica siro-malabar, il Cardinale Varkey Vithayathil, questo lunedì a Jamshedpur (India).
JAMSHEDPUR, JHARKHAND (India), martedì, 19 febbraio 2008 (ZENIT.org).- “Proclamare Gesù Salvatore e guidare l'opera della proclamazione dalla prima fila è attualmente il dovere più importante”, ha affermato secondo quanto riporta il servizio della Conferenza Episcopale dei Vescovi Cattolici dell'India (CBCI).
Il Cardinale Vithayathil si è espresso in questo modo nel corso dell'omelia della celebrazione eucaristica in rito siro-malabar che ha presieduto. Tra i concelebranti, il Cardinale Telesphore Toppo, il Cardinale Oswald Gracias, il Cardinale Paul Josef Cordes – presidente del Pontificio Consiglio “Cor Unum” –, l'Arcivescovo Maggiore dei siro-malankar Baselios Mar Cleemis Catholicos e più di 150 Vescovi.
“Come gli apostoli hanno assunto la guida nel compito di proclamare la Buona Novella e hanno perfino donato la propria vita per la causa, i Vescovi, come loro successori, dovrebbero essere preparati a dare la vita, se necessario”, ha affermato.
“Gesù ha inviato i suoi discepoli a proclamare la Buona Novella. Compiendo questa missione, abbiamo bisogno di comunicarla con coraggio e impegno, portando gioia e pienezza nella vita della gente”, ha aggiunto.
Parlando del significato della fede, il Cardinale Vithayathil ha affermato che questa “non è opposta alla ragione, piuttosto la trascende. Ad ogni modo, la mera fede razionale non è sufficiente. Un teologo può saper interpretare la fede, ma questo può non portare ad accettare la salvezza offerta in Cristo”.
“Gli scribi e i farisei dell'epoca di Gesù sapevano come interpretare le Scritture, ma hanno fallito miseramente nell'aprire il loro cuore alla Buona Novella annunciata da Gesù. La loro fede razionale non li ha portati ad accettare la volontà di Dio, come ha fatto Abramo”, ha aggiunto l'Arcivescovo Maggiore.
“Abbiamo abbastanza amore per Dio nel nostro cuore?”, ha chiesto.
Cardinal Vithayathil Demands Countrywide Jurisdiction For Indian Rites
Nov 22, 2007
Cardinal Varkey Vithayathil says the simmering inter-rite tension in the Indian Church can end only if the Vatican grants the two Oriental rites countrywide jurisdiction.
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, India (UCAN, November 15, 2007) -- Cardinal Vithayathil, archbishop of Ernakulam-Angamaly, heads the Syro-Malabar Church (SMC) as its major archbishop. The SMC, the smaller Syro-Malankara Church and the Latin-rite Church together make up the Indian Catholic Church.
The Latin rite follows the Roman liturgy introduced by European missioners in the 15th century, while the two Oriental rites follow Syrian Church traditions and trace their origins to Saint Thomas the Apostle.
Currently, the Syro-Malabar Church has jurisdiction only over SMC Catholics in the southern Indian state of Kerala, where both Oriental rites are based.
Cardinal Vithayathil says ignorance among the Latin clergy and laity about the rights of the Oriental Churches is the main reason for the lingering tension in the Indian Church.
In an interview that his archdiocese's weekly publication, Sathyadeepam (lamp of truth), published on Nov. 10, the cardinal noted that even the Holy See at one time regarded the Latin rite as superior, since it is the pope's rite. "But the Second Vatican Council has changed all these attitudes. Now, all ritual Churches, whether Latin or Oriental, are of equal dignity," the Redemptorist cardinal asserted.
The Second Vatican Council, he elaborated, wanted the Oriental Churches to flourish "with fresh apostolic vigor" and fulfill their missionary task. "Do you think the Vatican would want to keep the Oriental Churches as mummified museum pieces?" the cardinal asked, referring to Latin prelates insistence on confining the Oriental jurisdiction to Kerala alone.
Cardinal Vithayathil expressed dismay over what he said was the Vatican's laid-back approach to the rite problem. The SMC synod, he added, has petitioned the Vatican several times for jurisdiction over its people outside Kerala.
"The Holy See seems to prefer the bishops of India settle our inter-ritual problems. I do not know what pressures are mounting on the Holy See not to concede to (our) just demands," the SMC leader added.
Cardinal Vithayathil recalled that in 1987, Pope John Paul II had urged the Indian bishops to educate their clergy, Religious and laypeople on the rights of the ritual Churches.
The same pope reiterated this demand when the Indian Latin bishops met him two years later. "Unfortunately this education has not taken place. That is the main cause for the unfortunate happenings in Latin dioceses outside Kerala," the cardinal explained.
According to the cardinal, members of his Church are increasingly becoming aware of the rights granted by the Second Vatican Council and the two codes of canon law, one for the Latin Church and one for the Oriental Churches.
He regretted a recent incident in which some Syro-Malabar Catholics in Delhi archdiocese had to celebrate Sunday Mass inside a Hindu temple complex. The local Latin parish, where they used to hold the service, denied them permission to continue as had been arranged.
The Oriental and Latin bishops have discussed inter-ritual matters for the past 40 years, the cardinal pointed out, but "the progress has been extremely slow with regard to accepting the claims of the Orientals."
The SMC leader refuted charges that Syro-Malabar bishops and clergy divide the laity in the name of rites. "Disunity is caused not because of the diversity of the ritual Churches in the same place, but because of the evils of envy, unhealthy competition and lack of charity," he suggested.
Cardinal Vithayathil went on to say many Latin bishops fear they would lose support if Oriental dioceses came up in their territory. According to him, his Church contributes 70 percent of Church personnel for the Latin dioceses in the country.
He dismissed as baseless the Latin-rite prelates' argument that different rites give a counter-witness to the Gospel in India, where Catholics form only 1.8 percent of the population. The country has "ample room" for various Churches to evangelize without rivalry or confusion, he countered.
The cardinal wants all Churches to be given jurisdiction over their people throughout India as soon as possible. Such a move, with some Vatican-approved norms, would prevent confusion and rivalry among the rites, he said.
Church differences with Govt. far from over
Aug 05, 2007
The Syro Malabar church today said no solution had been reached on the differences with LDF government over minority community-run-educational institutions.
Kochi, Aug. 4(The Hindu): Major Archbishop of the Syro Malabar church Cardinal Mar Varkey Vithayathil said though the government does not seem to be in for confrontation, the church had 'not hit upon a solution yet' on the vexed issue of self-financing professional colleges.
The cardinal said he discussued 'certain matters' with the 3-ministerial sub-committee,which met here yesterday, and there was 'useful exchange of views'.Most of the apprehension of the catholic church were communicated to the ministers.
The committee,comprising Education Minister, M A Baby, Fisheries minister, S Sarma and Forest Minister, Binoy Visvam, had met the cardinal and held discussions on the issue.
The meeting comes close on the heels of the cardinal vowing to continue the church's fight with the government on its 'anti-minority' policies.
Kerala Christians pledge to defend their institutions
Jul 31, 2007
Thousands of believers attending mass yesterday at parishes in central Kerala took oath to defend their faith and institutions against the “attempt to encroach upon their rights” by the state’s Left Democratic front (LDF) government.
By Ashraf Padanna
(Gulf Times, 30/07/2007)
KOCHI: Thousands of believers attending mass yesterday at parishes in central Kerala took oath to defend their faith and institutions against the “attempt to encroach upon their rights” by the state’s Left Democratic front (LDF) government.
The oath was taken at the parishes under the Ernakulam-Angamaly major archdiocese of Syro Malabar church, the dominant denomination with a membership of 17mn, while others continued to issue pastoral letters against the government.
Major Archbishop Mar Varkey Vithayathil, a Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and a member of The Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, said the Christians were ready for any sacrifice to defend their faith and minority institutions.
“Don’t they think they can take away our rights through threats and attacks on our institutions,” the cardinal said while addressing a huge rally of Christian youths, attended by a large number of nuns as well.
Vithayathil, one of the cardinal electors who participated in the 2005 papal conclave that selected Pope Benedict XVI, has been keeping silence on the issue so far.
They were angry at attempts by the LDF government led by the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) to impose quota and regulate admissions and fee structure of the self-financing professional colleges and physical attack on them by pro-government student unions.
Last week, the state cabinet authorised Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan to hold talks with the priests to end the standoff but such exercises had failed to produce results in the past as both sides stuck to their positions.
Education Minister M A Baby, Works Minister T U Kuruvila and law Minister M Vijayakumar had met the church leaders to placate them but they gave no concrete assurance on the autonomy of these institutions.
The government order giving rights to the panchayats or village councils, most of them LDF-ruled, to control government-aided schools is also seen as an attempt to infringe on their rights and to “promote atheism”. That move would empower popularly elected councils to appoint teachers and administer schools, most of them managed by the church.
Protest marches of the clergy and the laity were also taken out at many places like Iringalakkuda and Idukki yesterday. “The government should concentrate on improving the quality of life of the poor instead of browbeating us. The government which failed to do anything for them is harassing us,” Vithayathil said.
The presbyterium council of the Kollam diocese, a body of the Latin priests, said the system that the government was trying to impose on the self-financing colleges is against the concept of social justice. Attempts to impose the court-restrained cross subsidy system on these colleges will only serve to exploit students from the backward Latin Catholic community.
“The move to bring about unilateral changes in the Kerala Education Rules poses a threat to Christian teachings and values. It violates the Constitutional rights guaranteed to the minority communities to run their own educational institutions,” it said.
The pastoral letter signed by Kollam Bishop Stanley Roman of the Latin Church, the second largest Christian group with a total membership of 1.1mn, was read out at some 100 churches under the diocese.
The church’s public opposition began on July 3 when a pastoral letter from Archbishop Andrews Thazhath of Trichur threatened to launch a Vimochana Samaram (liberation struggle).
Since then, several other prelates also issued pastorals urging Catholics to oppose the government move and accusing the government of running political campaigns against church leaders.
Christians account for just 19% of Kerala’s 31.8mn people but are economically strong and politically decisive.
Ready for talks with Government: Cardinal
Jul 24, 2007
To end the standoff between Church, Government.
(The Hindu, 24/07/2007) KOCHI: The Syro-Malabar Church, the largest of the three Catholic rites in the State, is ready for talks with the Government to end the standoff between the Church and the Government over the self-financing colleges as well as other issues.
This was announced at the end of a meeting Cardinal Varkey Vithayathil, head of the Syro-Malabar Rite, had with other archbishops here on Monday.
“The Church is ready for any discussions with the Government,” a Church spokesperson told The Hindu.
Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan had last evening told a TV channel that the Government had kept the doors to talks open in order to remove the Church’s anxieties over the Government’s education policy.
Negotiations
If necessary, he would himself take the initiative for negotiations, Mr. Achuthanandan said.
The Cardinal, who had been away in the U.S. for a month, retuned to the city a couple of days ago.
He called the archbishops’ meeting to take stock of the current charged atmosphere where several bishops had issued pastoral letters against the Government and some dioceses had started forming ‘church protection forces.’
Affiliation
Kerala and Calicut Universities had recently considered revocation of university affiliations of five Catholic Church-run self-financing colleges.
Archbishops Joseph Powathil, Andrews Thazhath and Joseph Perinthottam, Thalassery Vicar-General Mathew Chalil and Ernakulam Auxiliary Bishop Thomas Chakiath were among those who attended the meeting.
The Cardinal urged all Christian communities to stay together to face the problems.
Syro-Malabar Leaders Ask Communist Government To Leave Church Institutions Alone
Jul 13, 2007
Some Church leaders in Kerala have threatened to launch a stir against the state's communist-led government, which they accuse of infringing on Christians' rights.
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, India (UCAN, July 13, 2007) -- Cardinal Varkey Vithayathil of Ernakulam-Angamaly, major archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Church, added his warning in a statement issued July 10. The head of the larger of the two Oriental Catholic Churches in India asked the state government to avoid "a painful situation" from "indirectly or directly victimizing" Church institutions.
The campaign began when Syro-Malabar Archbishop Andrews Thazhath of Trichur told media in early July that the Church in Kerala, where both Oriental rites are based, is "ready for a second liberation struggle" to ensure educational and religious rights.
The archbishop said people still remember the Vimochana Samaram (liberation struggle) of nearly 50 years ago, when Christian opposition helped overthrow the world's first democratically elected communist government. The struggle against the communists, who came to power in 1957, began the following year and ended with the government's dismissal in 1959.
The present communist-led government came to power in May 2006.
In a July 1 pastoral letter, Archbishop Thazhath charged the state government with trying to take over the Church's health-care and educational institutions through "skewed" political tactics.
On July 3 he told UCA News that the government continues to violate Christians' constitutional right, as a minority, to establish and manage educational institutions. The government runs "politically motivated campaigns" against Church leaders and plans to revise Kerala's education policy in a bid to eliminate "faith in God," he said.
The archbishop pointed to an education department plan to hand over schools run by or receiving grants from the government to panchayat, local administrative bodies. A majority of the aided schools are under Church management. The move would give panchayat control over teacher appointments and school administration.
Cardinal Vithayathil's statement said "the folly" of the government produced the Vimochana Samaram. He hoped the present government would "not create a situation" that would compel the Church to take "emergency action."
Syro-Malabar Archbishop Joseph Perumthottam of Changanacherry also joined the call against the communists with a pastoral letter read out in his parishes on July 8.
It alleged the government was trying not only to control appointments and admissions in Church-managed schools, but also to propagate its ideology through curriculum reforms. Archbishop Perumthottam wants students and teachers to cooperate with others in the struggle against politicizing educational institutions and promoting atheism among students.
His pastoral letter asserted that Christians "will not give up our rights as minorities." The Indian Constitution grants religious and linguistic minorities the right to establish and manage their own schools, it reiterated.
The Church leaders received external backing when the Indian Union Muslim League and Hindu Nair Service Society offered their support to Christians.
Christians form just 19 percent of Kerala's 31.8 million people, but are economically strong and politically decisive in large pockets. Catholics of the Latin and two Oriental rites, the three components of the Indian Catholic Church, make up the majority.
The communists are "going in a reverse gear and threatening minorities," Muslim League leader P.K. Kunjalikutty told UCA News. "We will resist any move against minorities," he asserted. Muslims comprise about 25 percent of the state's population.
Nair Society leader P.K. Narayana Panicker told the media that the state's Hindus are upset the government is trying to "snatch powers of private schools and self-financing educational institutions."
Lay Catholics who spoke with UCA News had varied reactions.
Kulangara Chacko Antony, 87, who joined the Vimochana Samaram in 1959, said the Church does not have the influence it had then, when "we followed whatever priests told us." Especially among youths, he added, "old slogans won't sell today."
Cecily Mattekat, who also joined the 1959 stir, said she would join the protest once again. "We have to protect our Church. Otherwise who will protect us? Times might have changed but our faith doesn't change," the 75-year-old spinster remarked.
State Education Minister M.A. Baby, who was born a Catholic, told UCA News that bishops are "making irresponsible statements" without understanding social changes. "Fifty years ago, the situation was different, as there were takers for anticommunist campaigns. Not now," he said.
Cardinal calls for moderation
Jul 11, 2007
Cardinal Varkey Vithayathil made an appeal here on Tuesday for creating an atmosphere of understanding between those ruling the State and the managements of self-financing educational institutions.
(thehindu.com, 11/07/2007) KOCHI - In a written statement released to the media, the Cardinal who is also the head of the Syro-Malabar Church, reiterated that education should not become a business.
At the same time an atmosphere should be created so that these institutions served the needy in the best possible way. The insistence of the Church that education should be value-based had forced him to make some statements.
But the fact that they were being twisted to serve the interest of some parties was a sad development, said the Cardinal.
“While it is important that basic education be rid of politics, panchayats and municipalities are being used to help politics make a backdoor entry,” the statement added.
Call to parties
Parties that cannot envision a collective future for society beyond the future of the party should control their cadres and schools should not be turned into platforms for sectarian politics.
The statement was being issued under sad circumstances created by the controversy in the media and widespread anxiety on the education scene, said the statement.
The Church ventured into building educational institutions spending large sums of money because of its commitment to the ideals of Christian Church and its desire to fulfil its commitment to the people, the statement added.
Cardinal targets corruption in church educational institutions
Jun 12, 2007
Lay leaders and others have welcomed Cardinal Varkey Vithayathil's move to weed out corruption from church educational institutions.
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, India (UCAN, 6/12/2007) – Cardinal Vithayathil has asked schools and colleges under his Ernakulam-Angamaly Archdiocese not to accept money for student admissions or teacher appointments.
"If any educational institution has violated the directive of the church and accepted money for admissions and appointments of teachers, it will be returned," the cardinal said on June 9 while opening the archdiocesan pastoral council meeting.
The cardinal is based in Kochi, the commercial hub of Kerala state, 2,595 kilometers (1,610 miles) south of New Delhi.
Cardinal Vithayathil also announced regulatory commissions to monitor admissions and appointment irregularities in archdiocesan educational institutions. This will ensure transparency, he said.
The cardinal heads the Syro-Malabar Church, one of the two Oriental churches that together with the Latin-rite church form the Indian Catholic Church. However, his order applies only to institutions under his archdiocese: seven colleges, 13 higher secondary schools, 55 high schools, 71 upper primary schools and 102 lower primary schools.
A lower primary school conducts classes up to fourth grade, and upper primary to seventh grade. High schools go up to 10th grade, and higher secondary schools comprise 11th and 12th grades. Colleges conduct bachelor's and master's degree courses.
The cardinal circulated his directive among all the archdiocese's educational institutions. He said institutions managed by religious congregations should follow it too.
Several lay leaders told UCA News the move would bring social justice and help ensure quality education.
"It's a revolutionary decision that will help the church improve its image among the poor," said Charlie Paul, a pastoral council member. The cardinal has "proven that he wishes to practice what he preaches," he added.
The layman acknowledged some priests are not happy. Already the cardinal has asked two priests who manage schools to return money taken for appointments. Parish council members informed him about the transactions after his speech.
"I find many priests are not happy with the cardinal's statements. They feel that without taking money for appointments and admissions, the church will not be able to run its institutions," Paul said.
Laypeople fear priests and rich people will scuttle the cardinal's effort.
Mathew Joseph, a retired Catholic teacher in Kochi, said church educational institutions have bred corruption.
"Many priests have minted money on appointments and admissions. As those deals were done under the carpet, nobody knows the volume of money involved," he said. The new rule, he added, will improve church-run institutions' educational quality.
Joseph alleged church personnel auctioned jobs in its institutions to the highest bidder. Some charged between 1 million rupees ($25,000 USD) and 1.5 million rupees for a higher secondary school teaching post.
"So only the rich could buy those posts. Such people won't be good teachers," Joseph said, lamenting that "merit or service to the church were never considered."
Nonetheless, some people warn the cardinal's stand will lead to parish tension. Alex Thomas, a church school trustee, pointed out that many archdiocesan parishes manage schools and colleges.
"They need large amounts of money for maintenance. If they can't take money for appointments and admissions, how will they run their institutions?" he asked.
P.D. Joseph, who taught in a church-run college, rejects this view as an excuse to block the cardinal's "great strides." The 74-year-old layman said the church can find sufficient funds for maintenance if it stops "lavish and unproductive spending" on saints' feast celebrations.
Even Kerala's communist leaders have welcomed the move. Pinarayi Vijayan, state secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), told UCA News the cardinal's initiative, if implemented properly, will bring "revolutionary change." His party heads Kerala's coalition government.
Vijayan said the church has opposed government efforts to ensure social justice in privately owned educational institutions.
"But now the cardinal has stated that he will not allow corrupt practices in educational institutions. It's certainly a good sign," the politician added.
80th Birthday Greetings to Major ArchBp Cardinal Varkey
Jun 09, 2007
Varkey Cardinal Vithayathil C Ss.R.
Father and Head of the Syro Malabar Church
Major Archbishop of Ernakulam –Angamaly
(smcnews.com, 29 May 2007) Born on 29th May 1927 of Thresiamma and Justice Joseph Vithayathil ant North Parur, Archbishop Varkey Vithayatil has his school education at North Parur and Thuruvanathapuram, and his college education at University College Thriruvanathapuram, and st. Joseph College, Trichy. Joining Redemptorist Order, Varkey Vithayathil professed as its member on 2nd August 1947, and after completing his Studies in Philosophy and Theology he was ordained Priest on 12 the June 1954. In 1955 he went to Rome for his studies in common law at the university of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum) from where he took doctorate in 1959 on “The Origin and Progress of the Syro-Malabar Hierarchy” After coming back from Rome, Dr. Varkey Vithayathil served a professor of Canon Law for about 25 years at the Redemptorist Major Seminary, Bangalore. In 1972 he took his Master’s Degree in Philosophy from Karnataka University. He also taught different subjects in several other Seminaries in Bangalore. He served as the Provincial Superior of the Redemptorist Order from 1978 to ’84, and as president of the CRI from 1984 to ’85. He was appointed Apostolic Administrator of the Benedictine Monastery in Bangalore (1990-96) by His Holiness Pope John Paul II. On 18th December 1996 Rev. Dr. Varkey Vithayathil was nominated Titular Bishop of “Antinoe” and the Apostolic Administrator of the Syro-Malabar Major Archiepiscopal Church and of the Archdiocese of Ernakulam-Angamaly. He was consecrated bishop in Rome by His Holiness Pope John Paul II on 6th January 1997. He assumed charge of the Syro-Malabar Major Archiepiscopal Church and of the Archdiocese of Ernakulam-Angamaly on 18th January 1997. On 23rd December 1999 His Holiness Pope John Paul II appointed Mar Varkey Vithayathil as the Major Archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Church and as the Archbishop of Ernakulam-Angamaly. His enthronement as the Major Archbishop took place at St. Mary’s Basilica, Ernakulam on 26th January 2000. His Holiness Pope John Paul II nominated Mar Varkey Vithayathil a member of the College of Cardinals on 21st January 2001. In the consistory on 21st February he was raised to the dignity of a Cardinal. The sacerdotal golden jubilee of the Major Archbishop Mar Varkey Vithayathil was celebrated under the auspices of the Syro-Malabar Church on 8th November 2003. The jubilee was inaugurated on 12th June 2003 and was concluded on 12th June 2004 He is a member of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches, of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts and of the Pontifical Council for the promotion of unity of Christians. He participated in the funeral rites for Pope John Paul II and in the conclave which elected Pope Benedict XVI.
Cardinal condemns police raid in Divine Retreat Centre
Nov 01, 2006
Cardinal Varkey Vithayathil, Major Archbishop of the Syro Malabar Church on Saturday said the raid by the Kerala police on the world famous Divine Retreat Centre was “unnecessary and uncalled for.”
THRISSUR (ICNS, October 15,2006) -- Cardinal Vithayathil who visited the priests and the inmates of the Divine Retreat Center at Muringoor alleged that the police raid at Centre transgressed "all norms of civilized behaviour."
The police had inspected the retreat centre, under the Ernakulam Archdiocese of the Syro Malabar Church, on September 30 following a High Court order to assess its functioning.
The court order came after it received an anonymous letter and two compact discs implicating the Divine Retreat Centre in a series of crimes and irregularities such as murder, rape, foreign exchange violations and running a hospital without proper license.
The Vincentian priests that manage the Centre, which is Asia's largest Catholic charismatic retreat station, have denied the police charge saying the allegations against the Centre are aimed at maligning the good works that the Church is carrying out there.
Officials of the Centre have asked the state government to take steps to end what they describe as police harassment of the center staff and its residents.
Cardinal Vithayathil said it is sad and tragic that allegations that do not have any truth are hurled at the Retreat Center. “We should all know about the great service that the Retreat Center is providing to the people. Here, about 100 aids patients and 400 mentally challenged persons were being cared for,” he said.
The Cardinal also condemned the alleged misbehaviour by police on the Centre inmates during the raid.
The Divine Retreat Centre conducts weekly retreats in six Indian languages and English throughout the year. More than 10,000 people from various religions attend the programs, which begin Sunday evening and end Saturday morning.
"Die Familie ist die Arena, in der die göttlichen Geheimnisse gelebt werden"
Sept 12, 2006
Hirtenbrief zum Thema Ehe und Familie
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, 23. August 2006 (ZENIT.org).- In einem Hirtenbrief, der im vergangenen Monat in allen Kirchen des indischen Bundesstaates Kerala verlesen wurde, weist Varkey Kardinal Vithayathil, Großerzbischof von Ernakulam-Angemaly für die Gläubigen des syro-malabarischen Ritus, auf die lebensnotwendige Bedeutung der Familie hin.
Diese kleinste und zugleich grundlegendste Zelle von Kirche und Gesellschaft stehe heute neuen Herausforderungen gegenüber, den Folgen einer "Kultur des Todes", die sich durch einen verzerrten Blick auf das Leben und die Konsumgesellschaft auszeichne und das Familienleben und die Familienbande beeinträchtige.
Der 79-jährige Kardinal, der den Redemptoristen angehört, weist in seinem Schreiben darauf hin, dass die Geburtenrate in Europa derart niedrig sei, dass das Verhältnis von Rentnern zu Berufstätigen, das 2004 eins zu vier betrug, nach jüngsten Hochrechnungen im Jahre 2050 eins zu eins betragen wird: Die Hälfte der Bevölkerung werde sich dann im Rentenalter befinden.
Der Vorsitzende der Bischofssynode der syro-malabarischen Kirche erklärt zudem, dass sogar in der Familie immer mehr die Tendenz erkennbar sei, die anderen als "Beute zur Befriedigung unserer Wünsche und als Mittel unserer Vergnügen" zu benutzen. In diesem Zusammenhang kommt er auf die erste und bisher einzige Enzyklika Benedikts XVI. zu sprechen, die ausgehend von den Worten des ersten Johannesbriefs, "Gott ist die Liebe" (1 Joh 4,10), auch die Heiligkeit der Sexualität behandelt.
Der Heilige Vater sehe die Sexualität, die in die Logik der sich selbst hingebenden Liebe eingebunden ist, als einen "Ausgang des Menschen aus dem Gefängnis der Selbstsucht zu einem Zustand der Befreiung hin". In der Sexualität habe Gott die Liebe und die Zeugung von Kindern zusammengelegt. Der Mensch werde somit durch die Sexualität, diese "Kraft der aufrichtigen Liebe", zu einem Mitarbeiter Gottes in der Schöpfung.
Vielerorts würden Kinder allerdings nicht als die "Erfüllung der Zukunft von Mann und Frau" betrachtet, sondern als Hindernis für ein Leben, das nach Vergnügung trachtet, beklagt der Kardinal. Verantwortliche Vater- und Mutterschaft besage, dass diejenigen, die über "ausreichende Mittel und eine normale Gesundheit" verfügen, auch mehr Kinder haben sollten. Deshalb könne ihre "Entscheidung, keine Kinder zu haben", gegenüber der Gesellschaft als Ungerechtigkeit und auch als Sünde betrachtet werden.
Die Feier der heiligen Eucharistie, das Familiengebet, die Betrachtung der Heiligen Schrift und der Empfang der Sakramente sieht Kardinal Vithayathil als die "Kraft spendende Speise" an, um alle Herausforderungen zu bewältigen.
"Durch die Teilnahme an der Eucharistie können die Ehepartner ihre Liebe und Einheit erneuern. Durch die Erinnerung an die großen Geheimnisse des Leidens, des Todes und der Auferstehung Jesu in der Eucharistie wird es ihnen möglich, die Leiden, Versuchungen, Enttäuschungen und Fehlschläge ihres Lebens zu überwinden. Die familiären Nöte und Sorgen werden ihnen dann in einem Kontext der Liebe den wahren Frieden und die wahre Freude der Auferstehung bringen. Durch die Teilnahme an der Eucharistiefeier und den Empfang der Sakramente werden Mann und Frau zur aufopfernden Liebe befähigt. Erinnern wir uns an die Worte Jesus: 'Ich bin der Weinstock, ihr seid die Reben. Wer in mir bleibt und in wem ich bleibe, der bringt reicht Frucht; denn getrennt von mir könnt ihr nichts vollbringen' (Joh 15,5)."
In der Nachfolge Christi werde das Familienleben schließlich zu einem "Leben der Hingabe", zu einer "heiligen Feier, in der jeder seinen Leib und sein Blut mit den anderen teilt".
Pastoral Letter
Sept 11, 2006
Varkey Cardinal Vithayathil, the Major Archbishop of Ernakulam-Angamaly, to the Archbishops, Bishops, priests, Men and Women Religious and Lay Faithful of the Syro-Malabar Church, blessings and peace in our Lord Jesus Christ.
Dearly beloved in the Lord,
The year 2006 is being celebrated in many of our eparchies as the year of the family. As part of the celebration, already there must have been many awareness-building programmes organised in some of these eparchies. Nevertheless, we still have to go a long way in this regard in order to generate abundant fruits of the Renewal Year in the personal, family and societal levels of our life. Family is the basic unit of the Church and Society. Family and its mission is always a subject man ought to study deeply. The changes affecting human life today in its various spheres raise new challenges regarding family life. On the one hand we have increasing un-employment, job-environments that are not conducive to good family life and the migration of people to foreign countries while on the other hand there are ever-increasing anti-life outlook, uncontrolled selfishness and pleasure seeking. The evil effects of the destruction of the family arena which fosters the formation of new individuals will be far-reaching, resulting in a situation endangering even the very existence of humankind.
It is in the family that the transmission of the ancestral values and life-styles and the initiation of good education ought to take place. But the onslaught of the communication media and globalisation and the resulting distorted outlook on life and the culture of consumerism have affected our families very negatively and weaken family bonds. While social evils like alcoholism and drug addiction destroy the foundations of family life, other evils like abortion, suicide and family strife erode its very essence like cancer.
Today at least in 25 countries of Europe sufficient number of children to maintain the present level of population are not born. They are slowly becoming countries of old people. In 2004, there was one person out of five who could not work. But by the year 2050, latest calculations indicate that the number of persons who would not be able to work will be shockingly more - one person out of two, i.e., half the population. It is not the lack of economic resources or good health that has caused a lower birth rate in these countries. The reason for this appalling situation is the culture of death severely criticised by Pope John Paul II and the lack of love pointed out by Pope Benedict XVI.
These influences do find their way into our society too. It is in this context that the Synod of Bishops of the Syro-Malabar Church requested the Major Archbishop to issue a pastoral letter for all our eparchies concerning the sanctity of marriage and family life. Marriage is a holy sacrament instituted by God. The world and every one of us within it are created by God. God made Man a collaborator in His work of creation through sexuality which is the power of sincere love.
The Encyclical of Pope Benedict XVI basing on the words from St. John’ epistle “God is Love” (1 Jn 4:10) deals with the sanctification of sexuality. The Pope likens sexuality as an exodus of Man from the prison of his selfishness to a state of deliverance through self-giving. It is in the self-giving of love that sexuality becomes divine. It is only through the path of discipline and self-control sexuality can be sanctified. Otherwise sexuality will degenerate into mere pleasures of the flesh and an indefatigable craving for such momentary pleasures.
We can observe the tendency today of making the other as our prey for satisfying our desires and means for our pleasures. Many do not even recognise the grave problems this tendency creates in families. The Father and the Husband who cannot provide better comforts to his family become worthless. The wife who cannot give pleasure loses her worth. Children become hindrance to a life of pleasure. Persons who are driven by excessive desire end up in the hell of selfishness. In pursuit of their selfish joys, even those who can afford to bring up children, do not want them. Those who have the means should come forward to have more children and bring them up. Responsible fatherhood and motherhood demand this. The impact of a market mentality that has eaten into human relationships is visible on all levels of society.
Relationships outside marriage, the tendency to dissolve marriages even on flimsy grounds, entering into family life after having had pre-marital relationships – all these destroy the very foundations of family life and its flavour. Jesus taught: “Everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away” (Mt 5:28-29). Jesus did not teach us to suppress our emotions. They are like fire. If fire is not controlled, it will destroy everything. Just like a mother in her kitchen controls the fire and uses it as the heat to cook food, so children should be trained to make use of their emotions in a mature manner. The primary responsibility of forming children in this regard lies on their parents.
The Church teaches about responsible motherhood and fatherhood. God has united love and procreation of children in sexuality. There should be a responsible correlation between procreation of children and their upbringing. But today the tendency to avoid having children is on the increase among the couples who are motivated by selfishness to seek their own enjoyment. There is sin and injustice to society behind the decision of not having children by those parents who have the means and normal health. Children who have received life should become parents by imparting life. The future of the husband and wife is to be realised through their children. It is the love that is learnt in families that will flow into one’s neighbours and the society.
Today there is also the tendency to spend extravagantly to obtain prestige and positions in the society. Often celebrations of marriage, betrothal, wedding anniversary, birthday celebrations, baptism, first holy communion, etc. become celebrations of extravagance. This is an indication of the wrong priorities of values. The hopeless debt trap into which many families have fallen after such celebrations is also a problem to be seriously considered. Even when it is said that family life is faced with many problems, it is not meant that all families are victims of such problems. It is to be noted that there are many families which lead lives of exemplary husband - wife and parents – children relationships.
In order to counter effectively the challenges that affect families adversely, there are very effective means such as the Holy Eucharist, family prayer, meditation of the Word of God, and reception of sacraments. It is by taking part in the Eucharist that the couples can renew their love and unity. It is by remembering in the Eucharist the great mysteries of the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus that they are empowered to overcome the sufferings, temptations, disappointments and failures in their lives. The sufferings and sorrows in the families will provide to them in the context of their love, the true peace and joy of the Resurrection. It is through the participation in the Eucharist and the reception of the sacraments that the couples become capable of self-sacrificing love. Let us not forget the words of Jesus: “I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing” (Jn 15:5).
Family is the arena where heavenly mysteries are lived out. Family meals in our homes should become similar to the commemoration of the Last Supper of our Lord. Family life is a life of sacrifice. I pray that family life become a holy celebration where one’s own body and blood is shared with the others. Praying for the blessing of God and the true joy and peace of family life upon every father and mother, husband and wife, the youth and children in our families, I bless you in the name of + the Father and + the Son and + the Holy Spirit.
Given at Kakkanad from the Major Archiepiscopal Curia of the Syro-Malabar Church at Mount St Thomas on 10 July 2006.
+Varkey Cardinal Vithayathil
Major Archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Church
N.B: This pastoral letter is to be read out during the Holy Mass on Sunday, 13 August 2006 in all churches and chapels of the Syro-Malabar Church where there is Sunday Mass for the public.
Achuthanandan's remark most unfortunate: Cardinal
Jul 12, 2006
Taking a strong exception to Kerala Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan's remark that Christian religious leaders were making money running educational institutions in Kerala, Cardinal Mar Varkey Vithyathil Monday said the comment was most unfortunate.
Kochi (Kerala), July 10 (Indo Asian News Service) 'The chief minister's statement was most unfortunate. He has questioned a fundamental right of ours and it was not proper on his part to make such statements,' the cardinal told reporters here.
Achuthanandan had Sunday told reporters here that the Christian religious leaders should think about the common man rather than only making money by running educational institutions.
The chief minister was reacting to the Christian leaders' opposition to a new law to regulate the professional colleges - many of them run by them.
Meanwhile, the Kerala Catholic Bishops Council (KCBC) Monday decided to send a team to meet the prime minister, president and the National Minority Commission to put forward its views on the new law passed by the assembly last month.
The KCBC feels that the new law violated the fundamental rights of religious minorities guaranteed by Section 30(1) of the constitution.
The KCBC represents the Zero Malabar, Latin and the Malankara Catholic denomination communities who together account for more than 50 percent of the Christian community in the state. Christians account for 22 percent of Kerala's 32 million population.
In a related development, the Kerala High Court said that it would give its verdict Wednesday on a petition filed by the association of professional engineering colleges challenging the new law.
Cardinal Varkey Says "Forced Conversion" Laws Really About Stopping All Conversions
Jun 24, 2006
Says some high caste Hindus fear losing cheap labor of converted lower caste “untouchables”
COCHIN, Kerala, India, June 20, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The following is the second part of the LifeSiteNews.com May 31 interview with Syro Malabar Cardinal Varkey Vitheryathil. In this part we discussed the issue of “forced conversion” laws in place in some Indian states.
LifeSiteNews: In Kerala these past few weeks we have noticed quite a few articles about the “forced conversion” laws. Newspaper editorials are critical of Pope Benedict’s statement about the laws and one editorial referred to that statement as “Papal Bull”.
Cardinal Varkey: There is a growing Hindu fundamentalism. Before, when we were under Nehru, we were safe. The fundamentalists would not get even two seats in parliament. This fundamentalism was being spread through the villages, we didn’t even know it. They propagated hatred for missionaries, hatred for Christianity. They captured power in India as the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party – which bills itself as India’s largest political party). They expected to continue but they neglected the religious. Many of them are high caste Hindus. They are often only interested in the development of the upper class – Brahmins; but they are only a small number. The people recently voted against them [BJP] and elected Sonia Ghandi.
LifeSiteNews: Do you think this trend will stop, the passing of these laws against supposed forced conversion?
Cardinal Varkey: It was during their time [BJP] it happened. Now it is in states controlled by them. The states are also independent. They make laws in the different states controlled by the BJP. It is their concern about mass conversion. They are afraid of these missionaries getting money from say America or Canada and then buying people to the Christian faith. The Catholic Church never does this but we are all dumped with all the Christian missionaries. Some missionaries do it.
LifeSiteNews: But you are concerned about this trend of these bills?
Cardinal Varkey: Yes, we don’t approve of these anti-conversion bills which the Pope mentioned. The bills themselves are not against the constitution but the purpose is to catch Christians. The bills themselves are ok. Even if a Hindu makes a conversion by using money he will be put in jail. But in the particular state where the bill has been passed they can harass missionaries, saying you can arrest him and all that. This will cause harassment to the Christian missionaries.
The interpretation of the bill is directed against conversion. The fundamentalist Hindus don’t like anybody being converted now. It is directed against not only forced conversion but any conversion. Even without these bills forced conversion is always wrong. But, the fact is that a few of the Christian sects who come here, not the Catholic Church, these sects speak very abusively about the Hindu religion and so the fundamentalists are very angry at those people. They give religion without any faith and put water and baptize them and so make 10,000 conversions here and so on. So the Hindus are naturally upset by that and they won’t get workers also.
If you get more Christianity, that is another big problem for them, because all the low caste people, they have no religion, only these, what you call superstitious practices. They don’t have the high type of Hinduism, so these are the people they exploit. They are given a little bit of salary to make them work for 24 hours. That’s not possible in Kerala, but in North India they may get only 5 rupees (10 cents U.S.) a day, working from morning to night. When they become Christians they are told by the fundamentalists that their untouchability is still there even though there is a law that there is no untouchability. However, it is still a practice. It’s an old Hindu tradition.
Now then these lower caste people, when they become Christians, they become aware of their rights and they refuse to go for work, so they cannot exploit them. So these are all angering the high caste, fundamentalist Hindus.
LifeSiteNews: So do you perceive any serious problems in the future or not?
Cardinal Varkey: There are no serious problems. The present government has respect for the Pope. In India we have more freedom than many countries. They talk about freedom in Islamic countries but there there is no freedom. You say the mass and immediately you are arrested. Here, there is no problem except for this fundamentalism that has now started. They tried, this BJP tried, now three or four times to get this one member in the Kerala State Assembly. They are trying their best. Kerala people are educated Hindus so they won’t go for it. In this state alone they could not get even one member elected in the 141 seats. There is only UDF and LDF.
LifeSiteNews Interview With Cardinal Varkey in Cochin, India
Jun 21, 2006
In the southern Indian state of Kerala, Cardinal Varkey Vitheryathil is the leader of the state’s largest Christian denomination, the Syro Malabar Catholic Church. On May 30 LifeSiteNews visited the Cardinal in the official Archbishop’s House in the city of Cochin, the commercial capital of Kerala.
COCHIN, Kerala, India, June 15, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Following are excerpts from the interview which focused on life and family:
LifeSiteNews: We have seen that there is a very strong Catholic presence in Kerala, unusually strong.
Cardinal Varkey: The strongest in India
LifeSiteNews: Yes, and very fervent Catholics also. We went to mass and the masses were full and the people participated fully.
Cardinal Varkey: That is very true
LifeSiteNews: But, one thing we noticed is that every family seems to have only two children and it seems be frequently a boy and a girl and naturally the question is, “How do these two reconcile themselves”- fervent Catholics, yet only two children and where is this leading to since it is a below replacement level birthrate? With our experience on these issues it seems that it is going to lead to the disappearance of the Christians and the rise of the Muslims.
Cardinal Varkey: That’s very true but we are aware of that, we cannot do anything about it. The Muslims are 6, 8 children. They can even have more than one wife. So, they are a minority in India but in Kerala they are becoming almost the second biggest number and in another 20 years Kerala will be, at this rate of children, becoming an Islamic state because the Hindus are also not prolific. Kerala is a very educated state. Where there is high education the number of children go down.
LifeSiteNews: The other thing we noticed in discussions with people is there does not appear to be information to balance the influence to have these very small families. It’s not only economics, we are told that many of the Catholics have accepted the direction of the state that India must reduce its population in order to be successful.
Steve and Luke Jalsevac with Cardinal VarkeyCardinal Varkey: I don’t think so. Our Catholic families, they are very Catholic, many have houses like a monastery. Up to about 50 years ago, and myself I am from a family of 8 children, 12 children was very normal. There is an erosion first of all, in that kind of faith. In those days they had more joint families so they would support one another, different brothers would stay in the same house as the family, they prayed together and so on like that.
Now we have these atomic families, single families, and also under the influence of the media and so on there is an erosion of faith. But they go to church and in Kerala attendance at mass is practically 90% at Sunday mass. I don’t think anybody would miss Sunday Mass, they go to communion and all that but regarding after Humanae Vitae (Pope Paul VI’s encyclical affirming the Churchs’ traditional ban on birth control), you know, there were protests from Catholics, even Bishops in different countries, because Kerala people are aware of what is happening in the rest of the world. We learned that even many Catholic priests in the West are unhappy about Humanae Vitae and it was being said that it is a matter to be left to the conscience of the couple, that they can use contraceptives. Abortion, of course not. Some do that but very few.
But contraception became common because of the influence of loose Catholic doctrine coming from Western countries. So that thing has influenced the people and they won’t say it in confession because they say it’s ok because each one decides it in conscience. Nobody openly challenges Humanae Vitae but no priest also talks about it. So, it is not being discussed, but Pope John Paul said you must form your conscience according to the teaching of the church.
LifeSiteNews: How is natural family planning used here, if at all?
Cardinal Varkey: I don’t think many have any faith in that. Some say they don’t want to risk having a child through natural family planning. They want to be sure. There are many following natural family planning and probably a lot of them are successful in limiting their family.
Now to educate more than two children an average person has a difficult time and then also our new, younger ladies are not like the older women of great faith and so on. And our older women and mothers, they work for their family. They live for their children. They will go to pray in the church, morning mass, if possible, every day and go back and do the chores for the family. ….So, that kind of life is gradually going away.
LifeSiteNews: They have gone from the past way to the present much more liberal one. Is it possible that they could come back to some balance between the two?
Cardinal Varkey: It depends. We are trying. We have declared that this will be a year of the family. And now there is an all out effort to save the family, which is the basic unit of the Church and of society, so this year is the year of the family for us in Kerala. We are trying. Whether they will have more children, I have my doubts because now often husband and wife are working. Before the wife never took any work away from the household duties and family.
LifeSiteNews: The type of life they want to maintain now has a much higher standard than it had before.
Cardinal Varkey: Yes, there is a little craze for becoming rich, for all the comforts that the modern life has to offer them they must have money.
LifeSiteNews: We have pro-life organizations in North America. Do you have pro-life organizations here?
Cardinal Varkey: Yes, in India we have it but still in India even Catholics are aborting children.
LifeSiteNews: In the schools, you have so many schools, do they teach on these issues in the schools?
Cardinal Varkey: No.
LifeSiteNews: Why not?
Cardinal Varkey: See, talking about sex, sex education is rather poor in India. This is something very private, you know. Nobody talks about sex, you know even among the Hindus we do not talk about the plain truths about sex and the sex life. Now there is a bit of an improvement, sometimes. So children pick up their knowledge of sex from other sources, from the government and something like that. Parents never say a word to their children about sex.
LifeSiteNews: But in high school and beyond high school, at that age, it would be more appropriate to discuss at least the issues of population control and abortion and the real reasons why these are being pushed, the serious flaws in the arguments and the harm they cause. That is not so much sex education as very interesting and useful information and facts that most people would be interested to learn. The students would then tell their parents and then the wider community, Hindus and others. Everyone could benefit (at this point LifeSiteNews gave the Cardinal copy of the 54 page LifeSiteNews Special Report, The Inherent Racism of Population Control). This useful report covers one issue, population control, and the real reasons it is being pushed in the world and the poor foundation of arguments favouring it. There is much more information on other issues as well that you could obtain from LifeSiteNews.
Cardinal Varkey: In India, the Hindus and so on, they hate this idea of limiting population. They regard each human being as a gift of God - Hindus more than Catholics. So Indira Gandhi lost elections because of that. Her son was promoting sterilization. She was very popular but when they heard this sterilization was being encouraged they voted against her. That was the main reason. I don’t know if the world knows it. She lost the election. Then she came back again afterwards. Can you imagine, throwing out a lady just because of sterilization? That was 1977.
Today Sonia Gandhi doesn’t speak much about it. She won’t openly speak about it. She’s Italian and a Catholic and so on
St. Mary's Cathedral Basilica in CochinLifeSiteNews: In Kerela, what is the percentage of Catholics.
Cardinal Varkey: Now, it is fast decreasing. Now I think it is maybe 16%. The total Catholic population of India is only 1.8% but in Kerala we are maybe 5 or 6 million. In spite of this erosion of faith under the influence of media, Western influence, there is still strong Catholic living, there may be many practicing contraception, abortion, maybe some, but still we are ordaining about 253 priests per year this small church, and we have about 70,000 sisters. Half of them are working in the Latin rite. About 70% of the missionary personnel in the whole of India comes from the Syro Malabar community. In Kerala the Syro Malabars number 3.5 million. The Latin Church is of recent origin, only three centuries or so. There are about 2 million Latin Catholics in Kerala.
We have a traditional Indian philosophy which we inherited because we are Hindu converts from long ago.
But how long it will last I don’t know. There is a big onslaught of TV, media, making it so worldly attractive. But in spite of that the Church is very vigorous because we have about 4500 catechism teachers in my diocese, lay people and sisters. So in each diocese a good catechesis is going on
As for a pro-life movement, we will try our best, we will try our best.
I am told that Muslim girls, from an early age are told you must have 8 children. More than 8 children, it’s a special blessing of Allah. We don’t do anything like that.
But there is such a deep peace from having a larger family.
Yesterday, was my birthday, 79th birthday. In my family there were 8 children. Every day we would go for mass, that was a must, but we were not forced. And the love among the children, some are in England, some in America, some here, it is something wonderful when we come together. We have such strong family bonds of love. The world cannot understand this.
Da Vinci Code maligns Christ: Cardinal Vithayathil
May 17, 2006
Cardinal Varkey Vithayathil, Major Archbishop of the Syro Malabar Church says the controversial film Da Vinci Code distorts history and maligns the adorable person Jesus Christ and his message.
Kochi (ICNS, May 13, 2006) -- Following is a statement that Cardinal Vithayathil issued on Saturday on the controversial film.
I understand that Dan Brown’s novel Da Vinci Code is now released as a film.
I am constrained to state that the novel is purely an imaginative work that distorts history and sacrilegiously maligns the adorable person of Jesus Christ and His message. I would like to make some important points for the sake of people of goodwill who are committed to truth.
1.Jesus’s purported marriage with Mary Magdalene is purely a figment of imagination with absolutely no foundation in history. There is no historical document, Christian or otherwise, to substantiate the claim.
2.The myths of the Holy Grail and Priory of Sion are mere legends with no historical substance. Therefore, the so-called secret and its keepers, including Leonardo Da Vinci, are imaginative creations having no historical veracity.
3.The claim that the Morovingians are the descendents of the girl child of Jesus born to Mary Magdalene smacks of racism, indirectly claiming that the Europeans are some way the descendents of Jesus Christ. This kind of rereading of history is born out of a total lack of honesty regarding historical facts.
4.Christ was never married nor had he any physical descendants. Jesus said, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it" (Lk 8:21). So every person who follows His words is His descendant. These types of sensational things will only help to lower the high sexual morality preached by Jesus Christ who had said, “But I say to you that every one who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Mt.5:28).
5.The novel has already created a lot of confusion and pain to people who believe in and honour Jesus Christ. India’s secularism positively respects all religions without showing undue favour to any. In such a country, it is highly deplorable that film of this kind is allowed to be screened, disregarding the religious sentiments of millions of citizens. I would exhort Christians not to be unduly agitated and to pray that this film may never get clearance for publicly screening in our country.
Cardinal says drunken driving a sin
May 17, 2006
Drunken driving is a sin that ought to be confessed, says India Cardinal Varkey Vithayathil in a recent pastoral letter.
(May 10, 2006, UCA News) Drunken driving is a sin that ought to be confessed, says India Cardinal Varkey Vithayathil in a recent pastoral letter.
Observing that auto accidents claim thousands of lives every year, the major archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Church says those driving under the influence of alcohol commit a "sin against self and others."
The letter was read May 7 in parishes of Ernakulam-Angamaly archdiocese, which the cardinal heads. It blames drunken and careless driving for most road accidents in Kerala, the southern Indian state where the Oriental Catholic rite is based.
Cardinal Vithayathil quoted La Civilta Cattolica, a Rome-based Jesuit magazine that the Vatican's Secretariat of State reviews before it is published, to stress that those driving under the influence of alcohol commit a sin by placing lives at risk.
Road accidents killed 3,060 people in Kerala in 2005, the cardinal said, quoting official statistics. Throughout India 52,000 people were killed and 45,000 were seriously injured in 410,000 reported accidents.
Kerala, with a population of 31.8 million people, about 3 percent of India's population, accounts for 12 percent of road accidents in the country. It ranks third among the 28 Indian states in the number of road deaths, trailing only Maharashtra, in western India, and Tamil Nadu, Kerala's eastern neighbor.
Appealing to his people to cooperate with authorities to ensure road safety, Cardinal Vithayathil analyzed the reasons for the increasing number of road accidents in Kerala. He cited high speed, drunken driving, disregard for road safety rules, unscientific and faulty road construction, and narrow and crowded roads as some reasons for the high number of accidents in the state.
Syro-Malabar Church spokesperson Father Paul Thelakat said the cardinal wants to draw the attention of Catholics and others to road accidents. "Our concern is for human lives. Drunken driving is on the rise in the state. The Church wants to sensitize the faithful about the problem," he told UCA News.
Police officials and Church members welcomed the letter.
P. Vijayan, a police official, said he hopes the Church members would take the letter seriously. Cardinal Vithayathil has addressed "a major social problem of the state," the Hindu officer told UCA News May 9.
Vijayan is the top police official in Kochi, the state's commercial capital, where Cardinal Vithayathil is based. Kochi is 2,595 kilometers south of New Delhi.
The pastoral letter "is timely and socially relevant," Vijayan said. "Our roads have become death traps due to our carelessness. Only through creating better awareness can the problem be minimized." He also expressed the hope that other religious leaders would take similar initiatives.
Ajith Peter, who lost a friend in a road accident in 2005, says he finds the pastoral letter "relevant and rational." The 34-year-old Syro-Malabar Catholic says the police alone can not ensure road safety, because the "basic problem" is the absence of "civic sense" among people.
Peter said the cardinal's letter shows the Church's "concern for social issues" and gives it a human face.
"Despite all warnings, people drive carelessly and kill themselves and pose a threat to others. We need more aggressive campaigns," said Peter, who works in Kochi and has driven a motorcycle for more than 15 years.
The pastoral letter marked the second time since the cardinal became major archbishop in December 1999 that he appealed to Catholics to increase their awareness of how their actions impact society.
In 2003, he wrote a pastoral letter asking his people not to inconvenience other road travelers and neighbors with religious activities such as processions and parish feasts. That letter also urged Catholics to control alcoholism, opulence and degrading entertainment programs in connection with religious festivals, and to avoid commercialization of these events.
The Syro-Malabar Church and the smaller Syro-Malankara Church are Oriental rites based in Kerala that follow Syrian liturgies and customs, and trace their origins to Saint Thomas the Apostle. They and the larger Latin rite, which follow the Roman liturgy introduced by European missioners in the 15th century, make up the Catholic Church in India.
Source: Union of Catholic Asian News - UCA News
Cardinal pronounces Kerala priest 'Blessed'
May 07, 2006
About 60,000 people gathered on April 30 in a village in the southern India's Kerala state for the beatification of a priest who died 32 years ago.
(UCA News, May 01, 2006) About 60,000 people gathered on April 30 in a village in the southern India's Kerala state for the beatification of a priest who died 32 years ago.
Cardinal Varkey Vithayathil, head of the Syro-Malabar Church, led the ceremony that declared Father Augustine Thevarparampil blessed. Pope Benedict XVI deputed Cardinal Vithayathil, who heads this Oriental-rite Catholic Church as its major archbishop, to conduct the ceremony.
The Redemptorist cardinal read out the beatification proclamation first in Latin and then in Malayalam, the language of Kerala. Church bells tolled and firecrackers exploded as a choir sang the new blessed's name.
The priest, popularly known as Kunjachan (little priest) because of his short stature, worked and died in Ramapuram village, Kerala, where St. Augustine Parish of Palai diocese is based. He is the sixth Indian and Kerala's fourth to be beatified, a step below sainthood.
His beatification, however, was the first of the six led by a cardinal. Pope John Paul beatified Sister Alphonsa and Father Kuriakose Elias in 1986 when he visited Kerala. The late pope also beatified Mother Mariam Thresia in 2000 and Blessed Mother Teresa in 2003, both at the Vatican. Blessed Joseph Vaz was beatified in Sri Lanka, where he worked and died. Pope John Paul visited the island nation in 1997 to conduct that beatification.
Bishop Joseph Kallarangat of Palai told UCA News that 50 bishops, 500 priests and 8,000 nuns attended the four-hour beatification rites for Father Thevarparampil in the village parish of the revered priest. Ramapuram is 60 kilometers east of Kochi, a city 2,595 kilometers south of New Delhi
Cardinal Vithayathil said Blessed Thevarparampil's "exemplary life should inspire us. That is what God expects from us." He also said the blessed priest worked for dalit, low-caste people at the bottom of India's tiered caste system, trying to improve their lives socially, economically and spiritually.
The cardinal recalled that in leading a simple life, the priest considered these people once called "untouchables" as his "sons and daughters ... baptized them, educated them and lifted them up from the gutters."
In a letter sent to Cardinal Vithayathil, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, the Vatican's secretary of state, asked the Indian prelate to conduct the beatification at Ramapuram in the name of Pope Benedict.
While Pope John Paul II personally conducted beatification ceremonies in his time, Pope Benedict has been deputing cardinals to lead the rites in his name. He has, however, conducted canonization ceremonies that declare new saints.
Blessed Thevarparampil was a popular figure even before his elevation. His tomb in the village parish has already become a pilgrim center for people from all over Kerala and much of India.
Born in 1891, he became a Palai diocesan priest in 1921 and lived most of his priestly life as an assistant pastor in his native Ramapuram parish. He died on Oct. 16, 1973, and the Church has declared Oct. 16 his feast day.
Archbishop Pedro Lopez Quintana, apostolic nuncio to India, and Cardinal Telesphore Toppo of Ranchi, president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India, attended the beatification.
Father Kurian Mathoth, vice postulator of Blessed Thevarparampil's cause for sainthood, told UCA News that the beatification was "a joyous occasion for all of us." Father Mathoth, who said he personally knew the blessed, said, "We were all waiting for this day."
Father Mathoth said documents submitted to the Vatican include evidence of the miraculous cure of Gilson Varghese, now 25, born with a clubfoot. Just before the beatification began, Varghese told UCA News his cure was "God's will, and I've just become a tool ... My prayers were answered and I got a new lease on life. If I had not been cured, my life would have ended in despair."
Varghese said his parents were too poor to afford the three operations doctors suggested to correct his deformed leg. Instead, he prayed to the saintly Father Thevarparampil and visited his tomb in 1991. He and his parents continued to pray, and one day he woke up with his foot cured.
Father Mathoth said his team carried out "a detailed inquiry" into the case with the help of medical specialists. "It was indeed a miracle," he said. Varghese now works in a computer firm.
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