With its Tacit Support For the Waqf Bill, the Catholic Church Has Violated Canon Law

The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, which heavily impacts the minority Muslim community, was enacted into a law by Parliament with the tacit support of the Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council and Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI) who had no mandate to do that. It is not known as to by what authority (Qua Warranto) these unelected bunch of prelates assumed authority and supported a vital legislation that has far-reaching consequences for India’s secular fabric without any consultation with the Laity.

By doing this, they have violated Canon Law 212 §3 which lays down: “They (Laity--Christ’s Faithful) have the right, indeed at times the duty, in keeping with their knowledge, competence and position, to manifest to the sacred Pastors their views on matters, which concern the good of the Church.”

Therefore, consultation was an imperative and CBCI owes an explanation to the Catholic Laity on this. Be that as it may, even before the ink dried on the Waqf Bill, master-puppeteers of the ruling establishment have shown their true colours!

The web portal of an RSS-linked magazine (Organiser) has in an article sought to draw the Narendra Modi government’s attention towards the land held by the Catholic Church! In an article titled “Who has more land in India? The Catholic Church vs Waqf Board debate,” RSS has claimed that the Catholic Church owns around 7 crore hectares (17.29 crore acres) of land throughout the country and the total estimated value of these properties is around Rs. 20,000 crore, making the Church a significant player in India’s real estate landscape.

The fact that this is recycled information and the article was subsequently taken down are immaterial because the intention to launch one more powerful ‘astra’ at the Catholic Church is crystal clear.

RSS's hatred towards Christians and Catholics

My personal experience is that even though the communal bigots in the RSS treat Muslims as enemies, their real hatred is towards Christians in general and Catholics in particular. Because despite being a miniscule community (just 20 million i.e. 1.55% of the population) Catholics have been punching much above their weight with their institutions and organisations of excellence in the fields of education, healthcare, social service and charity.

See the massive numbers: “The Catholic Church (in India) runs over a mammoth 50,000 schools and 400 colleges, six universities and six medical colleges that look after over 85,000 beds throughout the country several of them in remote locations. It also takes pride in more than 5000 registered NGOs catering to the basic needs of over 5 million poor and marginalized people annually.”

RSS also dislikes the faith rooted in the biblical principle of “Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.” For most of them being agents of wealthy moneybags, they hate the marginalised and the poor!

From the moves they are making, it is evident RSS has found the “Achilles Heel” of the Catholic Church –its monarchical structure dominated by ‘clericalism’ which abhors democracy. Clericalism is "a policy of maintaining or increasing the power and pomp of a religious hierarchy."

Indian prelates are fierce adherents of ‘clericalism’ which is a legacy of the Church which was born in an era of empires and monarchies, and its ‘leadership’ is modeled on the societies of the time. But while all those empires have fallen and those monarchies have become democracies, the church has stayed mired in the past, clinging to the medieval model of one absolute ruler and a few ‘princes’ who makes the decisions for everyone.

The origin of Christianity was democratic

Ironically, the origin of Christianity as conceived by Jesus Christ was democratic and not monarchic or clerical. In original Christianity, democracy was not an alien secular concept. In fact, it has better biblical roots than the claims of pope and diocesan bishops to privileged rights to teach and rule.

When Jesus addressed governance, he said: "You know that in the world the recognized rulers lord it over their subjects, and their great men make them feel the weight of authority. This is not the way with you; among you, whoever wants to be great must be your servant, and whoever wants to be the first must be the willing slave of all." (Mark 10:42-43).

The early church knew its freedom in the spirit and did not shy from helpful adaptation. They knew there was no blueprint handed down from heaven. The monarchical structure and authority of the Church was built by Emperor Constantine and not Jesus Christ. By clinging to it, prelates and priests in India are negating the concept of democracy ingrained in India’s constitution and the teachings of Jesus Christ himself.

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Jesus Christ had also spurned temporal wealth, pomp and authority. He very clearly said, “My kingship is not of this world.” (John 18: 36). Just before Jesus's entry into public ministry, he was tempted by the devil, “And the devil took him up, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, and said to him, "To you I will give all this authority and their glory; for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. If you, then, will worship me, it shall all be yours” (Luke 4: 5-8).

But Jesus declined devil’s offer of wealth, authority and pomp of this world. He also asserted “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and Mammon” (Mathew 6:24). The message is clear. Clergy is to serve God and should not get messed up in political and monetary matters, which are best left to the laity who are “Christ’s Faithful”.

What the Canon law says

What has the Canon law got to say in the matter? Let’s see a few of them:

Can. 204 §1: Christ's faithful are those who, since they are incorporated into Christ through baptism, are constituted the people of God. For this reason, they participate in their own way in the priestly, prophetic and kingly office of Christ. They are called, each according to his or her particular condition, to exercise the mission, which God entrusted to the Church to fulfill in the world.

Can. 208: Flowing from their rebirth in Christ, there is a genuine equality of dignity and action among all of Christ's faithful. Because of this equality they all contribute, each according to his or her own condition and office, to the building up of the Body of Christ.

Can. 212 §3: They have the right, indeed at times the duty, in keeping with their knowledge, competence and position, to manifest to the sacred Pastors their views on matters, which concern the good of the Church. (Lumen Gentium-37-Vatican II Document)

Even the apostolic tradition encourages democracy in the Church. After the crucifixion of Christ, the ten apostles convened a synod at Jerusalem along with the faithful. The major problem sought to be resolved by the apostles was the administration of the temporal wealth of the Christian community.

The Gospel reads as follows: “...And the twelve summoned the body of the disciples and said, 'It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. Therefore, brethren, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint to this duty. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word” (Acts 6:1-4).

Here, the apostles established a healthy divide in the Church. Accordingly, the spiritual mentors of the Church shall have nothing to do with the administration of the temporalities of the Church and this should be done by the elected representatives of the community.

It was for the first time in the history of the world that administration of temporalities of the community was vested in the elected representatives of the community. It is very clear from the teachings of Jesus Christ and decisions of the apostles that there is no sanction for the spiritual mentors to administer the temporalities of the community.

This was also the tradition of the Indian Church, known as the Law of Thomas or Thomayude Margavum Vazhipadum. This is attested by documents. According to the Law of Thomas, there was clear demarcation between the spiritual service and the administration of temporal properties. The temporal properties of each church were administered by the elected representatives of the community.

Clericalism has taken over the Church

But what is happening in the Catholic Church today are not in consonance with the above mandates, teachings and traditions. It appears that ‘clericalism’ has overtaken everything. Pope Francis in his address to the Synod Fathers at Synod2018 has come down heavily on this undemocratic apparition: “Clericalism arises from an elitist and exclusivist vision of vocation, that interprets the ministry received as a power to be exercised rather than as a free and generous service to be given. This leads us to believe that we belong to a group that has all the answers and no longer needs to listen or learn anything. Clericalism is a perversion and is the root of many evils in the Church.”

The Pope has launched a Synod movement to get rid of “clericalism” in the Church. But with the well-entrenched vested interests, the Holy Father’s efforts are coming to naught. This is particularly so in India where the ‘clericalists’ are willing to go to any extent to protect their turf including political genuflection! Arbitrary and unilateral support to the vexatious Waqf legislation is a clear example!

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Therefore, we need to invoke the Constitution of India adopted in 1949 and effective in 1950, that establishes India as a sovereign, socialist, secular, and democratic republic, ensuring justice, liberty, equality, and fraternity for its citizens, and serves as the foundation of India's democratic system. Will and mandate of the people is at the core of India’s democracy. Priests and prelates cannot deny this basic right to the Catholics quoting Canon Law which can at best be subservient to the Constitution.

As a matter of fact, “Canon law helps the church community to be faithful in what it is called to be, and in its mission of ‘the salvation of souls which is the supreme law.’ (Canon. 1752)”. Canon law should confine itself to the ‘salvation of the souls’ and cannot be brought into the political and temporal affairs of the Catholics and the Catholic Church. In these areas, the Constitution, democracy and its principles should prevail.

It is imperative that the Church and its ‘leaders’ need to introspect and evolve a management and decision-making process by fully involving the Laity that could make the church participatory and democratic. Sunlight being the best disinfectant, it should be abundantly let into the portals of the Church and its institutions in the form of democratic functioning. This is the only way for the Church to face the challenges in the coming days.

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