We Need To Relate To One Another As Brothers And Sisters: Delhi Archbishop By MPK Kutty, SAR NEWS
NEW DELHI (SAR NEWS) -- Archbishop Vincent M Concessao of Delhi has an abiding interest in inter-religious dialogue. He feels that there are 'hard realities' such as poverty, injustice, ill health, conflicts, greed, absence of love and forgiveness that demand that religiously inclined people cooperate to make a difference to conditions in this great nation. Unassuming and deeply human, he spoke to this reporter April 20 about the spate of new interpretations of the life and times of Jesus Christ that had appeared in the media of late. The archbishop, strongly convinced that we are all bound by a common destiny, also dwelt on his current concerns relating to societal transformation and nation-building. Q: This Easter we have seen a spate of press reports questioning the time-honoured beliefs about Jesus Christ. I mean the Da Vinci Code, the discovery of the Judas's Gospel, and the new 'finding' of an oceanography professor that Jesus, might have walked on a floating piece of ice and not on water. Archbishop: Newspapers look forward to publishing what is sensational without bothering to find out the truth of the matter. The Gospel of Judas is an old document rejected by the Church as apocrypha. While the four Gospels of the New Testament – Matthew, Mark, Luke and John – belonged to the first century, the Judas's Gospel belonged to the third or fourth century. It did not satisfy the canons set by the Church. Several other accounts of Jesus' life have not been recognised as authentic by the Church. Q: Do you see any agenda or pattern behind such publications? Archbishop: It only shows that newspapers are interested in picking up those things which feed the curiosity of the people and entertain them. There is little attention paid to the truth, authenticity or genuineness of what is dished out to the reader. Q: How is it that though it is known that the Da Vinci Code is only fiction based on biblical characters, it has acquired such wide popularity and credibility? Archbishop: Writers have a way of raising questions which prompt readers to come to certain conclusions. I have not read the novel myself but had seen writings and comments opposing the contents of the book. Q: Do you think these new accounts of Jesus' life will cause the faith of many to be destroyed? Archbishop: No way. These are like fads and fashions. They do not last. People will forget all these. You may recall that every Christmas, we have seen newspapers carrying reports that Jesus visited Kashmir. Believers will not be swayed by such stuff. Of course those who do not want to follow the Lord will have found another excuse not to trust the Gospels! Q: Some on the brink of believing might be disturbed by these reports… Archbishop: Not necessarily. Remember the 'God is dead' philosophy which appeared with a bang on the religious scene? Its proponents are dead and gone. But people's faith in God is increasing. God is more alive today. More so with Jesus. Q: I have heard some say that there is a positive angle to these controversies. The fact that they evoke widespread interest points to the relevance of Christ to modern times. Otherwise, these publications would have been ignored… Archbishop: In fact more and more people of other faiths pray to Jesus and draw inspiration from His teachings. I recall British historian Arnold Toynbee writing that while the tall figures of history fall one by one, Christ continues to grow in stature. Q: Is it true that Christians, particularly missionaries, are stuck with the charge of proselitisation? Archbishop: Sometimes it is what psychologists call 'projection'. The communalists are blaming others for an action that they are guilty of. Spreading lies and rumours is a strategy which Hitler adopted to achieve his goals. Followers of Hitler now pursue the same method. Repeat a lie ten times and some will come to regard it as truth. But you cannot fool the people all the time. They will come to discover that they are being misinformed and misled. Q: How do you account for the growing animosity towards all Christian activities including social work undertaken by nuns? Archbishop: Very often it is ignorance and brainwashing by vested interests who use religion for political ends. Of course, even the opposing fundamentalists recognise the Christian contribution in the areas of health and education, but they accuse us of wrong motives. Here again psychology is at play. They can never understand the philosophy of love; our desire to serve fellow beings arising out of our love of and obedience to the Lord. They wonder how we can do anything at all without a hidden agenda or love of gain. Q: Do you think there is growing communalisation/ polarisation of our society? Archbishop: Both forces are at work—forces that unite people and forces that divide. There are those who have grown in understanding and respecting diversity, be it in culture, law, religion, etc. At the same time because of massive invasion by the media and exposure beyond desirable limits people are inclined to turn in on themselves and find roots for security and for self- identity. Q: By now large numbers of non-Christians who have gone through Christian educational institutions are part of society. How is it this has not made a difference to the general situation of intolerance, conflicts and violence? The educated should have served as salt and light of society…making a difference. Archbishop: We have made a contribution in improving personal lives of the people in terms of morality and personal values; but perhaps not so much in terms of social values which lead to social transformation covering justice, equality, human rights, solidarity and so on. The education policy, which was recently reviewed, seeks to overcome this lacuna. Societal transformation and nation building will receive greater emphasis in the new policy. Q: How about the charge, even within Christian circles, that the Church had mostly catered to the elite through its prestigious educational institutions? Archbishop: We have made a survey of the services provided by Catholic schools all over the country and found that we are educating more girls than boys, more rural youngsters than urban, more of those belonging to lower-income groups than those belonging to higher-income brackets. And it is all the more so when it comes to health care. Again, in the field of social development, the target group is the poor. We have a large number of institutions and relief works whose beneficiaries are the poorest of the poor like street children, leprosy patients, dying destitute, the aged and the homeless. What is even more consoling is that our lay people are taking initiatives in serving the poor by forming institutions like Snehalaya, Birds of the Air and so on. Q: What are your suggestions for making our society more harmonious and peaceful? Archbishop: We have to change our perception of people. We need to focus on the fact that we share the one and same human nature, no matter how different we are in respect of culture, religion and language…that we are fellow pilgrims on this planet and have a common destiny...that we are inter dependant …which means that we need to relate to one another, learn to 'give and take' and operate within limits. Bound thus, we need to look at one another as brothers and sisters belonging to a global family cutting across all borders, yet rooted in one's own culture. _____________________________________________ Do not post admin requests to the list. Goanet mailing list (Goanet@goanet.org)
