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The Need for an Indian Church The recent call by the Sarsanghachalak of the
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Mananiya Shri K S Sudarshan, for the Christian
churches to be indigenised has predictably provoked angry reactions from those
who call themselves as secular. What is missed is that this call is not
something new, and has been the position of the RSS for more than forty years.
It is therefore necessary to understand properly
the background of this call. What is being asked is not for Christians
to become Hindus in the religious sense. What is being asked is that the
Christians of India should control their own affairs without any interference
from outside. So the crux of the matter is to investigate if there is
such an interference. That the Christian churches are monolithic is a
fact that is a feature all over the world. Christianity itself is not
monolithic, given the large number of churches which compete with each other.
But each of the churches has its own hierarchy, which controls its churches in
different parts of the world. The control of the church hierarchy on its members
in India is quite total, where matters relating to the church, secular and
communal, are concerned. The property of the churches are controlled by
the same hierarchy. This hierarchy takes its instructions from a central
body, located outside the country. It is responsible for appointment of
the priests at different levels, and the priests have to take instructions
from the central body if they are to maintain their position within the
hierarchy. In the October 1947 issue of the pastoral
magazine of the Roman Catholic Church of Goa, the Archbishop of Goa and East
Indies, Dom Jose DaCosta Nunes (a Portuguese national), informed his readers
that the Pope had sent him a message advising him not to let Goa out of his
hands. The Pope made it known that
Goa is an indispensable part of Portugal, and it was the Archbishop’s
responsibility that the Portuguese flag is held in high esteem. The
Archbishop advised his disciples to oppose the idea of Goa’s merger with
India. The Niyogi Committee that went into the way
Christian missionaries were operating in what is now Madhya Pradesh, gave
instances of how money from abroad was sent to convert the innocent tribals of
the area. Two American missionaries
who were forced to leave the country by the Nehru government because they were
encouraging a secessionist movement in the North East. In the mid-80s, two members of his Roman Catholic
Church filed a case against the then Archbishop of Chennai for
misappropriating church funds. The latter made a plea that Indian laws
did not apply to him in matters that were internal to the church, since an
Archbishop automatically became a citizen of Vatican. The complainants
can only protest to the appropriate authorities in Vatican. In 1997, there were elections for the head of
the Seventh Day Adventist Church in India. An Indian citizen was
overwhelmingly elected. However, the church masters in the United States
did not approve of the person. The election was invalidated and a
Canadian citizen appointed instead. Such examples can be given in very large numbers.
This state of affairs is not only detrimental to the Christians of India, but
to India itself. The Christian churches are known to be pawns in the
games of international politics being played by different countries in the
world. The October 1, 1997, issue of the pastoral
bulletin of the Archdiocese of Goa, has an article giving an instance of such
influence. In 1982, the Vice-President of America, Nelson Rockefeller,
went to South America to investigate the liberation theology being practiced
by the priests of the Catholic Church, as well as the rising anti-America
feeling. In a secret document, called the Sante Fe document, Rockefeller
concluded, “The Catholic Church has ceased to be an ally in whom the United
States can have confidence.” Among the recommended actions to counter the
influence of the Catholic Church was an extensive campaign with the aim of
propagating Protestant churches and conservative sects in Latin America, in
order to propagate the United States as saviour of the people in the struggle
against communism. On theological issues, the various churches
frequently use the weapon of excommunication to ensure that the line taken
from the Vatican is not deviated. In
Sri Lanka, Fr Tissa Balasuriya, wrote about the need to proclaim that
salvation is also possible in Buddhism. He said that he was extending
what the pronouncements in the Vatican Council II of the late 60s were
supposed to have said. The reward that Fr Tissa got for his efforts was
excommunication. This was revoked only when he was forced to give an
abject apology to the Vatican. In India, Catholics are discouraged from reading
the book of Fr Anthony DeMello, who projected Hinduism in a favourable light.
Don Mario Mazzoleni of Italy was excommunicated for saying that the teachings
of Sai Baba have made him a better Catholic priest. In a document called “Dominus Jesus”, the
Vatican has stated that all religions are not equal, that followers of all
non-Christian religions are “gravely deficient”, and their rituals
constitute “an obstacle to salvation”. In context of the Pope’s
call to make Asia into a Christian continent in the third millennium, the
Hindus have much to be apprehensive about. “Dominus Jesus” has not received even mildly
adverse remarks from the Christian community in India.
While the hierarchy is constrained due to its organisational requirements, the
laity is constrained by the threat of excommunication. This threat can
be eliminated only when there is independence of the churches in India, even
in theological matters. Unlike Christianity, Hindus believe in multiple
paths to salvation. What Hindus ask of members of other faiths is not to
make conversion their mission. This can happen only when the Christians
in India have a full understanding of their own heritage, and not be guided by
those who have programes designed to harm Hinduism. (Ashok Chowgule, President, Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Maharashtra).
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