More women participation in Church after empowerment initiatives

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NEW DELHI (UCAN) -- Women are now taking on greater roles in the Indian Catholic Church after bishops began emphasizing gender justice and women's empowerment a year ago. However, more work still needs to be done, women leaders say. "Definitely, women's participation and involvement in Church activities have increased in the past year," said Salesian Sister Lilly Francis, secretary of the Commission for Women, on March 5.

Her commission, which comes under the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI), prepared material for the Indian bishops' 28th plenary meeting in February last year. During this meeting, prelates from India's 160 dioceses addressed women's empowerment in the Church and society, along with related issues.

A CBCI survey conducted before the meeting indicated that Catholic women had practically no role in the decision-making bodies of the Church here.

Sister Francis said the survey sought to identify practices that excluded women from decision-making, with the intention of fostering gender sensitivity in Church and society.

The survey also highlighted the need to improve the roles of women in the social, political, economic and spiritual arenas.



A year after the meeting, Sister Francis said she is happy as her commission has "received great response" from all 12 CBCI regions, who were told to draft practical suggestions to increase gender justice and enhance women's roles in Church and society.

"All the regions have sent their drafts to us, except Orissa," she said. The Church in the Orissa region, which was hit by anti-Christian violence in the last four months of 2008, has promised to send its draft later in March. All drafts would be presented to the bishops in April, the nun said.

Nuns and laywomen were involved along with bishops and priests in drafting these plans, she noted. "I think this is a great sign as women were not involved in policy-making earlier."

The nun said some dioceses had already begun taking steps toward more gender equality. In Idukki diocese in Kerala state, the finance committee recently included a woman as a member, and in central India's Nagpur diocese a nun was appointed the assistant director of a social service center. Some nuns now work with the CBCI commissions for youth and communication, she pointed out.

These developments show that more and more women are getting "effectively involved," Sister Francis said.

Chinnamma Jacob, a laywoman leader in New Delhi, however, said there is still a long way to go. "The implementation of the CBCI plans and people's suggestions are under way, but it is moving very slowly."

Jacob, president of the Council of Catholic Women of India, said the CBCI is expected to finalize the regional plans soon, after which the Church would start to integrate them into a national plan.

"So it is a long process," she said. However, once the drafts come together, "things would move faster."

Court rules against demolishing ancient churches

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, India (UCAN) -- The High Court in India's southern Kerala state has rejected the plea of a parish priest who wanted to demolish two ancient churches.

Some Catholics in the state say the demands of the Ramapuram parish priest shows the Church's poor sense of history.

The High Court on March 4 said the two churches are historical monuments and should be protected. St. Augustine Church was built in the 16th century and St. Mary's Church in the 19th century. They are in Palai diocese.

Father Mathew Narively had appealed against a government notification stipulating that he was not to demolish the churches. He said he needed the space for a new church building to accommodate the growing parish population.

Justice Antony Dominic, a Catholic, dismissed his appeal and observed "there was no substance" in such contention.

The government reacted when a group of parishioners resisted the priest's plans, saying the churches are linked to the history of the Oriental-rite Syro-Malabar Church, one of the three Catholic Church rites in India.

"These monuments speak volumes about our rich culture and history. If we destroy them, we are wiping out our past," said P.J. Cherian, director of the Kerala Council for Historical Research and a member of the Mar Thoma Church. The Church is one of seven in Kerala that trace their faith to Saint Thomas the Apostle.

He welcomed the ruling as it will help to "protect many more historical monuments facing demolition threats."

In June 2008, the government declared the two churches as monuments under the provisions of the Kerala Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act 1969.

Cherian said Christians' lack of a sense in preserving historical monuments would further impoverish the Church.

Joseph Zacharias, a Ramapuram parishioner who opposed the demolition, said he was happy with the court ruling, which also showed that the Church had little regard for its own history.

The churches, standing side by side, are "a treasure trove of invaluable murals and a blend of Indian and Portuguese architecture," he said. The mural on the Lord's last supper inside one of them is considered a rare piece of art and believed to be the work of an Italian monk, Zacharias said.

Father Narively said he was not against the conservation of structures of archaeological importance but needed to build a new church for more worshippers.

However, Catholic layman Joseph Pulikunnel called his logic absurd. The parish could "easily build" another church on its 12.12 hectare compound without demolishing the ancient ones.

The court ruling, he said, will help create better awareness among the public and Catholics on the need to preserve historical monuments.

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