Corruption and the Church response to malaise within, and in
the nation
JOHN DAYAL
The butler of the Pope says his own indiscretions
were to get some sunlight into the murky goings on in a section of the Vatican.
With at least two Church of North India bishops in jail, some senior Pentecostal
and Evangelical Pastors and a few Catholic Bishops and Archbishops accused by
their laity and priests of various shenanigans in matters of finance and
properties, it is difficult to pretend corruption is not an issue with the various
denominations of the Indian church. Institutional structures of Islam,
Hinduism, Sikhism and even Buddhism at the highest levels are also grappling
with the debilitating impact of moral turpitude in general and financial misadventures
in particular.
Collectively, corruption in all religions
and their institutional structures does not begin to approach the massive
corruption in the political, administrative and corporate sectors, but it can
hardly be tolerated as religious institutions and personnel claim to represent
the moral edifice of the nation, and strive to be accepted as the conscience of
the country. The people therefore look askance at, and are deeply disturbed by,
occasional media exposures linking god men including self styled God-men, Shankaracharyas,
Lamas who head important Sanghas, members of Gurudwara committees and Christian
clergy caught with their fingers in the till.
If people in the West abhor corruption
as something alien to their civilization, the anger is even more in India, a
country of 200 million rich and a full billion poor. Corruption has different meaning
among the faithful in India who see it as a betrayal of their trust, apart from
corruption being a crime in the eyes of the law and a sin under religious
codes. This is where the magnitude of corruption within the church is so
different from its ethical counterpart in the corporate private sector and the
public domain, which means in the government sector. Metaphorically, if the
salt has lost its salinity, how would it regain that taste of the pure stuff?
There is a ray of hope. A debate is
beginning within Catholic and Protestant churches on how to respond to internal
corruption and, externally, how to relate to the several civil society
movements, now virtual crusades in their intensity, that are now posing a
challenge to the political and corporate establishment.
The elephantine structure that it is,
the Catholic Church in India has been the slow one in this matter. The
relationship between sovereign dioceses, the overlay of Rites and their
relationship with the Catholic Bishops Conference, now severely restricted in
its scope after the reforms of the last decade with no mandatory powers over
anyone, makes nuanced decision making a very slow process, even if the will is
present.
Very little exercise is done in
studying ideological and political overtones in issues of national important. Theological
studies defining moral responses to other issues are also no more than an
occasional phenomenon, and then borrowing copiously from the Vatican’s Social
teachings of the Church without too much modification to suit local social,
economic and political environmental conditions. It would be a futile search if
one were to look for official documents presenting the Church position on the
subject of corruption other than the official spokespersons’ assertions in the
media that the church is opposed to all forms of corruption in the nation’s
body politic.
Therefore, individual bishops have responded
in the light of their own wisdom to the Anna Hazare movement and, after the
split in the India Against Corruption, to the breakaway faction of former
Income tax official Arvind Kejriwal who now heads his own political party.
The most visible has been the action of
the Delhi Archdiocese and its Archbishop, Monseigneur Vincent Michael
Concessao, nationally one of the most respected Catholic figures in India.
Kejriwal has been calling on the Archbishop for ten years or so, in fact from
the time that he launched himself into the very successful Right to Information
Movement with Aruna Roy and others and had started dreaming of a campaign
against corruption in the government.
It was not surprising that when the
India Against Corruption [IAC] movement-cum-NGO was formed, Abp Concessao found
himself co-opted into the core committee, together with a few of his priests,
convinced of the motives of the man. As a matter of fact, many of the early
meetings of the Core committee were held in Catholic offices.
At that stage, perhaps, there was no
need to examine or even suspect Kejriwal’s motives, intentions and ambitions.
The national mood of euphoria had been set by the media, particularly the 24x7
telecast by the national English and Hindi satellite channels in metropolitan
cities exhorting people to come to the rallies of the IAC. In those heady days
of make-believe, it almost seemed the battle had been won against corruption and
it was only a matter of days when the government collapsed, the prime minister capitulated
to Hazare-Kejriwal-Kiran Bedi, corrupt politicians were arrested, officials
sacked and the hundreds of billions of rupees in black money stacked away in
Swiss banks was brought home to dispel gloom and poverty overnight.
Those pleading caution and an ideological
understanding were pushed to the margins. A few Jesuits who had seen through
Kejriwal, people such as Fr. Ambrose Pinto of St. Joseph’s College, Bangalore, put
their opinion into books, but without making a real impact on the church.
The first jolt was not far coming. The
Hazare’s first rally at Delhi’s sprawling Ram Lila Grounds, even as the
Archbishop and some of us sat on the stage, it was noticed that the backdrop
had little to do with the battle against corruption and more to do with the
sort of hyper nationalistic patriotism associated with the Sangh Parivar. The
slogans matched the backdrop. The stage itself was monopolized by political
ideologues who espoused that theology.
The Archbishop continued in the core
committee but did not attend any more of similar public rallies. After some
months, once the true colours of the Kejriwal gang became apparent, the
Archbishop politely withdrew. There never was a question that his presence in
the core committee would persuade Kejriwal to change strategies or even his
acrid language. It is a moot question if IAC missed the presence of the major
religious groups in it leadership in Delhi or in the few states where they were
active.
Unlike Archbishop Vincent and some top
leaders of the Federation of Catholic Associations of the Archdiocese, other
Catholic and Protestant Bishops and Lay leaders were not on the scene at all.
In hindsight, perhaps it was for the good, though at one time, the Catholic
community in the city was being persuaded to be seen at Kejriwal’s and Hazare’s
meetings and rallies at Jantar Mantar crossing on Parliament street in the
national capital and other places.
This writer may be wrong, but
Protestant Bishops were not members of the core committee, and neither did they
exhort their communities to join the movement. The Evangelical and Pentecost
church has not been a part of civil society action on most issues, and makes
its presence felt specially in protests against the persecution of Christians
in various parts of the country, or on issues relevant to their denominations.
Perhaps there is need even now for all
church groups to come together and debate a response to the corruption that is
sapping the nation’s strength and putting a strain on its economy. The Christian
community and the church at large does indeed have a role as an important
member of the national civil society and should contribute in some creative way
to further the debate on the tackling of corruption in the nation.
If the Catholic Church leadership has
been somewhat visible in the issue of national corruption, it is almost absolutely
invisible in the debate on corruption within the church where the evangelical
church has taken a collective lead.
It is not that there is no corruption
within the Catholic church where the preoccupation with retaining the FCRA
permits of various religious congregations, and the need to protect the interests
of educational institutions have made the church vulnerable, and religious
personnel vulnerable to demands of illegal gratification by officials of local
and state governments.
There is also the matter of properties
and financial administration in parishes and dioceses. There are issues both of
Indian civil law and the Catholic Churches’ own Canon Law and Code of Canon
[for the two Syrian churches] in terms of financial transparency. The life
style of some in the clergy does invite comment, and large dioceses such as
Mumbai, there have been open allegations against some priests of defalcation of
parish funds, or their refusal to be answerable to anyone on the disposal of
church collections. A canonical stipulation of lay and expert participation in
financial committees is not observed in letter and spirit in many dioceses and
within them, in many parishes. And though the Catholic Church is till buying
properties to set up institutions, in some of the major dioceses, where there
have been donations on land in the past two centuries, there are now
allegations that the properties have been alienated in procedures that lack
transparency.
In recent weeks, there have been
important developments in the Catholic Church indicating a willingness to engage
with the issue. The most important of these was the symposium organized by the
Theological Association of India at Jullundur in Punjab in October this year,
held at Bishop’s house with Bishop Anil Couto formally inaugurating the
deliberations of 50 very eminent scholars from congregations, colleges and
seminaries across the country. Participating in it were philosophers of the
stature of Jesuit Fr. TK John. The symposium has seen a honest and sincere
effort at understanding all facets of corruption, including the moral one
relating to the Dalit issue in church and society on which Prof Fr. Ambrose
Pinto held forth with some force.
The formal statement of the ITA symposium succinctly said the Catholic Church was aware of the impact of corruption
on national life, and particularly the marginalised and the poor, Tribals and
Dalits. The church recognised corruption both as a crime under the Indian laws,
and a sin in the eyes of God. Religious communities of all faiths must come
together to raise their voice against it. The ITA cautioned against politicisation and fragmentation of the
struggle against corruption lest it dilute the impact. Corruption was also
linked to the process of globalisation of the national economy. Women and
children were the worst impacted.
The scholars are considering an action plan
for the Church in India to spot and remove whatever corrupt practices may have
entered institutions so that the Church can become an example to others in eliminating
all forms of corruption.
Of great importance is the Operation Nehemiah exercise
initiated by a section of the Evangelical churches under the Lausanne Movement which has also seen
remarkable participation by some catholic leaders and officials of the National
Council of Churches and the Evangelical Fellowship of India. Some Bishops of
the Syrian Churches also participated. The Catholic hierarchy was represented,
in their personal capacity, in the thinking activity over the last year and a
half.
The three cardinal principals of this exercise were a theological
understanding of assets as being creation of God, vulnerability and temptation
of church personnel and therefore the need for creating and putting in place systems
of management and auditing. An important argument underpinning the exercise was
the understanding that unlike criminal law, intention is not to merely punish
but to offer an opportunity to the guilty to redeem themselves, most
importantly through the promise of making good the loss, or what is called the
principle of reparations. It was, of course, understood that at all times, the Church
has a critical role in civil society as a part of the same society and it must
have the courage to speak out and lead, and therefore like Caesar’s wife, it
had to be clean itself.
The discussions were wide-ranging, and from all points of
view – philosophical, technical, legal, spiritual. In fact at one stage, there
was a serious if slightly hilarious debate if a confession of collective guilt in
a Christian sort of way opened the person or institution to prosecution by law
agencies of the government.
The end product of the exercise is the Operation Nehemiah Declaration
against corruption, ONDAC, which is now in the public domain and is being
presented to mainline and independent churches as a working paper to spark off
a debater in various for a.
It remains to be seen if churches will unanimously adopt it,
or will modify it to suit their own genius.
But it is an exercise that is well begun.
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Box item with John Dayal’s article on corruption
Operation
Nehemiah Declaration against Corruption (ONDAC)
Bengaluru,
September 2011
Introduction:
A gathering of concerned Christians in
leadership in the Church in India in all its glorious diversity, took place on
the 2nd of September 2011, at Bengaluru, as a part of the Operation
Nehemiah Movement, to be “salt and light of society.” The gathering recalled
the remarkable contribution that the Church and her institutions have made to
the development of India, besides discussing issues of financial corruption in
the country and the Church, while grieving with its victims on the
margins.
Affirmation
Giving praise to God the creator, redeemer and
sustainer, we, in faith, affirm that:
1. God invites us as the Church in India to participate in the
building of our nation and calling her to be true to the national motto of Satyamev Jayate (truth alone triumphs).
2. God is the rightful owner of all land and natural resources. Every
man and woman, individually and collectively has been appointed as the steward,
finally accountable to God.
3. We acknowledge that God gives all positions of leadership and
authority for the purpose of service and governance. We believe that God has
created men and women in his image and likeness, so they have life and fullness
of life.
4. The mission of the Church includes being witnesses to the Good
News, freeing the oppressed and creating a just and corruption-free society, so
that all will enjoy abundant life. The Church, in theology and practice should
transform the lives of people, so that everyone experiences the will and
purposes of God on earth.
5. Domains of power, position and authority expressed through
structure and systems in society and the Church, are particularly susceptible
to the temptation of corruption, leading to inequality, injustice, manipulation
and oppression.
6. Financial corruption in all its forms is not acceptable to the
Church and society under any circumstances.
Confession
Christians have always
recognized that confession and repentance of our sins is an integral part of
our reconciliation with God and with one another. In accordance with that
belief and in faithfulness to the teachings of our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ that we should first remove the “plank in our own eyes,” we repent and
confess the sin of corruption in our personal lives, Church and nation, which
has tainted our love for God.
Lord, the God of
heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those
who love him and keep his commandments, let your ear be attentive and your eyes
open to hear the prayer your servants are praying before you. Almighty and most
merciful Father we lower our heads before you and we confess that we have
sinned in thought word and deed. We confess that we have not always been good financial stewards. Instead, we have
often exploited and appropriated God’s assets for our own selfish advantage. We
have failed to consistently demonstrate a sense of responsibility and
accountability. Honesty, truth and integrity have tended to become negotiable
values. We have not always acted justly towards each other and have sinned
against God the provider. We have
left undone those things, which we ought to have done; and we have done those things,
which we ought not to have done. For these things we ask your forgiveness and
we also ask for your strength.
Set us free from a past
that we cannot change; open to us a future in which we can be changed to always
live with honesty, truth and integrity. Grant us grace to grow more and more in
your likeness and image, through Jesus Christ, the light of the world. Amen.
Commitment
With God as our helper
1. We desire to overcome the sin of financial corruption by
submitting to the supreme authority of Christ and follow His example of
justice, righteousness, humility and sacrificial service.
2. We will continually examine and radically change our lives in response to God’s
indignation at the state-of-affairs and His redemptive desire for all creation.
3. We resolve to be honest stewards of God-given resources, willingly
submitting to appropriate scrutiny and correction, adopting good governance,
and conducting self-critical review of our practices, to encourage responsible
behavior for financial integrity.
4. We are committed to upholding the highest levels of integrity in
all our financial interactions with society at large.
5. We do not encourage any irregular financial transaction with any
organization or body - governmental or otherwise.
6. We commit to making and working with institutions that uphold the
highest standards of financial accountability and transparency.
7. We commit to encouraging awareness and vigilance regarding bribery
and unethical financial practices.
8. We commit to working towards an India that is transparent and
without corruption.
9. We will work with other movements at every level to respond to the
issues of Financial Corruption, to express God’s presence with, and love for
the victims of financial corruption.
10. As a community that lives under the grace, forgiveness and
redemptive power of the Lord Jesus Christ, we are committed to enabling healing
and reconciliation for those who repent of acts of financial corruption.
In obedience to God we, individually and
collectively, strive to remove corruption from Church and society, thus
providing avenues of healing, reparation and redemption, which leads to
restoration of the body of Christ, our nation and all of creation.
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