Catholic Church at Cross roads

As the Conference of Bishops commences at Vatican for considering changes with far reaching consequences , today's newspapers carried an important news . Pope has issued a non specific apology ,which the press has interpreted as an apology to the victims and families of child abuse by Catholic clergy.During his visit to US and Cuba , Pope tried to defend the child abuse by endorsing the efforts by Bishops to contain the aberration . Faced with severe criticism by support groups of scandal victims and from general public,he retracted from his earlier position by amending the statement by praising the efforts of some Bishops who took exemplary action against the accused priests . However , he forgot or concealed the fact that some Bishops themselves were guilty of the crime against which some other Bishops won commendation from the Pope !!!

That the Catholic Church globally is a divided house is no secret . Events leading to the abdication of Pope Benedict XVI , a hardcore traditionalist and elevation of Pope Francis a liberal to the core was only a partial revelation of the division .  In fact it was a turning point of the division.The ongoing conference of Bishops in Vatican to discuss family issues is heading to a hardening of stances by the traditionalists and liberals.

It is certainly not easy for the conference of Bishops to take a categorical stand on two major issues-handling of divorced laymen who remarry without the approval of Church and the child abuse issue . Celibate priests and nuns have been a great source of strength for Catholic Church . Apart from a totally dedicated workforce who are able utilise their entire resources -time, faculties ,money et all-,their total dedication to Church without having to think for their families have provided the Church a lot of strength . But however ,not all of them were celibates in the real sense at any time . In the middle ages there were popes with more than one child of their flesh and blood . Priests and Bishops have also fallen pray to the temptations of Cupid.
What has made the situation serious at present is the media exposure of such activities and the victims coming foreword with revelations . Catholic Church which is facing serious decline in the western world suffered heavy blows due to the recent united action by families of victims.

Divorce has been a social reality in the west and other semi westernised African countries.Asia and other regions are fast catching up .Catholic Church has their own tribunals in each Diocese to examine cases where the couples want to separate . But the procedure in such courts take a lot of time to complete the process .This has resulted in the couples in a hurry to come out of the bond of marriage to go the civil courts and get a divorce decree.But church insists that since Holy Matrimony is a sacrament , only the Church has the authority to annul it . Those persons who manages to get their marriage annulled by Civil Courts,remarry and that in the Church lexicon becomes an illegal relationship . Such persons get expelled from Church . Loss of a few people was considered to be affordable as a price for maintaining discipline in earlier days , but today,with such divorcees on the increase and loss of followers in large numbers on the other side, the "price"for maintaining discipline has become unaffordable.So the Church is considering ways and means to make the procedure simpler and faster .

Approach to Gay marriages is another issue tormenting the Church . Some Bishops including one Bishop in Vatican have either confessed being a Gay or at least facing allegations of being one , the church is at crossroads on this issue too.The conservatives and liberals are bound to take diametrically opposing  stances.
This could well be a turning point in the History of Catholic Church.

Pope Francis' Vists to US and Cuba

World over, people are looking at Pope Francis with a profound hope that  the pontiff will bring about changes for the better functioning of the Catholic Church.Simplicity has been his operative word since assuming the highest office of Catholic Church.His approach to most issues were not cast in the traditional iron clad straight jacket mould characteristic of Catholic Church.His visit to Latin American countries-especially Cuba was watched with keen interest . But icing on the cake had been the visit to US.
Visits by Popes at different points of time have always been a matter of keen interest to the people of US.It was so this time also ,despite coinciding with visits of many other Heads of States including China  Russia and India.Address of the Pope to the US Congress was a well guarded one ,following the norms typical of previous Popes.But what has triggered discussions on a large spectrum were those concerning the refugees,same sex marriages,and child abuse by Catholic Bishops and priests.

Refugees from Syria,and other middle east countries resulting from the atrocities of ISIS is a massive problem faced by European countries . US had been maintaining a stoic silence on the issue since it did not concern them.Refugees have no way to reach US from Middle East unless they are provided airlift or carried in vessels.European countries who were finding it extremely difficult to cope up with their existential issues are completely lost on what to do with the refugees . Even Germans who normally are refugee friendly threw up their hand due to the sheer numbers involved in the current context . Pope urged US to share the burden which is too heavy for Europe to cope with.The appeal has given a good publicity millage to pope ,but it is unlikely to change ground reality . The ongoing discussions in connection with the Presidential election of 2016 has at the centre stage immigration issue . Although Democratic party to which Obama belongs is for a more immigrant friendly policy , they are unable to extend that to the Syrian emigrants due to the Republican Party candidates rousing the conservative population in US on the issue of immigration.So the pronouncements of the pontiff can only serve as an image builder .

The next issue dealt with by Pope is on same sex marriages and liberalising divorce procedure of Catholic faithfuls.On same sex marriages , although Pope did not justify it , he deviated from the conventional view of downright condemning it . Reading between the lines he spoke, he seems to be favourably inclined to accept it as a reality and to look at the same sex oriented with compassion , as people afflicted by a decease rather than as sinners .But with regard to liberalising marriage annulments , he has been more forthcoming. He has given out his view that if divorce is inevitable , the procedure should not be cumbersome.On both these issues ,his stand is in line with the current realities.But the question is whether as the Shepperd of shepherds,is his duty limited to swimming with the current or to be the moral conscience keeper of the faithfuls.This has raised questions like "Is Pope Catholic?" He replied to the press who raised this issue with a mischievous smile "Should I repeat the Creed ?"He meant the Niccian Creed ,but certainly Catholic Church is redefining some part of their traditional views . It is being projected that the reforms are Pope Francis driven . I choose to believe that the need to reform the Church has brought Pope Francis to that coveted chair . Pope Benedict the first Pope to abdicate in recent history,did so because he was a hardliner for traditions and a conservative to boot and could not withstand the pressure for reforms.

Regarding the sexual abuse by clergy including some Bishops and attempt to conceal the abuse by some other Bishops,the Pope was at a difficult spot . First he tried to gloss over it by glorifying the Bishops who acted to contain the vice.But the dissenting voices were so strong that he had to make amends by issuing a statement condemning both who committed the atrocity and those who abetted it . He also found time to console some of the victims .

Probably as part of image building,the New york Arch Diocese released some impressive figures regarding their activity in the field of education.Out of 29000 students enrolled in their education institutions,69% live below poverty line ,Average cost per student is$7000 ,whereas average tuition fee paid by students is $5500,etc .This is certainly impressive if the published data is realistic and has no been mutilated.

Pope's visit to Cuba did not figure prominently in the media to the extent of US visit. Nevertheless, it is noteworthy . It was not usual for Popes to visit Cuba , forget about meeting Fidel Castro ,who has been branded as a Communist or at least a left sympathiser . By meeting both Raul and Fidel Castros , he has held out an olive branch to the left . He must have found that Capitalist countries are fast becoming a loosing ground for Catholic Church and hence the need to look elsewhere for ground support

Is Capital Punishment Justifiable ?(Continuation)

Human rights groups and Civil liberties activists raise many reasons why capital punishments should be abolished.Some of them are as follows:
1.Many countries have abolished Capital punishment and hence we also should.
2.There is no corelation between the harshness of punishment and crime rate.
3.In the event of a death penalty is given to a person,there is no way of correcting that error, should fresh evidence surface at a later date .
4. It is an extention of the crude principle of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth
5.A humen being is not entitled to take the life of another humen being even if the state empowers him to do so.

On a proper analysis,it becomes evident that all the above arguements donot hold water.Each country may have their own reasons to include or exclude certain types of punishments in their judicial system.Merely because some countries have abolished death penalty (or for that matter any other provicio of law)it doesnot become imperative on our part to follow suit.

It is very absurd to say that there is no corelation between crime and punishment.To put it more explicitly,the arguement that harsh punishments do not bring down crime rate is an openion expressed by certain sections of people withot any facts or studies to back it up.But it is factually true that middle east has a much less crime rate than most countries where punishment and law enforcement are much stricter and faster.

It is possible that despite all oppertunities to an accused to prove his/her innocence,there may be a remote possibility of some innocent person getting a death sentence . It is also true that there maybe still remote possibility of the person's innocence coming to light at a later date . It also goes without saying that the death penalty that has been awarded cannot be undone at that point of time.But all this is true of all punishments that are awarded ,like imprisonment for a certain period . If the innocence of an accused is proved after that person underwent imprisonment,how can his /her years be made good ?Why,there are upteen number of cases where accused are kept under custody for many years as undertrials and they are aquitted at the end of the trial.If we are to follow the arguement of the ante death sentence lobby ,it may not be possible for any kind of punishment to the accused even if there is solid proof.

Problem is that humen rights organisations are taking extreme positions wherby they are knowingly or unknowingly helping criminals ,ante socials and terrorists. 

Is Capital Punishment Justifiable ?

There had been a plethora of eminent and not so eminent personalities  in India coming out against capital punishment . This was in the backdrop of confirmation of death sentence of Yakoob Memon ,one of the prime accused in the conspiracy leading to a series of bomb blasts in Mumbai causing the death of more than 250 innocent citizens who were engaged in their day to day life activities . This incident is said to be a reaction to the riots in neighbouring state of Gujarat which again had its roots on a series of riots consequent upon the demolition of Babari Masjid in Ayodhya,in the state of Utter Pradesh.This write up doesn't attempt to discuss the rights or wrongs of those bizarre incidents ,and certainly not to analyse them.what is attempted here is to discuss capital punishment as provided in the Indian Penal code.

Accused in murder cases can be convicted to hanging until death ,as per Indian Penal Code . It is the highest punishment that can be given to an accused,charges against whom are proved . The Supreme Court of India has interpreted this proviso as one that can be given only in rarest of rare cases.No definition or even criteria to determine what is "rarest of rare "is not available from any source , So it becomes the duty of the judicial officer who considers the case to determine if a particular case falls in that category.There are at least 3 different levels of judicial officers who consider a case . Only district and Sessions court or equivalent can conduct the first hearing in a case for which capital punishment can be awarded . If the sessions court is to award capital punishment against an accused ,the same has to be reviewed and confirmed by a Judge of the High Court.Aggrieved party-prosecution or accused can file an appeal with the high court and if not satisfied with the decision of the high court appall can further be filed with the supreme court.In the case of capital punishment,the condemned party can approach the president of India with a clemency partition for reducing the death penalty to life imprisonment.

After all this if a person is found to have committed a crime worthy of capital punishment,well,so be it.

Human rights groups and others who advocate for abolition of capital punishment raises certain issues,which will be dealt with in the next blog post