The Vatican Church, according to R.L.Francis, National President of Poor Christian Liberation Movement is unmindful of the dignity and plight of its poorest adherents. Hear him cry foul against the highest office of ecclesiastical authority…

Did you know the Vatican could very well think of setting up another Vatican in India? Right now, there are 160 dioceses in the country; in the next 50 years, it is set to touch 450. Sixty years ago, we converted from Hinduism and took refuge in Christ and Christianity in the hope of a secure and a caste-discrimination-free existence. But it wasn’t quite the salvation that was promised. The fact is that, of the 160 diocese for a five to six crore strong Christian population (though official estimates settle at 2.5 crore) there are only six dalit and 15 tribal representations. Besides, the local community has no idea about the Rs 6000 crore that comes in through FCRA (Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act) into the country. The Church proposes, the Church disposes... it's discrimination at the worst level of injustice.

The Church (Vatican) is an extremely powerful entity. It’s not easy to stand up against the Church. Do you remember the Gujarat earthquake – a time when the Vajpayee government had refused funds from the Vatican? Well, if it’s got the wherewithal to extend help to governments you can well imagine the extent of its muscle! According to the Canon Law – the last word in ecclesiastical authority – any land purchased for even a parish is in the name of Vatican, Rome! It’s that exclusionary a set-up.

There is the clergy and the laity in the religion. We, the latter, are merely expected to attend Mass on Sundays and make donations and that's it. In the capacity comprising 70% of the Christian population, we are seeking a say for the dalits in decision-making; the 40,000 institutions run by the Church ought to have members from our community. Secondly, the selection procedure of the Bishops must lie with the laity and not Rome as is currently the case. The Pope is probably handling more than he is required to, like commenting on another religion and appointing bishops in distant lands. Decentralisation and democratisation would be a step in the direction of genuine benefit for us. Thirdly, they should focus more on development of the community rather than on reservation – that’s not what we want.

I had met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2004 and given a memorandum suggesting something like a development finance board in place of reservations for dalit Christians. Basically the Vatican is pushing for reservation so that there’s nothing to dissuade the 16 crore Hindu dalits from conversions. To send us back to the Scheduled Caste list is akin to betrayal… aastha ka balatkaar hai (a rape of our reposed faith).

The proclaimed program of ‘evangelisation’ – preaching the gospel – is mainly aimed at getting more ‘converts’, so there are more donations. Did you know the annual Sunday collections amount to Rs 200 crore? Even if just that amount was routed to constructive welfare…

Jesus was born to a carpenter; His disciples also hailed from the destitute strata of society. He'd once cried, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest…” But today, those attracted by the soulful invitation are far from finding anything remotely solacing. The Vatican, I guess, is forgetting the crux...

Anil Pandey & Indira Parthasarathy           

  Sources, THE SUNDAY INDIAN, 21 January 2007

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