NEW DELHI: It was all about babies initially, but now the Missionaries of Charity’s (MoC) decision to close down their adoption centres in India protesting the government’s new liberal adoption laws is becoming another politico-religious controversy.
To stop the issue from taking political colour, the NDA government had sent feelers to the Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI) seeking intervention. But the CBCI and the MoC—which are being openly supported by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee—have spurned the government’s plea and have decided to stick to their position of withdrawing from all adoption activities.
The CBCI, the apex religious body of Catholics in the country, had convened a meeting of religious heads and legal persons at its headquarters on Thursday in this regard.
“The CBCI is of the view that the MoC congregation has every right to close down their adoption centres in India if they find the new rules against their belief system,” said a priest with the CBCI about the outcome of the meeting.
According to him, accepting these rules amounts to accepting same-sex relationships and couples living together, which are contrary to the Catholic Church’s stated positions.
Founded by Mother Teresa in Kolkata, the congregation runs several orphanages across the country that offer children for adoption. It had announced its decision to shut down all its centres as a mark of protest against the government’s new rules that allow even single women to adopt. The organisation’s 16 orphanages under the name of Nirmala Shishu Bhawan provide shelter, food, medical care and schooling to abandoned and destitute children.
The Women and Child Development Ministry, however, argues that the guidelines issued in July are more in tune with the times as it says that a single woman is eligible to adopt a child of any gender. “We are making adoption hassle-free and transparent. It also regulates adoptions nationwide,” an official said. When told about the CBCI’s decision, the official said that it and MoC were comparatively “closed” when compared to the philosophy of the current Pope.
“Pope Francis, whom the Catholics consider their religious head, is quite open on the issues of gender and same-sex relationships. Hope the CBCI and MoC listens to Pope,” the official said when asked about CBCI’s position on the matter.
He said that going by the Church’s position, even widows would not be able to adopt. “It is ridiculous.” According to him, the controversy erupted only because of the religious colour that MoC has. “As it is a religious matter, we wanted it to be sorted out that way and had sought the help of the CBCI,” he added.
“The MoC runs only 13 government-recognised centres. But the brouhaha it has created is huge,” a ministry official told The Sunday Standard.
Immediately after the MoC announced its decision to withdraw from adoption activities, Banerjee had come all out in its support and had demanded a national debate on the matter. “We fully support MoC and Sister Prema in their decision to opt out of the adoption programme. They have a right to do so. The essence of India is unity in diversity. This is the pillar of our great nation,” Banerjee had said. She had also wanted other political parties to take a stand on the matter.
The official said that the ministry wanted the controversy to be sorted out at the earliest as it would affect the future of children and thousands of parents who want to adopt. According to data from the ministry, 3,924 children were placed for in-country adoption during 2013-14.
The Church, however, sees a concerted effort behind the current controversy and links it to RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s statement on Mother Teresa. Bhagwat had said that though Mother Teresa’s service was good, conversion to Christianity was the main objective behind it.
“We feel all these are connected,” a Church functionary said.