Exalting the mysteries of god is the sales pitch of religion. Of all the powerful religious institutions to have perfected the art globally, the most effective is the Catholic Church. It promotes its representatives as the epitomes of ethical conduct—both the bishops and cardinals in regalia as well as its humble messengers in black. Yet, like all other institutions, there are black sheep on the pulpit. The inclusion of rape accused Bishop Franco Mulakkal in the Thrissur diocese’s official 2021 calendar has raised Cain among the laity. His smiling photograph adorns its March page, dated to his birthday.
Mulakkal is accused of Biblically knowing a nun by force. After the scandal’s inferno pushed the Vatican into an embarrassing corner, the diocese took away his bishopric though he remains a servant of Christ. This is a second coming for the Father; his picture had appeared in last year’s calendar too, which provoked many of the faithful to burn copies as they are doing now as well.
The Catholic Church, like all other edifices of faith, has to lead by example. The conduct of Mulakkal and other fallen angels could be explained away as “For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.” (Mark 7:20-23). Then why did the custodians of the kingdom of God in Thrissur paste Mulakkal’s smiling mugshot on its calendar? The reason is faith and loyalty.
The faithful expect God’s messengers to be irreproachable in conduct. They are the wives to God’s Caesar. They deliver spiritual sermons. They hear confessions and grant absolution. They distribute the Eucharist, dispensing the body of Christ and his blood to his worshippers. As it says in Romans (13:1 ), “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.” Therefore, the Church cannot admit that it was wrong in bestowing the power of salvation on an errant priest. It is the shepherd of souls, even if one among them is blacker than a cassock and whiter than a lie in a surplice.
Rome has for decades suppressed the rape of children by anointed pederasts. Last week, two German nuns were arrested for enabling their priest to continue raping children. Though such evil continues unabated in rectories, millions of souls are also being tended and saved. Doubt is the Devil and Faith is the devotee’s crown of thorns. God simply cannot afford to be wrong. On an aside, neither can godmen. Asaram and Ram Rahim are in prison. Swami Nithyananda has fled the country to avoid prison. But the Church protects its own.
The Modi government shows no mercy towards missionary organisations that convert unbelievers. The terrible inequalities of political and feudal exploitation in the tribal belts and Dalit caste atrocities have driven many dispossessed Indians to take shelter with missionaries. Now is a good time for social reform; for a new Raja Ram Mohan Roy or Vivekananda to rise up. Meanwhile, the BJP in Kerala has launched a Christian outreach programme hoping to find a place on the next election calendar. As the Bible says, “Bad company ruins good morals.” (Corinthians 15:33). Bad morals may be good company, too, but choosing the right bedfellow is important in both politics and religion. Mixing both is a seduction worth avoiding.
Ravi Shankar
ravi@newindianexpress.com