Christmas and the new outlook in the church

by W. T. A. Leslie FERNANDO

It was a cold and silent night. Some shepherds were watching their flock by night in a field near the city in Bethlehem. Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared before them and said "Fear not. I bring you news of joy. For in the city of David a saviour is born." Then a multitude of angels sang praising God "Glory to the God on the highest and on earth peace towards men of goodwill" (Luke 2/11-14).

The shepherds followed the light from heaven and found baby Jesus in an abandoned cowshed in Bethlehem with Mary and Joseph. It was to this very cowshed, that the three kings from the East came in search of the divine baby guided by a star and paid their homage with gifts - frankinscense, myrrh and gold.

Thus Christ the King of Kings was born poor and humble in a cowshed at Bethlehem, while his divinity was proclaimed by holy angels, innocent shepherds and crowned kings. Christ being the son of God, he could have been born to power, wealth and worldly distinction. But in his birth, Christ had made the important decision that the luxuries of the world was not for him and he would reject them for himself.

When Christ began his ministry, he went from place to place saying "Foxes have holes. Birds in the air have nests. But the Son of Man has no place to lay his head." (Matthew 8/20). He instructed his disciples to lead simple and austere lives saying "Provide neither gold, nor silver nor brass in your purses. Neither two coats nor shoes nor yet staves for the workman is worthy of his meet." (Matthew 10/8, 9).

The Apostles and the early Christians adhered to the teachings of Christ to the letter. They shared their income within the community and led simple and austere lives. The rulers feared Christianity as it preached equality and justice. They began to suppress Christianity by persecuting Christians and even by putting them to death. But more they persecuted Christians, more the Christianity spread.

This situation changed in the 4th century when the Roman Empire embraced Christianity. The rulers and the rich came to terms with the Church and donated lands, wealth and privileges to it. Subsequently the Church became an affluent and reactionary institution, retarding the progress of humanity. Popes deteriorated to become worldly rulers, the Church got involved in worldly affairs and witnessed many a crisis.

In some countries those who disagreed with the Church were burnt alive by the Inquisition. The scientists like Gallileo who came into conflict with the dogmas of the Church were prosecuted. The Church backed Crusades to convert people to Christianity by force. In 2000 Pope John Paul II publicly apologised for the crimes committed by the Church.

The Catholic Church in Sri Lanka too was a reactionary force. It opposed the Free Education Scheme and those Catholic priests who banded themselves under the banner of 'Social Justice' did everything possible to sabotage it and failed! Likewise the very same priests propagated against the Paddy Lands Act that brought relief to the tenant farmer.

The Vatican Council II (1962-65) brought about some significant changes within the Church. It acknowledge the Truth and values found in other religions, their society and culture. It relaxed the attitude of the Church towards Marxist-oriented socialism. The rules relating to the Catholic clergy and religion were modified to enable them to move more freely with the public to serve people.

Everybody expected that the new outlook of the Catholic Church after the Vatican Council II would bring about a renewal beneficial to all. It did not happen and there is so much confusion in the Church after the Vatican Council II. There are various interpretations to Christianity and one is at a loss to understand the Christian doctrine. There are attempts to give a political dimension to religion and some advocate that Christians should set up a kingdom of God in this world.Since The Vatican Council II there is a deterioration in the standard of the Catholic clergy. In religious congregations instead of authoritarian discipline that prevailed liberal reforms were introduced following the Western trends. This has resulted in the laxity of discipline making the vow of poverty and chastity meaningless. In the media scandals about priests and bishops have hit the headlines.

Some time back the Vatican acknowledged a damning report that some priests and missionaries were forcing nuns to have sex with them. It was revealed that in Africa certain priests sought out nuns for fear of contacting aids with prostitutes and there was one case of 20 nuns in one community being pregnant at the same time. (Daily News - March 22, 2001)There is erosion of Christian values all over the Catholic world. In Italy where the Vatican is - which has produced majority of Saints and Popes, there is drug trafficking and a murderous mafia organisation is operating there. There are swimming pools in the Catholic West, where both men and women step together naked to them.

Fr. Joseph E. Fernando SJ, analyses the situation thus; "However today in the life of most of the faithful, Western liberal bourgeois Christianity is a cancer that kills an intimate relationship with Christ and subtle temptation that misdirects the believer away from God in different ways." (The Catholic Church in Sri Lanka (2006), Page (65).

The confusion prevailing in the Catholic world has its repercussions in Sri Lanka as well. There are some Catholic priests who used to place the picture of Christ on one side and that of Lord Buddha on the other advocating that Christianity and Buddhism which are poles apart as paralled religions.

There are other Catholic clergy who get Buddhist Bhikkus to preach Bana in churches, place statues of Buddha, erect pandols and illuminate lanterns in churches for vesak. According to Buddhism Lord Buddha is not a God but an enlightened human being. Paying homage to such a personality in churches where the omnipotent God is present in the form of Holy Eucharist is a sacrilege and a big joke as well.

It is one thing for people of different faiths to work together for the common good, while maintaining their religious identity. But diluting basic tenets of religion would lead to the destruction of both Buddhism and Christianity. If this were to happen our much cherished spiritual and cultural values would degenerate to low levels found in the West.

There are some Catholic clergy who challenged the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. There were others who wanted to make Mary Magdalene an Apostle of Christ. Some even suggested that Christ would have loved a woman and associated with prostitutes throwing aspersions on the divinity of Christ.

Christ enjoined the disciples not to handle money because that would lead to their degeneration. There are some Catholic priests who have formed their own organisations funded by foreign agencies. Some of them lead indisciplined lives, wear lay cloths and attract scandal by their worldly behaviour. No wonder when priests get foreign dollars, foreign trips, other luxuries and what not, they begin to lead sensuous lives.As Fr.Joseph E. Fernando SJ vividly puts it "We have first to repent for our bourgeoise Christianity and be converted." It is time for us to appreciate the significance of the birth of Christ in a cowshed and make an endeavour to set up a Church sincerely opting for the poor in accordance with the true spirit of the life and teachings of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

(The writer is a former High Court Judge and Vice-President of the Newman Society Alumini Association)