COOL BISHOP IN HOT SEAT

With his boyish looks, dimpled cheeks and darting eyes, he looks a cool customer that belies his 55 years. Bishop Raphy Manjaly of Varanasi diocese was transferred to the hot seat of Allahabad, and installed as its bishop on 3^rd December, the feast of St Francis Xavier, as also World Disabled Day! The significance should not be lost on us. The hot seat of Allahabad needed a cool and able bishop to get it back on track, as the diocese’s track record speaks for itself (see table).

In the last 50 years Allahabad has almost always received a bishop transferred from another diocese. Bp Raymond D’mello came from Mangalore, Bp Alfred Fernandes from Shimla-Chandigarh, and Bp Baptist Mudartha from Jhansi. The sole exception was the previous incumbent, Bp Isidore Fernandes, who had to ignominiously resign earlier this year, for committing the cardinal error of consecrating a Protestant bishop. As per Canon 1382 this attracts a latae sententiae (no discussion) ex-communication. He got off rather lightly. In the 1970’s Bp Alfred Fernandes had also resigned from the see of Allahabad, perhaps because it was too hot to handle!

Why is Allahabad such a hot seat? Established in 1876, it is one of the oldest dioceses in the North. It covers 12 civil districts, which have a population of 31 million. Geographically, the diocese is 500 kms from one end to the other. The table below gives an idea of what the new bishop is up against. Will he be able to turn the tide?

Bp Raphy is the third of seven children of the late M.V. and Catherine Chacko of Trichur diocese in Kerala. He joined the Agra diocese and then became the rector of the regional seminary at Allahabad before becoming the bishop of Varanasi in 2007. Earlier he had done his doctoral studies from Rome.

I first met Raphy 37 years ago when he was still a teenaged seminarian. While studying philosophy he found Bultman’s rationalization of faith difficult to swallow. Questions went a begging. Another oddity was that the then archbishop of Agra, Dominic Athaide OFM Cap, expected all his seminarians to play the piano. That was not Raphy’s forte! So Abp Athaide sent him to Fr Augustine Deenabandhu OFM Cap at Jyotiniketan Ashram, Bareilly. That is where we met, and Raphy shared with me some of his doubts and hopes.

At that time we received a request to minister to some Catholics scattered in remote villages of neighbouring Shajahanpur and Pilibhit districts. These people were dalit migrants from Punjab, who had come as serfs of the rich Sikh farmers. We spent the next ten wintry days in their midst, accompanied by the catechist Garibdas. We had one cycle and the harmonium between us. It was a mutually enriching experience, as we traversed fields and streams, sharing God’s word and singing his praises. I recall a chilly night in Garibdas’ mud and straw hut adjacent to a stream. Since there was not enough bedding we had to cover ourselves with straw to keep warm. Shades of the Babe in Bethlehem. In the course of conversation Garibdas said that he would do anything I asked of him. Jokingly I asked him to go bathe in the freezing stream. He did so. Out of shame I too joined him. We then had to light a straw fire to get our circulation back. I would love to believe that this unique experience had a positive impact on the young Raphy.

Years later when he was on the staff of the Allahabad seminary I visited him, and asked him over breakfast, who the rector was. With a demure smile he pointed to himself. He was still a boyish 41. A couple of years later when I had a serious complaint against my errant parish priest, he took up the matter with the bishop, at my request. So I hold Bp Raphy in high esteem and believe that the Holy Spirit has chosen the right man for the hot seat of Allahabad. As Acharya Anildev IMS of Matridham Ashram, Varanasi says, “Bp Raphy is a noble and gentle soul”.

Why is Allahabad such a hot seat? The indices in the Table are indicative of the same. Despite an influx of migrants from Kerala and Chhotanagpur, and normal population growth, there has actually been negative growth of the Catholic population. In 2013 it is down to 11,180 from 12,540 in 2003 and 12,650 in 2005. This, despite a high priest to population ratio of 1:169, and an increase in the number of active clergy. According to Ignatian discernment one’s strength can become one’s weakness. Despite Vatican II’s call for destructuring and de-institutionalization, the diocese has doubled its institutional strength between 1969 and 2013. Conversely, the ratio of Catholic students has dropped by 75%. With a Catholic population of 11,180 the student population at 40% would be about 4,472, of which just 1,385 are in Catholic schools. This means that 7 out of 10 of the student population is not in our own schools. Isn’t this a wake up call?

Look at the figures for what were once flourishing mission stations like Dostpur and Mudila. There has been large-scale apostasy. The oldest extant church at Chunar, built in 1845, has just 77 Catholics after 168 years. Most of them would be migrants. The Catholic Directory of 1969 has the names of prominent lay leaders as directors of diocesan commissions. Not so today. Is the laity not to be trusted? Kanpur city alone accounts for 37% of the Catholics. There are hardly any in the numerous mission stations in rural areas. The Catholic Church’s presence is negligible.

Small wonder then that Bp Gerald Mathias from neighbouring Lucknow diocese observed that there are very few missionaries today, and those who are there, are poorly motivated. Earlier, Abp Salvatore Pinnacchio, the Papal Nuncio, had said, “the church grows by attraction”. What if there is no attraction? There won’t be any growth. And if growth is negative it means that there is revulsion to the church in its present form.

Thousands of people, bishops, priests and religious thronged the grounds of St Joseph’s College for the installation ceremony presided over by Abp Albert D’souza of Agra. The caretaker administrator, retired Bp Ignatius Menezes and his team had made elaborate arrangements for a meaningful celebration.

But we scribes (not pharisees) will always find something wrong somewhere! This was during the offertory procession, with symbols from different parts of the diocese. There was coal from the collieries adjoining Jharkhand, grain from a rural mission station, and workers’ tools from industrial Kanpur. Allahabad city offered Gangajal, the sacred waters of the Ganga. Allahabad is situated at the confluence (sangam) of the Ganga and Jamuna rivers, the venue of the biggest religious congregation in the world, the Mahakumbh. Many of the laity and clergy were askance at the offering of Gangajal in Catholic liturgy. I felt that it was an insult to Hinduism on the one hand, and contrary to the Christian understanding of salvation on the other.

Another incongruity. Pope Francis has asked priests and nuns to switch from big cars to cycles. There were several big cars parked, but I didn’t see any cycles. But I did see a Vijayanta tank and a MIG 21 fighter on the ground; gifts from college alumni, including Air Chief Marshal N.A.K. Browne. Should a “shepherd” be installed in the shadow of symbols of war? Would not the “sheep” run away?

The cool, able, gentle, noble Bp Raphy Manjaly has his task cut out for him, as he now settles in to the hot seat of Allahabad diocese. On behalf of the laity of the diocese this writer assures him of his full support and co-operation. Hopefully 3^rd December 2013 will be remembered in Allahabad diocese as the day of St Francis Xavier, the zealous missionary, and not as a disability.

Comparative Data on Allahabad Diocese

 From the Catholic Directories of 1969 & 2013

Head	1969	2013	Growth	Observations
Total Population	11,000,000	30,945,000	181%
Catholic Population	7,920	11,180	41%	1/4th of population growth above
Kanpur City	2495	4126	65%	1/3rd of population growth despite parishes increasing from 3 to 6
Allahabad City	1860	2042	10%	Nothing grows in the shadow of the oak tree
Dostpur Mission	2013	180	- 91%	Large scale apostasy
Mudila Mission	752	61	- 92%	Large scale apostasy
Theresapur Mission	38	1 family	- 90%	Help!
Lapta Mission	10	-	-	Apparently abandoned
Chunar Church	24	77	221%	Built in 1845
Active clergy	53	88	66%
Clergy/ Catholics Ratio	1:240	1:169	- 30%	Increasing clericalization
Schools	33	66	100%	Exceeds all other parameters
Students	13950	52804	278%	Disproportionately high
Catholic students	1033	1385	34%	Even less than growth of Catholic population
Percentage of Catholic students	7.5	2.6	- 65%	Increasingly being pushed to a corner