REAL ESTATE BROKERS, MIDDLEMEN CALL THE SHOTS IN CHURCH

Clergy should stop acting like kings, come down from their ivory towers and walk with the poor and downtrodden

Catholic Church in Kerala (India) has fallen into the money trap. Church and clergy are running after money, power and position. Dioceses and parishes are rolling in money. They are buying land, renovating buildings and constructing multi-crore churches. Middlemen and brokers are calling the shots in bishop’s houses. The craze for mammon has brought church to a perilous state. Believers are perplexed and stumped, watching the spectacle with consternation and trepidation. Real estate brokers and middlemen are calling the shots in the church.
Bishops and priests – including independent congregations -- want to control the accumulating money, land and institutions. They are not ready to give up their claims. On the contrary, they want more power and live a life king size. Each diocese is a kingdom where the bishop acts like a king. Bishop and the curia (administration) do whatever they want with the money collected from the believers who always remain in the dark. Money is diverted. Taxes are not paid properly. Duty evasion is rampant, especially in land transfer.

This was going on in a brazen manner in several dioceses but never came out in the open. That’s until it happened in Ernakulam-Angamally diocese in Kerala where land was sold at the whims and fancies of some curia members. Money is lost. Church didn’t get the full money. Middleman and broker took everyone for a royal ride. Church is now sharply divided in Kochi – church headed by Cardinal Alencherry and his backers on one side and priests who oppose him on the other side. Catholic church is going the European way. Satan has tightened the grip.
Syro Malabar Catholic church needs to undergo glasnost and perestroika – that too asap. Otherwise, we will witness an outflow of believers from the church.
1.Church should cut down the financial powers of bishops and priests. Let a body of clergy and laity take decisions on financial matters.
2.A committee comprising experts, including clergy, should take decisions on financial matters. There should be complete transparency in decision making. Laity should be informed of the decisions.
3. Dioceses and parishes should put a ban on building multi-crore opulent church edifices, five-star hospitals, engineering colleges and medical colleges. Use this money to build houses for the poor and help children from poor families or fund their healthcare needs.
4. Bishops and priests should only concentrate on spiritual matters… not on buying land, accumulating bank balances and building palatial churches and institutions. They should come down from their ivory towers and walk with the poor and downtrodden. In short, clericalism must end.
Currently, actions by bishops and dioceses are opaque and authoritarian. This must end lest the land mess in Kochi will repeat elsewhere. The High Court recently came down heavily on Cardinal Alencherry, head of the church, and asked whether the "Cardinal is the King.” Yes, there are several kings in the church today.
Church in Europe was once vibrant and contributed maximum to its growth nearly 100 years ago. They later digressed, constructed huge church edifices in every nook and corner across the continent and started “celebrations” instead of evangelization and mission work. The fall was faster and steeper. European churches started declining in the middle of last century and they are in a pathetic stage now with huge edifices abandoned and believers deserting them.
Clergy must stop running after land, buildings, expensive cars, luxurious life, buildings and bickering over liturgy. It should not remain a toll-house. Church should not end up as a museum.
They must also stop extravagant feast celebrations which have turned out to be a money spinning exercise for the church. Church needs good governance and transparency. This is sorely lacking now.

PREACHERS TARGETED

 Cyber warriors have started targeting Christian preachers in Kerala. The persecution of preachers by these spiritual mountebanks, also comprising atheists, agnostics and non-believers, is by spreading canards and lies about them with the only intention of stopping evangelization.    

 It’s the work of devil. These persecutors have now started campaigning against preachers to prevent them from conducting prayer meetings and sermons in different parts of the world. They have launched nasty and obnoxious campaigns against preachers like Rev Fr Dominic Valamanal, Rev Fr Xavier Khan Vattayil and Rev Fr Daniel Poovannathil, making abominable and cheap comments through Facebook and Twitter.   

 The main argument of these cyber warriors: these preachers said diseases like autism, cancer and mental disorders are caused by the sins of their parents and forefathers. Now they are trying to stop preachers from getting visa to visit some countries.

 Why these warriors are running a campaign against preachers. These men of God spoke the truth. Nobody wants to hear the truth. Devil is guiding these warriors to stop the work of God. “The sins of you and your parents and forefathers will influence you. If you sin, you will get punishment… not only that the sins of your forefathers will affect you. You will also face failures in life as a consequence of your sins,” says Rev Fr James Manjackal.  

 Sirach (Ecclesiastics) 38:15 says, “he who sins before his Maker, may he fall into the care of a physician.” Bible is very clear about the consequences of sins. Quoting several examples of people who came to him for counselling, Rev Fr Manjackal says many of them led a sinful life – from prostitution, pornography, homosexual life and violation of first commandment.    

 The response of people in Kerala to the Word of God is not proper even though there are a number of retreat centres and preachers. Many people visit the retreat centre for physical healing and not for spiritual healing or to become a born-again Christian. Rev Fr Manjackal says he was persecuted by some people in Kerala for preaching the Word of God, forcing him to relocate to Europe.

 John the Baptist was beheaded for speaking the truth. Jesus Christ was crucified for speaking the truth. Similarly, some of the Malayalis in Kerala and abroad don’t want preachers who speak the truth – the true Word of God. They campaign against such preachers in Facebook and Twitter. They try to get the visa and tour programs of these preachers cancelled. They don’t want the truth to be told.

 Who is working behind such godawful characters? 1 John 3:8 says, “The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning.”  Whether you’re a Christian or non-Christian, you will have to face the consequences of sin, Rev Fr Manjackal says.

 These days, devil worship is common is major cities in Kerala. The number of people who practice non-Christian activities like yoga and reiki is increasing. Even some priests and nuns practice yoga and reiki which are incompatible with Christianity.

 Romans 2:9 says, “there will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil.” Rev Fr Manjackal says there’s a connection between sin and disease.

 Read Mark 2:3-12. “Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on.  When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. However, some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, “Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” The paralysed man was healed when Jesus forgave his sins, but teachers of the law who were present there, protested. Some of the Malayalis are now behaving like these teachers of law.