The Catholic Church and Casteism

Casteism in the Catholic Church of India

A divided Catholic cemetery in Trichy of Tamil Nadu State, 
India (the portion on the left is for the upper-caste and
the one on the right is for the lower-caste Catholics)

Photo courtesy: bbc.co.uk/  

What is casteism? Casteism is prejudice or antagonism directed against someone of a different caste in the Indian Hindu society. Hindus, even after their conversion to other religions -- including Christianity -- do maintain some sort of casteism among themselves. 

Casteism comes from the word 'caste.' According to the Wikipedia, a caste is a form of social stratification characterized by endogamy (the custom of marrying within one's own caste or group), hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultural notions of purity and pollution. 

According to the BBC, India's Hindu caste system is among the world's oldest forms of surviving social stratification. This caste system is more than 3,000 years old and it divides Hindus into rigid hierarchical groups based on their karma (work or occupation) and dharma (religion or duty). 

Ancient India's religious texts, called the Vedas, speaks of the caste system that divides Hindus into four main categories -- starting from the top to bottom -- the Brahmins (priests, academics or teachers), Kshatriyas (warriors, kings or rulers, and administrators), Vaishyas (merchants, landowners or farmers, herders, craftspeople), and Shudras (manual labourers, peasants or farm workers, servants). Later, a fifth group or caste called the Dalits (outcasts or untouchables), emerged and they are persons, from the first four groups, who have been condemned and driven out of their individual caste because of their serious sins, transgressions, or crimes. They, then, sought refuge among other similarly condemned people, whose professions are considered 'dirty.' They work as street sweepers, latrine cleaners, leather workers,  etc. 

 In later ages, some Indian Hindus converted to Christianity but did not abandon their earlier socio-religious caste system. In spite of Christ's teaching "love your neighbor as yourself," they hung on to the caste system, which is more or less present among both the Catholic priestly class and laypersons. In name, they are Catholic ("without any bias towards others"), but in practice, they are still caste Hindus.    

During the 2003 'ad limina' (required periodic) visits of the Catholic archbishops of the ecclesiastical provinces of Madras-Mylapore, Madurai, and Pondicherry-Cuddalore of India, Pope John Paul II had reminded them that "It is the Church's obligation to work unceasingly to change hearts, helping all people to see every human being as a child of God, a brother or sister of Christ, and therefore a member of our own society." 

Please read the following to see the situation of casteism in the Indian Catholic Church:

• India's Caste System (britannica.com)
• Christian caste (britannica.com)
• Caste System among Indian Christians
• Dalit Christian 
• Caste, Catholicism and Indian Culture
• Catholics and Caste System
• Not even the Church escapes India's caste system (Sept. 10, 2013)
• Dalit Catholics continue to battle upper caste aggression (Aug. 2, 2015)
• Discrimination within the Church (June 6, 2016)
• Protesters decry caste prejudice within India's Catholic Church (March 24, 2016)
• 'Stop caste discrimination in the Church' (March 12, 2017)
• Catholic Church in India condemns caste system in new policy document empowering Dalits (Dec. 20, 2016)
• Indian Dalits find no refuse from caste in Christianity (Sept. 14, 2010)
• Is the Church finally acting against India's caste system? (May 5, 2017)
• The Indian caste system is based on racism (Feb. 6, 2016)
• Dalit Life in Catholic Church of South India: Dimension of Discrimination (July 2013)
• Kerala Christians and the Caste System (1976)
• Introduction to Caste in Christianity: Case of Kerala (Nov. 27, 2015)
• South Indian Christians, Purity/Impurity, and the Caste System (by D. Mosse) (1996)
• India: Catholic bishops issue document on Dalits, condemn caste system (Dec. 18, 2016)
• Papal intervention sought to end Dalit discrimination in India (Sept. 11, 2019)
• Caste off: The plight of Catholic Dalits in India (Feb. 8, 2013)
• India's Christian Untouchables: Christian Dalits fight for equality in their communities and nation (Nov. 2012)
• Dalit Christians in India file complaint with UN against the Vatican (Accuse Church of rampant caste-based discrimination) (June 29, 2015)
• Separate cemeteries for Dalits (June 4, 2011)
• Unchristian things in the Indian Church (a chapter of a book)
• Pope Francis' silence disappoints India's Dalit Catholics (Oct. 16, 2019)
• Dalit Catholics continue to battle upper caste aggression (Aug. 2, 2015)

The Catholic Church and Racism -- 2

Pope Francis celebrating Mass at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican

Photo courtesy: Remo Casilli/Pool and AP via forbes.com/

Pope Francis in a recent Angelus prayer service condemned "the sin of racism" and the violence in the U.S. He said: "We cannot tolerate or turn a blind eye to racism and exclusion in any form and yet claim to defend the sacredness of every human being." He also specifically mentioned the police murder of George Floyd, a black person, in Minneapolis in the U.S.  To read more, click here. 

Please read the following to learn more on the Catholic Church and Racism:

• Archbishop Wilton Gregory on racism: Significant Moment for real national transition (June 5, 2020)
• Race and faith: the Catholic Church, clerical fascism, and the shaping of Italian anti-semitism and racism (Nov. 2018)
• The Catholic Church Takes on Racism (May 1, 2018)
• Catholic bishops take on racism in society and the church (Nov. 13, 2017)
• 5 Quotes From Pope Francis on Racism, Xenophobia and Immigration (May 15, 2017)
• Selection of quotes from Pope Francis on equality, fraternity, racism (June 3, 2020)
• Racism in Catholic Church 'driving minorities away' (Oct. 16, 2000)
• Interrupting White Privilege: Catholic Theologians Break the Silence (a book by Laurie M. Cassidy and Alex Mikulich, Editors) (2007)
• What Black Lives Matter can teach Catholics about racial injustice (Feb. 1, 2019)
• The sins of racism and family separation erode the sanctity of life (Feb. 9, 2019)
• Nigerian priest leaves German parish after receiving death threat (April 17, 2020)
• We liberal Catholics must get serious about racial justice (June 4, 2020)
• U.S. Bishops: Racism Is a Persistent Evil (Nov. 26, 2018)
• American Catholics, racism and imperialism (by David Doyle) (1968)
• The Catholic Church's shameful history of Native American abuses (January 20, 2019)
• Tennessee Catholic Priest Blames Racist Dog for His Rejection of New Black Cleaner (Aug. 14, 2019)
• When America Hated Catholics (In the late 19th century, statesmen feared that Catholic immigrants were less than civilized (and less than white) (Sept. 23, 2015)
• Black Catholics in the United States and the History of Race in the Church (Nov. 5, 2017)
• Black Catholics called to 'change the narrative' about race in America (July 10, 2017)
• Racism in the Catholic Church -- A Catholic Conversation (2018)
• White Catholics have 'to talk about race and to admit their racism' (July 27, 2016)
• Poverty and Racism: Overlapping Threats to the Common Good (2008)
• Catholic Church Should Confront Racism and Misogyny, Says Scholar (Oct. 15, 2018)
• Brothers and Sisters to Us (US Catholic Bishops' pastoral letter on Racism, 1979)
• Combatting Racism (USCCB: A collection of articles, write-ups, statements, etc.)
• The Church and Racism  (a document of the Pontifical Commission "Justitia et Pax") (Feb. 1989)
• Responding to the Sin of Racism 
• Practicing What We Preach: White Catholics and the Civil Rights Movement in Atlanta (Fall 2005)

(The End)

To go to the beginning of this write-up, click on 

The Catholic Church and Racism -- 1

The Catholic Church and Racism -- 1

Several decade-old racist Catholic demonstration in the USA 
with the placard "Jesus did not choose nonwhite apostles," 
meaning 'Jesus chose white apostles.' 

Since the late 19th century, Jesus and his apostles, although being 
Jews were thought to belong to the Caucasoid race as the whites, 
Middle Eastern people, and most people of north-west and south 
India. Latter scientists began to propose that Semites -- Jews and 
other Middle Eastern people -- are not white, but brown or 
dark brown. To see how Jesus Christ really looked like, 
click on the following: The Real Face of Jesus  

Photo courtesy: stdominicsmedia.com/

Catholics participate in the black civil rights 
movement in the USA in the 1960s

Photo courtesy: Marquette University Archives via thrivingparish.org/

"What Is Racism? 

"Racism arises when—either consciously or unconsciously—a person holds that his or her own race or ethnicity is superior, and therefore judges persons of other races or ethnicities as inferior and unworthy of equal regard. When this conviction or attitude leads individuals or groups to exclude, ridicule, mistreat, or unjustly discriminate against persons on the basis of their race or ethnicity, it is sinful. Racist acts are sinful because they violate justice. They reveal a failure to acknowledge the human dignity of the persons offended, to recognize them as the neighbors Christ calls us to love (Mt 22:39).

"Racism occurs because a person ignores the fundamental truth that, because all humans share a common origin, they are all brothers and sisters, all equally made in the image of God. When this truth is ignored, the consequence is prejudice and fear of the other, and—all too often—hatred. Cain forgets this truth in his hatred of his brother. Recall the words in the First Letter of John: “Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life remaining in him” (1 Jn 3:15). Racism shares in the same evil that moved Cain to kill his brother. It arises from suppressing the truth that his brother Abel was also created in the image of God, a human equal to himself. Every racist act—every such comment, every joke, every disparaging look as a reaction to the color of skin, ethnicity, or place of origin—is a failure to acknowledge another person as a brother or sister, created in the image of God. In these and in many other such acts, the sin of racism persists in our lives, in our country, and in our world. Racism comes in many forms. It can be seen in deliberate, sinful acts. In recent times, we have seen bold expressions of racism by groups as well as individuals. The re-appearance of symbols of hatred, such as nooses and swastikas in public spaces, is a tragic indicator of rising racial and ethnic animus. All too often, Hispanics and African Americans, for example, face discrimination in hiring, housing, educational opportunities, and incarceration. Racial profiling frequently targets Hispanics for selective immigration enforcement practices, and African Americans, for suspected criminal activity. There is also the growing fear and harassment of persons from majority Muslim countries. Extreme nationalist ideologies are feeding the American public discourse with xenophobic rhetoric that instigates fear against foreigners, immigrants, and refugees. Finally, too often racism comes in the form of the sin of omission, when individuals, communities, and even churches remain silent and fail to act against racial injustice when it is encountered." 
--Compiled from Open Wide Our Hearts: The Enduring Call to Love -- a pastoral letter against racism (U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, November 2018)

In spite of Biblical and Catholic Church teachings on love, justice, and human dignity and equality, a good number of Catholic Church members (both the laypersons and the hierarchy) are not immune from racist behaviour.   

To learn more about the positive and negative aspects of the Catholic Church and racism, please read the following:

• Catholic Church and race
• Racism, Inclusion, and Diversity
• Racism in the Catholic Church (Feb. 13, 2018)
• Race in the American Catholic Imagination (July 24, 2018)
• The Bishops' letter fails to recognize that racism is a white problem (Feb. 20, 2019)
• Catholic Social Teaching (CST) and Racism (Fall 2009)
• There is time for the church to support black Catholics -- if it has the will to do so (Sept. 18, 2o19)
• americamagazine.org: BLACK CATHOLICS
• All Catholics must speak out for equality, against racism, say leaders (June 3, 2020)
• How can Catholics help lead the fight against racism? (May 29, 2020)
• In fits and starts, US Church moving to confront 'sin' of racism (April 8, 2019)
• The Catholic Church and the Race Question (a book by Yves Congar) (1953)
• Catholic Church sometimes has been part of racism problem, says Bishop (Nov. 14, 2017)
• The U.S. Catholic Church's last major effort on racism was in 1979, Charlottesville woke it up (Aug. 23, 2017)
• Catholicism and Racism (by C. Davis) (1998)
• Presidential Address: Confessions of a White Catholic Racist Theologian (by J. Nilson) (2003)
• Catholic Racism and Its Opponents (by J. Connelly) (2007)
• The Church and Racism (Feb. 1989)
• Institutional Racism and the Catholic Church (a book by Dolores Foster Williams)
• Can Prejudice Be Cured?; "The Theology of Racism"
• The History of Black Catholics in America (June 7, 2018)
• There Are More Black Catholics in the U.S. Than Members of the A.M.E. Church (Nov. 5, 2017)
• Pushing Back Against Racism (Feb. 22, 2019)
• Racism has no place within Catholicism (Feb. 4, 2019)
• In God's Image: Pastoral Letter on Racism (Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, USA) (Sept. 12, 2003)
• Combating Racism (US Conf. of Catholic Bishops)
• Racism, Xenophobia, and Migration in Italy, a Post-Catholic Country (by G. Dotti) (2020)
• Catholicism and the "Negro Question": Religion, Racism, and Antiracism in a Transnational Perspective (United States of America and Europe, 1934 - 1968) (Dec. 4, 2019)
• Racism in Italy (Wikipedia)
• More than half of Italians in poll say racist acts are justifiable (Nov. 12, 2019)
• "Framing Racism Post Vatican II: Critical Race Theory and the Catholic Intellectual Tradition (by A. Moras, 2012)
• Catholic Social Teaching (CST) and Racism (by Fred Kammer, S.J.) (June 11, 2019)
• Combatting racism through faith, education (March 2, 2020)
• U.S. church urged to turn attention to racism before fractures widen (July 15, 2016)
• Unpacking the Intersection of Race and Racism within Catholicism (2018)
• Catholic Social Teaching on Discrimination and Racism

(Continued)

Coronavirus Outbreak Provides A Hey Day To The Sin Counters

Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke 

Photo courtesy: Public Radio International

Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano

Photo courtesy: dailymail.co.uk/

Evangelical pastor Rick Wiles

Photo courtesy: TruNews via nypost.com/ 

COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak is providing a centre stage to the sin counters of various religions.  These self-righteous and judging-condemning people see things in black and white -- sinfulness and holiness. There is no grey area in their sight. They have been pontificating that this pestilence outbreak is a chastisement, punishment, or retribution for sins of abortion, fornication, homosexuality, and LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning) practices.  

This widespread virus attack and death in the world has levelled everything -- casteism, racism, feeling and practice of superiority and inferiority, richness and poverty, educational and intellectual pride and humbleness of illiteracy -- into a single line. 

Yet, we find that some religious leaders are shouting from the rooftops how God's severe punishment is befalling on the sinners of particular infractions. They are, as if, enjoying their hurtful pontification. 

When people are suffering so badly, when they are in anxiety, and unsure of their future earnings, this type of religious judgment and condemnation is not only pathetic but also shameful. Now is the time when suffering and anxiety-filled populace needs words of comfort, encouragement, and God's love and mercy all the more. 

It is easy to pontificate being in a comfortable and pompous position, but difficult in being in the real, hard, and suffering world. Religious leaders usually are well-trained and well-read in the teachings and practices of their religions. They easily understand and realize what is right and wrong, what verbalizations and actions go against the teachings of God. How many of the COVID-19 virus sufferers have the capacity for understanding and realizing the rightfulness or wrongfulness of their actions? 

If God really punished people for their serious sins, he would do it all the time in world history. According to the Old Testament of the Bible, Adam and Eve are the first man and woman created by God the almighty. Through the disobedience of God's command, they committed the first sin of mankind and were banished to the world from the blissful Garden of Eden. Their sin is called the Original Sin or Ancestral Sin, which gave rise to other sins of mankind. 

If God really took retribution for serious sins through natural disasters (cyclones, hurricanes, volcanoes, thunderstorms, famines, plagues, and pestilences, and man-made disasters like ethnic cleansings, murders, persecutions, revolts, wars, abductions and rapes of women, mafia and gang violence and human traffickings, usurpation of lands and properties, fornications, adulteries, and homosexualities), the world would really be depopulated by this time. The Bible speaks of God's punishment for human sins. According to the Bible description, the creation of the first human beings (Adam and Eve) occurred about five to ten thousand years ago. But in the real world, we find the existence of human beings (through skeletons and other artifacts) in different parts of the world as old as 100,000 to 300,000 years old. So, there were human beings even before Adam and Eve. Why didn't God punish the pre-Adamite peoples for their sins? Were the pre-Adamites sinless peoples?

Later in history, especially in the Middle Ages, we see how the Catholic Church and a number of its clergy in Europe and some colonies committed persecution of and injustice against apostates and heretics -- including people of other Christian denominations and religions, 'witches,' and others who did not follow Catholic Church teachings. What about the Hundred Years' War (1337-1453) and the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648) in Europe, the First World War (1914-1918), and the Second World War (1939-1945)? How cruel and barbarously evil methods were used in persecuting, killing and maiming of thousands and millions of people? People of other religions also had their own types of sins and injustices. Where was God in those evil times? Why didn't God chastise or punish them?

We see in the first several hundred years of its existence, married clergy were allowed in the Catholic Church. A good number of these priests, bishops, cardinals, and popes had engaged in adulteries, child sex abuses, rapes, illegally giving away church funds and properties to their children and concubines. To redress this situation, the celibate (unmarried) priesthood was introduced for unhindered and fulltime devotion and service to the Lord Jesus and his Church. That change also could not do away the normal human weaknesses and sins of the celibate priests and bishops. This has been well-proven in the last four decades when a good portion of the Catholic clergy (priests, bishops, and cardinals) were engaged in child sex abuses, bisexuality, homosexuality, heterosexuality (sexing with women or nuns, and, in a good number of cases, siring children and secretly paying church funds for their upkeep), misuse or embezzlement of church funds, and so and so forth. The cover-ups of these crimes and sins by their superiors were tantamount to participation in others' sins.  Why didn't God punish these clergy sinners en masse?    

Jesus Christ, who is believed by Christians, to be the second person of the blessed Trinity of God, himself said that sickness is not a punishment from God. We read in the Gospel of John 9:1-3: Now as Jesus was passing by, he saw a man blind from birth, and his disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but this happened so that the works of God would be displayed in him."

Please read the following for details on the recent COVID-19 outbreak:

Coronavirus Is a Chastisement For Sins

• Assessing the Pope's responsibility in the chastisement of coronavirus (March 31, 2020)
• One of Trump's Favorite Pastors Says, "All Natural Disasters Can Ultimately Be Traced to Sin" (March 14, 2020)
• The Coronavirus and God (March 16, 2020)
• Is the coronavirus an act of God? Faith leaders debate tough questions amid pandemic (April 2, 2020)
• Coronavirus is punishment from God, Pa. lawyer suggests; calls for statewide day of atonement (March 24, 2020)
• 'Presumptuous sins': Pennsylvania lawmaker says coronavirus is divine 'punishment' (March 25, 2020)
• Coronavirus is Punishment for 'LGBT Sin,' Says Far-Right Pastor (March 6, 2020)
• Religious conservatives are blaming gay people for coronavirus (March 12, 2020)
• COVID-19 pandemic: The world's religions and coronavirus (March 16, 2020)
• Rabbi: Coronavirus 'divine retribution' for gay pride parades (March 2020)
• Islamic Scholar Who Called Coronavirus 'Act of Allah' Gets Infected (March 9, 2020)
• Why coronavirus is a punishment from God that should lead to repentance (March 12, 2020)
• Conservative pastor blames coronavirus on same-sex marriage (March 20, 2020)
• 'God's punishment': Muted Nowruz in Afghanistan over coronavirus (March 2o, 2020)
• God's vengeance: the Christian right and the coronavirus (March 27, 2020)
• Natural Disasters Are Part of Original Sin (Sept 27, 2017)
• [Video] 'It's About Sin!' Hermit says coronavirus is a 'chastisement' (March 24, 2020)
• Evangelical pastor claims coronavirus is God's 'death angel' to 'purge a lot of sin' (January 29, 2020)
• Top pro-life leader: coronavirus pandemic is 'chastisement' for sin of abortion (March 24, 2020)
• Irvin Baxter Says Coronavirus Is a Warning From God About the Sin of Fornication (March 27, 2020)
• Pastor: Coronavirus is a Warning from God Because Only 5% of Brides Are Virgins (March 27, 2020)
• Conservative pastor says spread of coronavirus in synagogues is punishment from God (March 29, 2020)
• Insane End Times Preacher: Coronavirus Came About Because of Fornication (March 30, 2020)
• Kenneth Copeland: Fear of the Coronavirus 'Is Not OK -- It Is Sin' (March 11, 2020)
• Coronavirus: Sermon of Saturday March 7, 2020 at Saint-Nicolaus-du-Chardonnet (Paris) (March 16, 2020)
• The 11th Plague? Pastor Claims Coronavirus is God's Punishment for Sin (January 31, 2020)
• [Video] Pastor says coronavirus will "purge sin off our planet" (Feb. 3, 2020)

Coronavirus Is Not Punishment For Sins

• Can God Use the Coronavirus for Good? (March 19, 2020)
• WATCH: Pope Francis blames coronavirus on nature 'having a fit' over environmental damage (March 24, 2020)
• Faith leaders reject the idea that coronavirus is punishment from God for a sinful world (March 25, 2020)
• There is nothing pro-life about exploiting a pandemic to further a political agenda (April 4, 2020)
• Is the coronavirus an act of God? Faith leaders debate tough questions amid pandemic (April 5, 2020)
• No, God Did Not Send Coronavirus To Punish Us for Sin (April 2020)
• Is the Coronavirus Evil? (March 17, 2020)
• Why Zika, and Other Viruses Don't Disprove God's Goodness? (A microbiologist reflects on the problem of evil in human diseases) (August 14, 2018)

Should People Attend Church Services En Masse?

• Vatican says public will not be admitted to papal Holy Week liturgies (March 16, 2020)
• Vatican extends lockdown measures to Easter Monday (April 3, 2020)
• Vatican says general absolution may be permissible during pandemic (March 20, 2020)
• Coronavirus may cause 'grave necessity' for general absolution, Vatican says (March 20, 2020)
• Message on the Combat against the Coronavirus COVID-19 (March 21, 2020)
• Cardinal Burke says faithful should attend Mass despite coronavirus (March 24, 2020)
• Bishop Sneider: Priest don't have to obey bishops, govt who suspend Mass over COVID-19 (March 30, 2020)

The Quotation of the Week (October 20 - 26, 2019)

A quotation of Pope Francis on 'Catholics are not
strangers to evil,' compiled by Jerome D'Costa

Photo © Jerome D'Costa (2019)

Father Dominic Vlanmanal Claims Parents' Mortal Sins Cause Their Children's Autism!

Father Dominic Valamanal of Kerala, India

Photo courtesy: Facebook Home of Father Dominic Valamanal

Father Dominic Valamanal, belonging to the Eastern Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, “is a Catholic priest under the diocese of Kanjirapally and serving as the Director of Marian Retreat Centre Anakkara Kerala.” He leads healing and deliverance (charismatic) retreats in different parishes in India and some Syro-Malabar Catholics in diaspora abroad.

“Alcohol, cigarette, beedi [Indian rolled-leaf cigarettes], narcotics, Pan Parag [chewing tobacco], adultery, masturbation, homosexuality, porn; if you are addicted to these, I say to you in the name of God…when you get married and have children, there is a high possibility of bearing these types of children,” he preached in Malayalam language in Kerala and available on Youtube (the CBC television of Canada independently verified the English translation of this).

Father Valamanal continues, “The young men and women are not filled with the Holy Spirit anymore. Afterward, they lead an animal-life. They copulate like animals. They bear children like animals. Therefore, those children will be like animals.”

Father Valmanal also said he “cured” a boy with autism during a visit to Ireland. He had said in the boy’s home: “I bind the spirit of autism and hyperactivity that has infested this house. I banish it. Banished to the foot of Jesus’ cross.”

His ‘fire and brimstone’ preaching in these retreats attracts some but repels others. Some diaspora Catholics requested their local bishops to cancel these retreats. As a result, retreats due to be held in Canada, Australia, and Ireland have already been cancelled.

According to the www.webmd.com, autism is a complex neurobehavioral condition that includes impairments in social interaction and developmental language and communication skills combined with rigid, repetitive behaviors. Because of the range of symptoms, this condition is now called autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

How is autism caused? “Some genetic mutations seem to be inherited, while others occur spontaneously. Environmental factors. Researchers are currently exploring whether factors such as viral infections, medications or complications during pregnancy, or air pollutants play a role in triggering autism spectrum disorder.”

In this scientifically enlightened modern-day, Father Valmanal blames parents’ mortal sins for their children’s autism, as some Old Testament writers mentioned sins of the parents for their children’s physical and mental problems. Let’s see what Jesus said on the same subject: “As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.” (John 9:1-3)

If this priest’s words were correct, let’s ask him what sins cause high blood pressure and stroke, heart attack, cholera, tuberculosis, malaria, ebola virus attack, influenza, etc.

We also need to ask this self-righteous priest what sins of parents caused so many Catholic priests and bishops engage in different types of sex abuses all over the world. He mentions of demons possessing autistic children, but what about demons possessing clergy sex abusers? He should go among these sinful priests and heal them of masturbatory demons, pedophile demons, homosexual demons, heterosexual demons, and other types of demons.

His pure judgmental, condemning, and punishing attitude may further his cause and prestige as a ‘forthright speaker,’ but he is using these autistic children and their parents in such a way that it tantamounts to blackmailing – making the parents feel ashamed, demeaned, pathetic, and worthless. He claims to have cured a child or two miraculously. If God works through him, why cure only a few, why not all autistic children of the rest of the world? Why not go among Hindus, Muslims, Jews, Sikhs, and other religionists and non-believers and cure them all using such a language?

Priests need to be careful about defamation when speaking or delivering their sermons. “Generally, defamation is a false and unprivileged statement of fact that is harmful to someone’s reputation, and published ‘with fault,’ meaning as a result of negligence or malice. Libel is written defamation, and slander is spoken defamation." If an affected or disgruntled person files a lawsuit, a priest may fall into a real problem.

 A priest or bishop, who speaks in such an accusing and condemning language, needs to get reorientation on the teachings of the Second Vatican Council (especially, on the place and role of the laity in the Church, and that priests and bishops are there to serve the laity religiously and spiritually and they are not to rule over them – they are to practise servant leadership,); teachings of Pope Francis (love, compassion, and mercy – including the evil effects of clericalism).

Bishops who allow such priests to go around and speak in accusing terms and charge high fees (about $400 per participant of retreats abroad) become complicit in their ‘sins.’ Participation in other’s sins is an important teaching of the Catholic Church, although many religious superiors, priests and bishops forget about it in real life.

For more on Father Dominic Valamanal, please read the following: 

• Ireland to cancel invite to Kerala Catholic priest who compared autistic kids to animals (June 9, 2019)
• Church in Ireland cancels invite to priest comparing kids with autism to animals (June 11, 2019)
• Calgary diocese cancels retreat with priest who linked homosexuality with autism (June 20, 2019)
• Catholic priest who linked autism to homosexuality cancels Australian appearance (July 18, 2019)
• Let not miracle cure trap you! By Ben Knight (July 24, 2019)
• Fr. Dominic Valanmanal (Facebook)

(Updated on August 9, 2029)

The Quotation of the Week (March 10 - 16, 2019)

A quotation of Elie Wiesel on 'remaining silent
and indifferent being the greatest sin,' compiled by Jerome D'Costa
Artwork © Jerome D'Costa

U.S. Cardinal Theodore McCarrick Resigns Amid His Sex Abuse Scandal

Cardinal Theodore McCarrick with Pope John Paul II at the Vatican in 2003

Photo courtesy: papam.wordpress.com/

In face of several sexual abuse allegations, U.S. Cardinal Theodore McCarrick submitted his resignation from the College of Cardinals, and Pope Francis accepted his resignation on July 28 and stripped him from any public ministry, according to the Catholic News Agency (CNA). 

Pope Francis also placed Cardinal McCarrick to "a life of prayer and penance in seclusion" until the end of the Vatican canonical process (investigation) against him.

Allegations made against this Cardinal are: as a bishop, McCarrick "sexually abused, assaulted, or coerced seminarians and young priests" for a number of years. The U.S. Diocese of Metuchen and Archdiocese of Newark disclosed that they had received reports that McCarrick had engaged in sexual misconduct with adults, and reached legal and financial settlements in two cases.

For details, kindly click on the following:

• Cardinal Theodore McCarrick Resigns Amid Sexual Abuse Scandal (July 28, 2018)
• Cardinal McCarrick, prominent US Catholic, resigns over abuse claims (July 28, 2018)
• High-ranking US cardinal resigns from Catholic Church amid sexual abuse allegations (July 28, 2018)
• Pope accepts resignation of D.C.-area Cardinal Theodore McCarrick after sex abuse claims (July 28, 2018)
• He Preyed on Men Who Wanted to Be Priests. The He Became a Cardinal (July 16, 2018)
• Man Says Cardinal McCarrick, His 'Uncle Ted,' Sexually Abused Him for Years (July 19, 2018)
• Details of the homosexual molestation charges against Cardinal McCarrick (June 22, 2018)
• The Catholic Church is enabling the sex abuse crisis by forcing gay priests to stay in the closet (July 23, 2018)
• Promoting Predators (July 24, 2018)
• McCarrick is 'the tip of the iceberg': Polish priest who warned of gay bishops 5 years ago (July 26, 2018)
• A Catholic cardinal has weathered sex abuse allegations for years. Now they're finally public (July 29, 2018)
• An Invitation to the Laity (July 30, 2018)
• Cardinal McCarrick and the gay mafia: corruption of clergy now rivals the age of the Borgias (Aug. 1, 2018)
• Priest: 'Evil' gay bishops 'persecute, blackmail' faithful priests who might expose their secret (Aug. 3, 2018)
• Wuerl calls for spiritual and moral renewal in response to McCarrick scandal (Aug. 3, 2018)
• Marie Collins reacts to Cardinal Wuerl's proposals following McCarrick scandal (Aug. 6, 2018)

Some Other Cardinals In The Same Boat of Sex Abuse:

Cardinal Hans Herman Groer of Austria:

Pope John Paul II with Cardinal Hans Herman Groer of Vienna, Austria (right)
Photo courtesy: kkpp.blox.pl/

• Sexual abuse scandal in Vienna archdiocese 
• Austrian Cardinal Quits in Sex Scandal (April 15, 1998)
• Hans Groer, 83; Austrian Cardinal in Sex Scandal (March 25, 2003)
• Vatican cardinal attacks fellow cardinal for 'covering up' abuse case (May 10, 2010)
• A cardinal is accused: the Groer case (April 4, 2014)

Cardinal Keith O'Brien of Scotland, U.K.:

Cardinal Keith O'Brien of Scotland, U.K. with Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican

Photo courtesy: www.catholic-ew.org.uk/

• Cardinal Keith O'Brien, disgraced Scottish prelate dies at 80 (March 19, 2018)
• Cardinal Keith O'Brien dies after fall (March 19, 2018)
• Keith O'Brien, Cardinal Ousted in Sex Scandal, dies at 80 (March 19, 2018)
• Cardinal who suffered a spectacular fall from grace (March 24, 2018)

Cardinal George Pell of Australia:

Cardinal George Pell of Australia, with Pope Benedict XVI

Photo courtesy: GettyImages through businessinsider.com/

• Will Cardinal Pell face a trial by jury in sex abuse case? (April 27, 2018)
• Cardinal George Pell to Stand Trial on Historical Sex Offenses (April 30, 2018)
• Cardinal Pell Pleads Not Guilty in Australia [video] (April 30, 2018)
• Who is Cardinal George Pell and what is he accused of? (May 1, 2018)
• George Pell's committal to trial makes front page news around world (May 1, 2018)
• Australian cardinal George Pell to face 2 trials on sexual abuse charges (May 2, 2018)

Certain Other Cardinals Who Participated in Others' Sins (by ignoring clergy sex-abuse victims and by shielding clergy sex-abusers):

Catholic Church has a clear-cut teaching on participation in the sins of others. This teaching is applicable to all the Catholics -- laymen, laywomen, members of the Religious orders, and members of the hierarchy (priests, monsignors, bishops, archbishops, cardinals, and popes). 

According to the Church teaching, a Catholic participates in the sins of others in the following ways: 9 Ways You Might Be Sharing in the Sins of Others (June 13, 2017). If other persons' sins are mortal or deadly sins, by participating in them, the Cardinals also committed mortal sins. For committing mortal sins, serial mortal sins, or unconfessed mortal sins, laypersons easily get their holy communions banned, but, who, on earth, then will ban holy communion of these Cardinals? How can they touch or receive the holy communion in their daily Holy Masses with their mortally tainted hands and hearts? How can they hear others' confessions? How can they perform different sacramental acts without any concern for their own mortal sins? What is the guarantee that members of the hierarchy confess their mortal sins regularly and promise not to commit these sins in future -- a requirement for receiving God's pardon for one's mortal sins? But, the Catholic Church teaches that in spite of unconfessed or unrepented mortal sins in their hearts, members of the hierarchy can still receive holy communion by themselves and perform sacramental rites with impunity. In case of judging, condemning, and punishing, there is an abysmal discrepancy between the laypersons and members of the hierarchy, although all of them are members of the same Catholic Church. This hypocrisy is really disturbing for the Catholic laypersons.  

It needs to be remembered that, according to the Bible, God created Adam and Eve (a layman and a laywoman) first, the priestly class evolved or came much later from among their descendants to serve other laypersons (who were also descendants of  Adam and Eve) religiously and spiritually. The priestly class, in the Catholic Church, is called the hierarchy, whose members are there to serve the laity. Pope Francis is trying to show how to be of servant leadership and not of autocratic or dictatorial leadership when dealing with the laity. 

The following Cardinals, we are sorry to say, got most publicity for their participation in the sins of their fellow priests and bishops:

Cardinal Josef Ratzinger (who later became Pope Benedict XVI) (Vatican):

• Joseph Ratziner as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith 
• Sex Abuse Scandal: Did Archbishop Ratzinger Help Shield Perpetrator from Prosecution? (March 22, 2010)
• Abuse in the Church: The Demons of Pope Benedict XVI (March 30, 2010)
• More documents link Ratzinger to abuse cases (April 9, 2010)
• Pope Benedict balked at defrocking California priest over molestation (April 10, 2010)
• Father H's Story: Germany's Pedophile Priest Scandal (May 20, 2010)
• Church Office Failed to Act on Abuse Scandal (July 1, 2010)
• Munich Abuse Case: Archbishop Ratzinger Failed to Deal with Suspected Pedophile Priest (Nov. 29, 2010)
• Pope Benedict 'complicit in child sex abuse scandals,' say victims' groups (Feb. 11, 2013)
• Pope Benedict XVI Resigns: Who Will Be the Next Pope? [Video] (Feb. 11, 2013)
• Pope Benedict defrocked 400 priests in 2 years, document reveals (Jan. 17, 2014, updated on Jan. 18, 2014)
• What Pope Benedict Knew About Abuse in the Catholic Church (Jan. 14, 2016)

Cardinal George Bernard Law of Boston, USA:

• Boy's father in pedophile priest case fed up with cardinals (April 25, 2002)
• How Cardinal disgraced in Boston child abuse scandal found a Vatican haven (Cardinal Bernard Law quit as archbishop of Boston in 2002 after criticism of his handline of paedophile priests but although a pariah in the US was honoured in Rome) (Nov. 6, 2015)
• Cardinal Bernard Law, the face of the church's failure on child sexual abuse, dies at 86 (Dec. 19, 2017)
• Cardinal Bernard Law, symbol of Clergy abuse scandal, dead at 86 (Dec. 20, 2017)
• The Death of Cardinal Bernard Law and the Legacy of Clergy Sex Abuse (Dec. 20, 2017)
• Reflecting On The Life Of Disgraced Cardinal Bernard Law (Dec. 20, 2017)
• 'Cardinal Law allowed this to happen': abuse survivors on archbishop's death (Dec. 21, 2017)
• Drawing lessons from the life of Cardinal Bernard Law (Dec. 27, 2017)
• A History of secrecy, coverups in Boston Archdiocese 
• Spotlight: Abuse in the Catholic Church

Cardinal Ricardo Ezzati of Santiago, Chile (successor to Cardinal Francisco Javier Errazuriz):

• Cardinals conspire to block abuse survivor appointment (Sept. 15, 2015)
• Leaked letter adds to pressure on Chile cardinal over sex abuse scandals (July 23, 2018)
• Chile summons Roman Catholic cardinal in sex abuse case (July 24, 2018)
• Top Chilean cardinal summoned as part of widening sex abuse probe (July 25, 2018)
• Chilean prosecutors summon Santiago cardinal in sex abuse case (the case involves the alleged cover-up of abuse by former chancellor of the Archdiocese of Santiago) (July 25, 2018)
• Ricardo Ezzati Andrelo, Cardinal

Cardinal Francisco Javier Errazuriz of Santiago, Chile (predecessor of Cardinal Ricardo Ezzati): 

• Cardinals conspire to block abuse survivor appointment (Sept. 15, 2015)
• Chile cardinal blames Bishop Barros for bad press during papal trip [of Pope Francis to Chile in January, 2018] (March 10, 2018)
• On Chile crisis, who led Pope Francis to make 'serious errors'? (April 25, 2018)
• Cardinal Errazuriz will not participate in Chilean bishops' meeting in Rome (May 10, 2018)
• Chilean cardinal at the center of abuse scandal won't travel to Rome (May 10, 2018)
• Chilean cardinal may be next test for Pope on sex abuse reform (Aug. 1, 2018)
• Cardinal Errazuriz of Chile responds to Crux series [on Cardinal Errazuriz] (Aug. 9, 2018)

Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos (at the Vatican):

• Cardinal: Pope John Paul II approved letter on shielding priest abuser [in France] (Jan. 19, 2012)

Cardinal Angelo Raffaele Sodano (Vatican Secretary of State and Dean of the College of Cardinals): 

• Papal princes immune to censure (Dec. 4, 2009)
• Money paved way for Maciel's influence in the Vatican (April 6, 2010)
• How Fr. Maciel built his empire (April 12, 2010)
• Vatican Power Struggle Behind Pope's Abuse Speech? (May 11, 2010)
• The Cost of Father Maciel (May 12, 2010)
• Former Irish President claims Vatican tried to shield Church archives (Aug. 7, 2018)
• Former Irish official: Vatican asked to protect Church from financial claims (Aug. 9, 2018)
• On Cardinal Sodano and the meaning of 'accountability' (Aug. 12, 2018)

Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone (Vatican Secretary of State -- after Cardinal Angelo Raffaele Sodano):

• Letter to Cardinal Bertone [by Fr. Thomas P. Doyle, O.P., J.C.D.] (Nov. 22, 2007)
• Vatican attacked over cardinal's claim of homosexuality and paedophilia link (April 13, 2010)
• Vatican 'clarifies' cardinal's homosexuality abuse link (April 14, 2010)
• Amid the Abuse Scandal, Benedict's No. 2 Draws Fire (April 14, 2010)
• Vatican probes funding of cardinal's lavish apartment (March 31, 2016)
• Cardinal Bertone's Sins Against Children (April 18, 2016, and updated April 17, 2017)

Cardinal Donald Wuerl (Washington Diocese, USA):

• Cardinal Wuerl's actions in Pittsburgh scrutinized by Catholic sexual abuse investigation (Aug. 14, 2018)
• The Latest: Priest abuse report faults Cardinal Donald Wuerl (Aug. 14, 2018)
• Catholic Church officials shielded sexually predatory priests for decades: grand jury report (Aug. 14, 2018)
• More than 1,000 children abused by Pennsylvania priests, report says (Aug. 14, 2018)
• Report details sexual abuse by more than 300 priests in Pennsylvania's Catholic Church (Updated Aug. 15, 2018)
• Cardinal Wuerl defends himself ahead of child sex abuse report (Aug. 14, 2018)
• Rape, then holy water: Report details how hundreds of priests abused children in Pennsylvania, and the church covered it up (Aug. 14, 2018)
• Report: DC Archbishop Donald Wuerl Mishandled Pennsylvania Priest Sex Abuse Cases (Aug. 14, 2018)
• Catholic officials, Vatican systematically covered up priest sex abuse, report reveals (Aug 14, 2018)

Some Other Notorious Cardinals of the Past:

• Notorious Cardinals: A Rogue's Gallery of Powerful Prelates (For centuries, the Vatican's mighty prelates have wielded far more than spiritual power) (March 12, 2013)

(Updated on August 14, 2018)
(Updated on August 15, 2018)
(Updated on August 17, 2018)
(Updated on August 21, 2018)