Bombay's Catholic clergy and laity lock horns over dubious transactions involving Church land
ASreal estate prices assume unreal dimensions in Bombay, a section of the city's Catholic community is out to nail its errant clergy. Under the aegis of the newly formed activist organisation, the Association of Concerned Catholics (ACC), the normally placid community held a demonstration outside the Archbishop's House in Colaba in the last week of June.
The issues in question were those of accountability, transparency and responsibility triggered off by dubious dealings in the sale of prime Church property. The demonstration, supposedly the first of its kind in the city, was intended to drive home the point that turning the other cheek in true Christian spirit does not necessarily mean turning the other way in the face of corruption.
Facing the brunt of the people's ire is Cardinal Simon Pimenta, ironically the most progressive head that the city has had in a long time—the man also responsible for increasing public participation in Church matters. Charges being levelled against him include aiding, abetting, shielding and shying from taking action against those members of the clergy responsible for the misuse and misappropriation of funds obtained from the sale of Church land.
According to the ACC, during Cardinal Pimenta's tenure, the Archdiocese of Bombay has reportedly witnessed an unprecedented sale of Church land worth crores of rupees at undervalued rates. "We are not fighting the Church or the clergy, we are only exposing corruption and hypocrisy and are requesting the Archbishop to remedy the same," asserts Michael Azavedo, founder president of ACC.
At the heart of the problem is the concept of sole trusteeship whereby powers of acquisition, disposal and sale of Church property are vested in one person, the parish priest. "The city civil court had passed an order last year that sole trusteeship should be dissolved in the Salvation Church, Dadar, and the same should be implemented in all the churches of the city. Even then nothing has been done," complains Azavedo.
Spurred on by the city civil court's approval, a writ petition was filed by the Forum Against Christian Exploitation (FACE) in the first week of July. The petition seeking the formulation of a common scheme for the administration of the assets of the 130-odd Christian trusts in the city was, however, rejected by the Bombay High Court.
The crusade, in any case, has just begun. The ACC has drawn up a list of alleged irregularities—mainly siphoning of funds, undervaluation of land, favouritism, unaccountability—in various transactions. Property belonging to the famous St Michael's church in Mahim was sold to a builder at a rate grossly incongruent with current market prices. With FACE dragging the matter to court, the builder had to cough up an additional Rs 1 crore to the Trust. In another incident, St Joseph's church at Juhu was richer by Rs 76 lakh after concerned Catholics negotiated with a builder over church property sold for much below the going rate.
Then, Catholics who had donated towards the building of a church at Mahakali in the Andheri suburb five years ago have yet to see the beginnings of any kind of construction. In yet another incident, the former parish priest of St Anthony's church, at Malad in suburban Bombay, arbitrarily gifted land worth Rs 10 lakh to a favoured parishioner on the eve of his transfer. Prevented from taking legal action against his predecessor's generosity, successor Fr Paul Cordeiro chose to resign from the post.
Furthermore, a section of the clergy which enjoys living it up has compounded the crisis. Says activist Bernie Tellis: "Under the canon law, church property is held in a trust for the laity, but priests have been misusing this ruling. The canon law also stipulates that church property should first be utilised for the good of the people and only surplus land be disposed to the public at large. Not only is the laity cut off from the use and benefit of the property, there is no transparency in the dealings."
The increasingly incensed laity is finally unwilling to go along with the conventional 'pray, pay and obey'. And with the wilful loss of land, one notion has been gaining ground: that priests just want to have funds. Detailing their grievances in the memorandum handed over to the Archbishop's House, the disgruntled following are now demanding that the Church accounts for its deeds—particularly those applicable to land and property.
"There should be substitution of sole trusteeship with multiple trusteeship," says Louis D'Silva, president, Bombay Catholic Sabha (BCC). "There should be a board of management for church trusts comprising members of the laity elected by the parish councils." But with members of the parish council being nominated by the parish priest himself, activists allege that the advisory body has neither bark nor bite.
With the surfacing of scams and the knowledge that parasitic priests are easily let off with punishment transfers, the growing fold of doubting Thomases has brought fundamentals to the fore. "It is a crisis of character and not one of faith," observes Tellis. "As in every walk of life, priesthood is no longer a vocation, it is now a career. There's nothing wrong with it except that a priest should have the necessary qualifications that his work profile demands." The ACC charter of demands insists on audited financial results to be made available to the laity and that any sale of Church land, prompted only by compelling necessity, should be preceded by invitations of tenders and announcements in the media.
For the Archdiocese of Bombay, this isone cross too heavy to bear. "Yes, there have been a few priests who have been taking shortcuts but these five per cent are not representative of the entire clergy," offers a senior priest by way of explanation.
THE 'shortcuts' have been made possible in spite of the in-built safeguards dictated by the Vatican. Every parishhas to have a finance committee with a minimum of three technically competent members. Their consent is obligatory for any deal above Rs 20,000. And any deal exceeding Rs 10 lakh has to be subject to the scrutiny of the authorities in Rome.
"The parish priest may be the sole trustee but his powers are limited by the canon law. To pass any project, the consent of the parish council and the finance committee is a must, followed by the sanction of the Archdiocesan Finance Committee consisting of a majority of lay members and finally the Archibishop's consultatory board of seven priests," clarifies Fr Oswald Pereira, Chancellor, Archbishop's House. Citing encroachment, maintenance and property disputes as the main reason for the sale of Church property, he adds: "In the absence of centralised records, the Diocesan Estate Office was set up a few years ago to help parish priests maintain land records. Canon laws are cumbersome but essential and it is not the movement that is worrying us as much as the clergy-laity divide. Though the manifestation may be unpleasant, the symptoms of greater involvement of the laity in church affairs is welcome."
In the meantime, attempts at administering a healing touch are being made. Claiming credit for the scheme to introduce a board for the management of Church trusts involving multiple trusteeship and lay participation, the Archbishop's House is setting up an independent conciliation board to resolve and facilitate dialogue between the clergy and laity.
As talking terms and counting crores takes precedence over counting blessings, one parishioner states: "We are not out to tarnish the Church. In fact, we see this growing demand for democratic participation and the crusade against corruption as a sign from the Holy Spirit." In other words, it is simply the sign of a more spirited time.