The Archbishop Alan de Lastic Chat
Priests and bishops in India have always been media-shy. Rarely do they give interviews and appear on television. But forced by the series of attacks against Christians in the past six months, the prelates are out in the open taking on the Hindu organisations' onslaught against conversions in the country. Logging on to the Rediff Chat after the Friday evening prayers from the Bishop's House in New Delhi, Catholic Bishops Conference of India president Archbishop Alan de Lastic defends the church's work in India.
Archbishop Alan de Lastic (Fri Jan 22 1999 6:23 IST)
I am very grateful to Rediff for giving me this opportunity of conveying my impressions and comments on the recent situation in India with regard to the attacks on the Christian community. Wish you all a very enjoyable and joyful New Year and I do hope this programme will be useful to you.
Dhanraj (Fri Jan 22 1999 3:25 IST)
Reverend Archbishop: Why do you think that there is suddenly this Hindu anger against Christians in India?
Archbishop Alan de Lastic (Fri Jan 22 1999 6:26 IST)
Dhanraj: It is not correct to state that there is a Hindu anger against Christianity. Therefore, I wish to state that there never was a Hindu anger and there never will be such an outburst against Christians because the genuine and authentic Hindu is very tolerant and peace loving. He is ready to accept all religions in India. This has been going on for a long period of time. This outburst is actually the result of a few fanatical fundamentalists who claim to be safeguarding the Hindu religion.
Kasey (Fri Jan 22 1999 6:4 IST)
Reverend, do you think Christians will retaliate? Will it lead to a 1992-93 riot like situation?
Archbishop Alan de Lastic (Fri Jan 22 1999 6:29 IST)
Kasey: There is no fear that the Christians will retaliate by using violence. I wish to state that all these attacks will only strengthen us to deepen our Christian commitment and to display in our lives the life of Christ himself. Therefore, we will never resort to feelings of revenge or retaliation but we will do our best to forgive as Christ forgives everyone. We will also deepen our commitment to love and serve the poor in India, because as Indians we love our people and our country very dearly. At the same time, we will use all legal and peaceful means to fight against any injustice done, especially to the weaker sections of our people.
Murali (Fri Jan 22 1999 6:13 IST)
Reverend: Christians say Hindus attacked them in Gujarat and Hindus state visa versa. What is the real truth, according to you?
Archbishop Alan de Lastic (Fri Jan 22 1999 6:31 IST)
Murali: I am sorry that you have been misinformed. Christians have never attacked anyone in Gujarat or elsewhere.
Rajeev Shah (Fri Jan 22 1999 6:13 IST)
Archbishopji: Is it true that Christians bribe Hindus to convert in India?
Archbishop Alan de Lastic (Fri Jan 22 1999 6:35 IST)
Rajeev Shah: To accuse the Christians of bribing Hindus for conversion is completely false. Using bribes and other means of inducement is forbidden by law. The State has enough machinery at its disposal to stop such activities if they occur.
papadoc (Fri Jan 22 1999 6:13 IST)
Reverend do you not think Christianity will be strengthened as it thrives on Martyrdom as does every Semitic religion?
Archbishop Alan de Lastic (Fri Jan 22 1999 6:40 IST)
papadoc: There is no denying that the blood of martyrs is the seed of Christianity. The Church becomes very strong when it is persecuted, but at the same time, as we are human beings, we do not look forward to any kind of persecution, especially today in the 20th century. Our faith tells us that if we suffer for the name of Jesus Christ, He himself will help us in the hour of need and is powerful to bring good out of evil. He himself tells us never to do evil but to overcome evil with good, which means, with love.
Mandari (Fri Jan 22 1999 6:15 IST)
Hello reverend, why do you think the systematic attacks are taking place so late in the day? What are the attackers afraid of? What are you planning to do?
reijaz (Fri Jan 22 1999 6:20 IST)
Sir, why this sudden attacks on the churches?
Archbishop Alan de Lastic (Fri Jan 22 1999 6:53 IST)
There is no doubt that in the past 12 months, there have been more than 120 cases of which 60 have been in Gujarat alone, 30 since Christmas 1998. Since Independence, this has never happened. This took place after the BJP government took office at the Centre and in Gujarat. It is quite clear that the BJP is part of the bigger organisation called the Sangh Parivar. Therefore, the BJP cannot disassociate itself from the activities of the RSS, VHP and Bajrang Dal. In spite of so many appeals, the state government has done very little to remedy the situation.
In fact, on Christmas Day itself, there were nearly a dozen attacks on churches, Christmas meetings and prayer services. I had personally appealed along with a delegation to the prime minister himself on December 4 and the home minister on December 18. It is therefore deplorable that the state government has not acted fast enough.
It is very difficult for me to get into the skin of these people who attack us to know what their motives are. I can just mention a few: This accusation of conversion of forced conversion is a camouflage. Vested interests are afraid that Christianity with its movement for liberation of people from sin and the effects of sin strikes at the heart of our Indian society by trying to bring about equality, justice. It tries very hard to put an end to the caste system which still pervades Indian society. It tackles the financial mafia or money lenders who charge exorbitant interest and enslave the victim for life. This is one form of bonded labour.
Moreover, most Christians work in rural areas where they try to see that the tribals and others are not unjustly dispossessed of their lands by false pretenses.
Our main thrust is in the field of education where we try to eradicate illiteracy. We also concentrate on programmes for holistic medical care. And finally, we work for the integral human development of people, especially in the rural area. This is a few of our works and we will intensify these programmes of authentic love for the poor and downtrodden.
jAI bAJRANGBALI (Fri Jan 22 1999 6:48 IST)
Is it true that the Christians are being targeted because the BJP and its cohorts fear Sonia Gandhi?
Archbishop Alan de Lastic (Fri Jan 22 1999 6:55 IST)
JaiBajrangbali: I am afraid I am not very familiar with the relationship of the BJP with Sonia Gandhi. What we do know is that ever since she came on the scene, she has wielded considerable political power and therefore has become a target of those who do not have such power.
jAI bAJRANGBALI (Fri Jan 22 1999 6:44 IST)
yOUR GRACE, It is an honour speaking to you. Can you deny that Christian missionaries are involved in conversions? A recent article in Forbes magazine mentioned that a film on Jesus has been shown in 200,000 Indian villages and to 160 million Indians. Now what could be the objective of this?
Archbishop Alan de Lastic (Fri Jan 22 1999 7:4 IST)
JaiBajrangbali: May I first clarify for you what I understand by the word CONVERSION. As far as I understand, conversion is generally accepted as a free personal act. Therefore, there is no such thing as a forced conversion, which is contradiction in terms. It is also incorrect to say that we convert people.
What we do is to proclaim the life, teaching and the personality of Jesus Christ. The person that listens is free to accept or to reject this proclamation. When the person undergoes an internal free change of life for something morally and spiritually better, we call that conversion.
In our Bible, conversion means turning away from a life of sin towards a life of grace, turning away from evil towards God. Therefore the full freedom of the person is involved. I would also like to state that every person born into this world has the fundamental right to change his or her state of life. Regarding the film, it is an example once more of portraying before the general public the life, teachings and personality of Jesus Christ. Let people objectively make the evaluation for themselves as free persons.
Indian (Fri Jan 22 1999 6:58 IST)
Reverend Sir (repeat Question): Welcome to Rediff's chat. I studied in a Jesuit (or convent) school in Mumbai for 7 years. I have also had friends that studied in another Jesuit (or convent) school. Both of us have also studied at 'religion neutral' schools - me for the remaining 3 years of my schooling. One thing that DID strike me was the 'soft-sell' attitude of the missionary schools. We had a subject known as Moral Science through which they taught general generic god things - but also mentioned Christianity on the side - sort of sliding it in. But, I NEVER noticed ANY such selling (soft or hard) at the 'religion-neutral' school. COuld you explain WHY the missionary schools HAVE to 'sell' Christ to children at such a tender age? Why not separate religion from teaching? Why not adopt a 'religion neutral' approach consistently? Is it because there may be funding problems?
Archbishop Alan de Lastic (Fri Jan 22 1999 7:18 IST)
Indian: I thank you for your appreciation of the education you received in a Mumbai Jesuit school. I would like to state that in all Christian schools follow Christ as their model for his virtues, exemplary behaviour and values. Other schools are free to choose any model. We have been accused of using schools as instruments of "conversions". We have 17,000 Christian schools and approximately 20 million go through our institutions annually.
Going back just 50 years, you can calculate the millions of students who would have embraced Christianity. What our school system tries to do is to make every effort to develop complete persons, paying attention to their intellectual, moral, spiritual, physical and social life. I am confident that the children who pass through our schools, in more than one way, become better citizens of the world and India. I would be grateful if you could avoid using the word "sell" because it is too commercial. We do all this out of our love for Jesus Christ.
HIND (Fri Jan 22 1999 7:14 IST)
when a person is converted not only his religion ,but his nationality also changes -- SVATANTRYA VEER SAVARKAR
Archbishop Alan de Lastic (Fri Jan 22 1999 7:25 IST)
Hind: It is quite clear that a change of religion can never by itself imply a change of nationality. Christianity has been in India for well nigh 2,000 years, and we are Indians to the core and proud of our Indian nationality. Hamara Bharat Mahaan Hain.
Archbishop Alan de Lastic (Fri Jan 22 1999 7:26 IST)
To Everyone: Thank you very much. I enjoyed this dialogue with you, and I am convinced that we will always remain friends. To my fellow Indians all over the world, I wish you a very Happy Republic Day. Jai Hind!
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