We e-mailed a few questions to Bishop George Palliparambil SDB of Miao Diocese in Arunachal Pradesh. We had heard good things about him—his simplicity, approachability, closeness to the people, vision for the Church in India and for the Religious of India. We were not disappointed. He replied at once, with answers that both inspire and challenge.–Editor
Here below are our questions and the good bishop’s straightforward answers:
Bishop George, what are your greatest joys as a bishop, as a missionary, as a religious?
I would not like to separate my role as a Missionary, a Religious and a Bishop, since I believe that all these three are leading to the same reason and explanation of our Christian faith. My greatest joy is what we read in Isaiah 41: 9-10. “I have taken you from the ends of the earth, and called you from its remotest corners, saying to you, ‘You are my servant, I have chosen you and have not rejected you.’ Have no fear, for I am with you.”
For me, life has been just an uninterrupted experience of this. The example and inspiration of my parents and those in charge of my early formation, as well as some early missionaries, especially Fr Emmanuel Albizzuri and Archbishop Hubert Rosario, added flavour and meaning to the promise or the call.
In my life as a missionary, the number of people who accepted Jesus—not because of my preaching or skills, but just because we were able to be connected through the name of Jesus—and the number of young men and women who have shaped up into “responsible citizens and Christians” is surely my greatest joy. I cannot forget those who stood in my way. Instead of discouraging me, they taught me to trust the Lord more. The people who come for prayer when they are in need are another of my joys.
What are the main challenges you see facing the Church in India today?
Today the whole church is very perturbed because of external elements. I feel that, more than any external threat, the hollowness of Christian life, especially of priests and religious—which naturally spills over to the families and to individual Christians—is the greatest threat. We have become so much a part of the “plastic flower culture” that our life too become like that. No roots, no life, no fragrance and no flavour.
As a church, we are still talking about “the role of the laity” and trying to teach them that. According to me, it should be the other way. The clergy and religious should be trying to learn their role to animate the “people of God,” which is the church. This, according to me, is a great weakness.
What are our main strengths and main weaknesses?
The main strength is the involvement of so many good lay people in the various ministries and the emergence of so many ecclesial movements that make faith real to the people. The life and example of many good and holy priests and religious surely add to the plus points. But I feel that it must be so by default, as we are cut out for that, while the lay people living in the world—to which we use so many negative adjectives, such as, corrupt, sinful, secularised, materialistic, etc.—survive this world and pursue holiness for themselves and draw others to it. I remember an IT professional telling a group of priests and religious “These days, you are trying to be professionals and we to be preachers.”
What is the role of religious in this setting?
I joined Savio Juniorate, the Salesian Seminary, half a century ago, in 1970. It was around that time that the CRI coined the phrase, “fundamental option for the poor.” I have been hearing this from then any way. Many experiments to enjoy the romance of it were conducted in various places and in many ways, but I wonder how much we did as the vowed, professed followers of Jesus, who was born in a stable, lived the life of a migrant family, lived without a home, yet always found shelter, was available to people always, had enough time to pray, after the people had left. Being like this Jesus is the role of the religious today. We can justify everything. We can argue any amount, but the example of Francis Assisi, Mother Teresa and many others should guide us. In the words of Pope Francis, we should have “the smell of the sheep.”
Anything you would like to tell the religious of India?
I think that the religious have forgotten or intentionally removed or are ashamed of the words like Evangelization, mortification, reparation, penance and so on, which are essential to religious life. As a whole, we have forgotten or neglected the basic meaning of religious life, namely, “sanctity”—one’s own and of the world. We have to return to it. Seeing the growing persecution of the Church in India some time back, one of my friends prayed, asking the Lord to convert certain people as He did with Saul of Tarsus. The Lord spoke to him and told him, “When Saul persecuted, I had Ananias to whom I could send Saul. If I strike down some persecutors, to whom can I send them?” My friend had no answer. I hope this will explain what I am trying to say.
To subscribe to the magazine, click Subscribe
