Most Indian religious and priests seem to have heard of Fr Stan during the last months of his life—after his arrest and during the final months of his life.
As fellow religious and priests, it is not enough we read what everyone else reads—news headlines about his arrest, trials, bail application and denial, admission in a Catholic hospital when it was already too late.
It may be more profitable to ask: What can we learn from his life and witness?
These are the things that come to my mind. He is an example and challenge not just to those with political power, but for all of us who claim to follow the Gospel.
- Offer to work in a poorer setting: How many of us freely choose to work in a poorer setting, without the comforts we would have otherwise? One of the main reasons for ethnic divisions and rivalries in church circles is the search for power and money. You hold a post with more power and money, and I want to be in that position. Isn’t this one of the open scandals in today’s church settings?
- Identity with the other—rather than promote one’s own ethnic group: I have heard religious speaking of wanting to work “for our own people”—meaning those belonging to one’s language group or caste or tribe or rite. Divisions based on such markers are often promoted by priests and religious. Isn’t this a terrible betrayal of Jesus and the Gospel? Stan was not speaking for Tamils, nor for whatever caste group he came from. He identified with the needs of the poor tribals of Jharkhand—which, as everyone knows, is not the ethnic group he came from.
- Whom do we educate? Years ago, Fr Stan was the key speaker at a seminar in Bangalore. I remember him criticizing Catholic educational institutions for catering more to the well-to-do, upper caste students. I raised my hand and pointed out to him that what he said was an unfair generalization, and that there were schools and colleges catering to poorer students. I mentioned the name of a college in Tamilnadu in which 70% of the students were first generation learners. He knew the college and agreed that it was true. He challenged church institutions when they served the rich rather than the poor, and acknowledged the service of some to the poor.
- Speaking up: We often criticize political parties for not being open to criticism and for ruling through fear. Though at a much lower level, does this not happen in some of our settings too? Many of us do not speak up when we need to. Do we have the courage to speak up for justice in our community members, provincial chapters, diocesan gatherings? Do we challenge dishonesty in financial matters and other areas? Living in fear and not speaking up when we need to is not only a failure of policy. It is a pathetic flaw in our human development.
- Use academic qualifications to serve, not to climb: Fr Stan was evidently an intelligent and articulate man with a solid academic training. He did not use it to get positions or climb, but to study, analyze and highlight the plight of the poorest. He did not seek a career in the church or in academia, but served those who had no such training.
- A simple life: There are cynical jokes about some people who talk big on social issues, but lead a comfortable life, cut off from the daily struggles of the poor. Their public pose on social issues is just that—an attention-getting drama, where they grab power and money. Stan was no such humbug. He led a simple life close to the poor. He did not gain any personal advantage from his work for the landless or imprisoned tribals.
- Readiness to pay a price: This is where most activists and social analysts draw a line. They may grumble in private, but fear taking a stand, which means paying a price. Stan made it clear that he was no passive spectator; that he was ready to pay a price for what he stood for. Further, he did not consider himself special or unique. He realized—and said so in public—that what was happening to him was happening to many others as well.
A courageous, good, simple man, who has become a light for many. May more of us be committed to a simple life, live the truth, speak up for justice (beginning within our own circles), move beyond ethnic narrowness, clarify whom we are working for, and promote the welfare of the weakest rather than seek a career, or be blinded by love of power and money.
Fr Joe Mannath SDB
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