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We, at MAGNET, invited open feedback about religious from lay women and men, in these words:

“Thousands of schools and colleges—from top-rated institutions in cities to those catering to the poorest in the villages—are run by religious. So, too, hospitals and health centres of all types. And centres for street children, homes for the destitute aged, leprosaria, orphanages, media houses, retreat houses, shelters for the homeless, legal aid centres, …

As a lay person, you will probably be familiar with one or a few activities of religious. We would like to know your impressions of Catholic religious (women and men) and your expectations from them. “

Here is a frank and well-thought out feedback from a professional familiar with members of religious orders.

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Conrad Saldanha

Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) of 1968 is a law with special reference to this lockdown period

Imposition of ESMA:

“The Covid-19 outbreak has breathed life into antiquated laws,” says The Economic Times of 21 March 2020.  In April 2020, the Uttar Pradesh Government decided to put on hold the increase of the Dearness Allowance (DA) for its sixteen lakh employees which was due from January 1, 2020.  The government decided not to pay DA instalments which will be due from July 1, 2020 and January 1, 2021.  Further, it imposed ‘The Essential Services Maintenance Act, 1968’ (ESMA) and prohibited strikes in workplace for the next six months.  Similarly, the Andhra Pradesh Government imposed ESMA on health and medical services for a period of six months from April 2020.  The Madhya Pradesh Government invoked it on 3 April 2020 across the state as a measure to prevent any strike by essential services delivery system, including the medical and health services.  Therefore, it is high time we learnt the provisions of ESMA, especially during this pandemic period.

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Fr Ravi Sagar SJ

We are currently living through perhaps the worst crisis the global community has faced in the last one hundred years since the Spanish flu of 1918. COVID-19 has disrupted life on a massive scale.

Recently, in a talk to faculty and students, Fr Stephen Mavely, Vice Chancellor of Assam Don Bosco University, made a comment which later became the central point of his address at the University Convocation. He described this as time of “churning.” He presented the following characteristics of this churning: a challenging time, a disconcerting time, a revealing time, a disturbing time, an unsettling time. The talk inspired me to reflect further on this “churning.” I characterize this time with three phrases: a time of unsettling disruption, a transformative time and a time for community and compassion.

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FR JOSE PARAPPULLY SDB

Here are the salient points of the new Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act 2020, passed by the Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India, on 28 September 2020. It amends the previous Act of 2010.

1. General Guidelines

According to the FCRA laws 2010 and Rules 2011, the FCRA registration certificate has to be renewed once every five years. The renewal application should be made six months before the expiry of the existing registration. The FCRA registration certificate will lapse if the renewal is not done in time. This means that after the period of validity of the certificate the association will not be able to receive foreign contributions.

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Fr Trevor D’Souza FCA

I prefer the term, “Celibate Communities,” rather than “Consecrated Life” (for every baptized person is consecrated to God) or “religious life” (God alone knows who is more religious or less so), or “vowed life” (for married people too make a vow). What distinguishes me from my parents or married relatives and friends, is celibacy, lived in community with other adults of the same gender. Celibacy and same gender community evidently distinguish us from lay persons. I do not claim to be more “religious” than my married siblings, nor more “consecrated” than they, who received the same Baptism that I did. Both they and I have vows to keep.

Relevance and Necessity Unclear

How relevant and meaningful is this way of today? Should we propose it to today’s young women and men? For what? Does it have a future? Or, is it largely an outdated and somewhat irrelevant form of life which may have served a purpose in earlier times, but is irrelevant today—as many seem to think?

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Fr Joe Mannath SDB

Rather than quote books or theorize about religious life, we preferred to hear directly from those who are living it today, here, in our setting. In any profession or vocation, after all, it is those who live it who know it best.

We were blessed to get personal answers from eleven religious—a Bishop, four Sisters, three Brothers, two Priests and a Theology student. We also got frank and sensible feedback from a laywoman and a layman, both of whom know women and men religious from close quarters and for long. Their friendly feedback will appear in later issues of MAGNET. Here we present the “insiders’ views” that we received.

We sent each of them the following eight questions. In replying, most followed the same order. A few made slight changes.

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KEVIN

Over the past few years Crystal and I have been privileged, honored and blessed to be permitted to share our thoughts and ideas with the readers of Magnet. Each time I sit down to write a little something, I am absolutely humbled as I contemplate the magnificent and holy people who read this publication. I feel so unworthy as I read all of the wisdom and insights of those who write articles and comments. Yet we trust in the vision of our beloved editor Fr Joe Mannath and bow to his persistent belief that we might actually have something for the readers to consider. In these last years we have sought to share from a different vocational perspective on the same issues and themes on which others were writing. Admittedly, we occasionally had doubts that what a married couple from the West might have to say on the given theme would be relevant to most of the readers. Yet it was always rewarding to consider how to be relevant to a group of dedicated Catholic priests, religious and laity.  Now, we are going to give up!  No, not on writing for Magnet. Remember that persistent editor? Well, he has granted us a new freedom to share not only our perspective with you but also to share more of our lived experience in our vocation of a married couple. So that is what we will try to do in the months ahead.

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Crystal and Kevin Sullivan

RELIGIOUS LIFE—A “MESSY” JOURNEY

“I am disillusioned,” Sister Rupa told me. “What happened?” I asked. “I am upset with what I see happening in religious life. It is so different from what I expected it to be. I had thought it would be a place where we would really love one another, help one another toward holiness and do good together. But what I see is pettiness, backbiting, jealousies and infantile behaviour. I’ve had enough of this. I’ve been thinking of giving up this life.”

Sr Rupa’s lament reminded me of an article in the Review of Religious (1994, May-June, 440-451) by Presentation of Mary Sister Susan Beaudry and Marist Father Edwin Keel entitled “Journeying to God Together.”

In the context of Sr Rupa’s lament I would like to reflect on the first part of Beaudry and Keel’s definition – Journey.

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FR JOSE PARAPPULLY SDB

I have a problem! My mind wanders . . . if ever I could harness it, rein it in, and keep it still. But I just cannot. Today, during our daily Holy Communion service, I remembered with a certain nostalgia the long Sundays in the Men’s Central Jail in Los Angeles, USA, conducting the Communion services for the inmates. There was only one priest (and he only spoke English) for the 5,000 or so inmates. He would come for one Sunday Mass for a group of about eighty inmates. The rest of the inmates? We had to reach them through Communion services.

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Brother Carmel Duca MC

The seed of religious vocation was sown in me many years ago when I was a little girl. The Loreto Sisters in school never ceased to fill me with wonder and awe. I wished to become like them some day. It took me many years to take the plunge to join religious life. I was already an independent working woman when I was reminded of my call. Finally, in 2009, I took the leap of faith to join Loreto.

I came as a late vocation to the congregation thinking I knew the congregation well, with a deep desire and hope to live a radical life. Over the last ten years life taught me many lessons. It changed my mindset and perceptions, and showed me the vulnerable and human side of religious life. My fancy ideas slowly melted away and I was faced with the ordinary. Many times, I have asked myself why I am still here.

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Sr Greta Robert IBVM