TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY LEADS TO THE CREDIBILITY OF A PRIEST

“Transparency and accountability leads to the credibility of a priest”, this was a parting message of Fr. Thomas Olickal, the Parish Priest of the St. George Forane Church, Aruvithura in Palai diocese.

Seventeen priests from the Pastoral Institute, Old Goa visited Palai diocese in Kerela for the Pastoral Exposure, as part of their yearly programme: four members of the Staff and thirteen young and energetic ‘Pastoralites’.

The diocese of Palai is a newly constituted diocese which is sixty years old, but, the faith of the people is twenty centuries old. It is traditionally believed that St. Thomas, the Apostle of India preached the Christian faith in some of the villages at the dawn of Christianity. The deep cultural heritage of the primitive could be seen from the way they worship and celebrate the Eucharist in the Syro Malabar rite. The diocese is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Changanacherry and is spread around an area of 1166 sq. kms. There are 170 parishes and 6 filial Churches. The total Catholic population is said to be 3,26,742 members. There are 457 diocesan priests, 12 Religious Congregation of men and 42 of women in the diocese. The present Bishop is Rt. Rev. Dr. Joseph Kallarangatt.

Though the main occupation of the people is agriculture, they are well educated. The Catholic Church takes keen interest in the field of education. The Parish Priest of Mar Sleeva Forane Church boasts of having 40 doctors, 80 engineers and 500 graduates in the parish having a Catholic population of 6000 people. They conduct various training programmes to give proper orientation for entrance exams such as IIT, NDA, JEE, AIIMS etc. Their basic motto is evangelize through education. Therefore, great care is taken in the appointments of the teachers - a detailed report on the character conduct and religious life of the candidate is received from the Parish Priest before their appointment.

They have their own ‘Sunday School’ in each parish imparting Catechesis to Catholic students in the age group of 5-17 years. The catechetical classes are for two hours duration, followed or preceeded the celebration of the Holy Eucharist. They have it for 45 Sundays, a year, with two examinations conducted annually. After their exams there is an intensive summer course for six days. Each parish has its own “headmaster”; and a team of 65 committed catechists called “Promoters’ team” supervise all the catechetical activities of different parishes. A unique meet of the recipients of the First Holy Communion of all the parishes of the diocese is held at the Cathedral Church with over 5000 of them coming together.

The Centre for Evangelization has many ministries working under its umbrella: hospital ministry, prison ministry, colony ministry (proclaim Gospel to the poor families), charismatic renewal and the de-addiction centre. They also have various programmes chalked out throughout the year like night vigils, retreats for adults, students and college going youth, Bible convention and gatherings for the youth.

The Family Apostolate Centre has its own Counseling Centre and a Home Science Centre (where they teach cooking, embroidery, and housekeeping etc. for 6 months).

They have also started a pro life movement and mother’s association in the parishes.

The Communication Centre also contributes in the evangelization. They stage dramas promoting Christian values, impart effective training for various performing as well as drawing arts, organize Christian classical concerts and conduct various audio visual training programmes for students, parents, teachers and trainers. They have their own fully furnished professional recording studio and news portal to publish local as well as diocesan news.

All the Diocesan Centres are headed by highly qualified with doctorates to their credit.

There are many visible structures like the magnificent Churches, massive buildings for schools, colleges and convents that could be seen as one move around Palai diocese. The new Church edifices that have come up, in recent years, blend well with the modern and the traditional Kerala architectural sciences. They have invested huge amount to build infrastructures for education. A nursing college recently built cost them two hundred million rupees. They are also venturing into the health sector. Presently they are collecting funds for a mammoth hospital building that has been planned to be built by the diocese.

There are lots of popular pieties associated with devotions taking place in the Forane Churches. Kuravilangadu, where Mother Mary seems to have appeared is flocked by around 40,000 people every first Friday. There are also people who turn in large numbers on specific days at Ramapuram, St. Jude Church, Immaculate Conception Shrine, St. George Church etc. They use tangible signs in their offerings like oil, image, domestic animals, crop, walking on knees and offerings by elephants.

The diocese of Palai is blessed with Saints, Blessed and Servant of God. The portrait of St. Alfonsa, the first woman saint of India is adorned at every nook and corner of Palai. Her tomb at Bharananganam where she lived, died and was buried stands tall on a plateau, flocked to by innumerable pilgrims daily. Blessed Kunnyachan, another holy person with his simple lifestyle and zealous approach has made an indelible mark on the dalit Christians. Blessed Kuriakose Elias Chavara and Fr. Mathew Kodalikkattil, the Servant of God are another two holy men, who are much venerated. These holy people have inspired many vocations for priesthood and consecrated life.

The parishes of Palai diocese have an old system of administration. A prominent Church in each deanery is called a ‘Forane Church’ i.e. the Mother Church of all the nearby Churches. The activities of the deanery are centered around this Church. The ‘Forane Church’ supports the nearby Churches in their times of need but for the day to day administration all the Churches are independent. Four members are selected by the Parish Priest, every year, for the administration of the Temporal goods of the Church. One of them is a paid accountant. Every month, the accounts are presented to the people and then sent to the Bishop. There is total transparency and accountability, as one of the Parish Priest remarked. The decision making process is also collective. If any important decision has to be taken, like building a new Church or selling Church property, then a ‘General Assembly’ is called. The ‘General Assembly’ consists of all the heads of the family in the parish. Other minor decisions are taken by the Parish Priest by consulting the Parish Councils. There are also various associations in each Parish like Catechetical, Mission League (they collect funds and send it to the needy parish/diocese), Catholic Youth Movement, SSVP, Sodality (their objective is to bring one closer to God), Mothers’ association, Fathers’ association, Legion of Mary, elders’ forum, Palliative Care unit (visit the sick accompanied by medical men), Sunday Prayer Group, altar servers and ‘Kudumba Koottayma’ (like our Small Christian Communities). There are also reconciliation group in the parishes to mend the broken relationship. A digital Parish diary has been published in one parish with family photos of all parishioners.

The diocese of Palai has its own uniqueness. The community is rooted in culture and tradition. They pray together and share with the poor. Their family bonds are very strong.

All in all, it was an enriching experience for the priests who visited Palai. They were filled with enthusiasm and zeal to build an integrated community and begin their pastoral ministry with new ideas.

Fr. Noel D’Costa