The Attack on The Joint Christian Council

The Attack on The Joint Christian Council is Unfair
-George Moolechalil
( Treasurer, Joint Christian Council )        Monday, May 30, 2011

Being a responsible office-bearer of the Joint Christian Council (JCC) I would like to clarify the points appeared in the misleading reports of the ‘syromalabarvoice’ blog on the prayer-dharna held at Kakkanad on 23rd May. As having judged us as anti-church and belittled us as a mere agency for any works, it is a moral obligation of the people behind the blog to publish this response. Hope that the justice will be done.

Your first report itself was a blatant lie, for it said that people from various parishes of America had organized the prayer-dharna at Kakkanad! We sensed a foul smell then itself. Infact ,it was an action of solidarity by the JCC with the Catholic brotheren of Garland . And, we think that it was known to the owners of the blog. Instead of appreciating the great value of solidarity shown by the people of their birth-place, they opted to cover it with untruth. The blog disgraced itself!

The next report was unbeievably shocking. It said that the entire program was an agency work and that the agency was JCC (JICC is incorrect) which consists of people hostile to the Church! Now it is a question how the ‘syromalabarvoice’ could judge a federation of lay men’s organizations which is unknown to it? Another question is whether such judgements are biblically (Matt. 7:1-2)fair?

Now,let me tell the truth about the Joint Christian Council, which is the federation of independent Christian groups in Kerala. Some Syro-malabar groups among them have the history of fighting against the imposition of Chaldeanisation/ Manickaen cross too, since about 15-20 years . So, most of the groups in JCC are already aware of the danger in Chaldeanisation. But later on they understood the very aim of the Oriental Congregation in imposing the Chaldean patrimony with the help of some bishops. This was to deny our own patrimony ie. the patrimony of the law of St. Thomas. So, the focus of the organizations changed from the symptoms to the root-cause, from superficial symbols to the basic church-structure.

Now, the JCC and its member-organisations are in a path of struggle for the enactment of the proposed ‘Church Act’ (Kerala Christian Church Properties and Institutions Trust Bill) under the Indian constitution. The Church Act contains the very essence of our time tested system of 3 tier palliyogams. Once this law is enacted then the spiritual and temporal powers will be separated- the priests will lead the church in spiritual aspects and the faithful, through elected trust members, will administer the temporalities of the church. This system is biblically (Acts.6:1-4) as well as traditionally correct. If the law was implemented, there was no question of registering the church and its properties in America or elsewhere in the world to the bishops – it will belong to the elected parish trust. And, when there is no temporal power, no bishop or priest will undermine the faithful and and impose things on their heads and the affairs in the church will go in smoother way.

The prayer-dharna was planned much earlier to pressurize the bishops to (1) to discuss the Church Act in the synod and (2) to christianise (Act.1:23-26)the election of bishops. It was planned entirely with these two aims. But, when some friends from Garland requested us at the last moment to raise their issue also along with in this program, without any hesitation we accepted it. Because, we not only knew the problem but involved also to some extent. ( For example, 3 long responses and an illustrated article from the ‘Kerala Sabdam’ written by this writer have been published in the same blog last year. I was also instrumental in bringing Garland issue known to many publications in Kerala and abroad.) We still consider it as our own issue. And, unlike the ‘syromalabarvoice’ we are against any kind of agency work. Is it not unethical like engaging quotation groups? ( Of course, we are agents of the teachings of Jesus Christ) There are persons among us who spent lakhs of rupees for the recent advertising campaign of the Church Act! When such generous people are there in Kerala itself, why should we go for ugly agency work?

The JCC being a whole Kerala movement , we have our own flag and it is used in all the programs we conduct.

The ‘syromalabarvoice’ is trying to tarnish our credibility without any basis. And, it is unfair. If the people behind it are noble enough, Christian enough, they will definitely take back their hurting words about the JCC and its members. We hope that they are noble enough to correct themselves. It is assured that we are still in solidarity with the Kerala Catholics in America.

Posted by Syro Malabar Voice at 10:47 AM