On December 3, the headquarters of the Archdiocese of Pondicherry-Cuddalore witnessed a tense situation when a group of Dalit Catholic leaders tried to meet priests from their community.
Tamil Nadu state leader for Dalit Christian Liberation Movement, Mary John, was joined by a few priests and were in a peaceful dialogue with the archdiocesan administration to end untouchability in the archdiocese.
However, the archdiocesan procurator Father Gregory Louis Joseph stopped the leaders at the gate of the Archbishop’s House. Later, the the Dalit priests approached the police and opened the gate with the help of the them.
“We, the Dalits, have every right to meet our priests,” John was quoted saying in Matters India. The Dalit priests’ representatives had earlier tried to meet the archbishop on November 30.
John said that they had come to have a dialogue with the diocesan administration to eradicate caste discrimination and the untouchable practices in the archdiocese especially in the appointment of the Dalit priests.
Apparently, the term of the incumbent procurator expired following which the Dalit priests requested the archbishop to appoint one of the priests from their community to the post but were denied by the ‘college of consulters’ who met the very next day to discuss it.
The Dalit priests mention that the archdiocese has 42 posts, including that of the procurator, which remain out of bounds for them.
When the priests met the archbishop again, the were informed that Father Albert Felix had taken over from December 1 after Father Gregory resigned on November 13.
The archbishop on November 24 had sent a circular informing that he was going on leave for 2 months due to health reasons. He appointed the Vicar General Father A. Arulanandam as the archdiocesan administrator in his absence. The archbishop’s circular, dispatched by Father Gregory, who was the procurator, quoted a letter from Propaganda Fide that the appointment of the new procurator was suspended for 2 months.
Later, a letter signed by 23 Dalit priests, was sent to the apostolic nuncio expressing their concerns about the absence of the archbishop. They alleged that the archbishop went on leave following an unprecedented meeting of the college of archdiocesan consulters without the archbishop during which they had reversed the prelate’s decision on the procurator.
The Dalit priests’ representative liken their condition like a sheep herd without a shepherd. “We cannot also approach the vicar general as his administrative powers are not clear under the Canon Law,” they were quoted saying in Matters India.
The Dalit leaders had first written to the archbishop in March urging him to end the highly polarized casteism and untouchability plaguing in the archdiocese. A few Dalit priests had met the archbishop on March 9 and appealed him make transfers and appointments of priests on the basis of equality and fraternity pointing out that no Dalit priests serve parishes dominated by Non-Dalit Catholics.
John alleged that Dalit people’s welfare were constantly undermined and sidelined from attaining positions of power and authority.
(Source: Matters India)