Alcoholism & Celibacy of Priests and Luxury among the Faithful - Valsan Thambu's critique of Catholic Priests and Hierarchy: Comment

https://youtu.be/IrmB4te17-o?si=dmzyPVhuDutAcJoK

Dr Valsan Thambu, a great scholar, a senior educator and a critical thinker I admire.  I have read his autobiographical work on what he tried to do at St Stephen’s, and have been in communication with him.  

His response to Bp Thattil’s lamentation on the ethical degradation of the faithful and the clergy was around 2 points.

1.       Alcohol use among the clergy

2.       Luxury and/or ostentation among the faithful.

 

He appeared to have a convinced opinion about catholic clergy, apparently from his personal knowledge of catholic priests, in general as addicted to alcohol and dependent on it. He concludes that the major reason for this is the compulsion imposed on them to remain celibate,  and in the mortal struggle to get over the natural animal passion, they seek recourse to alcohol.

His point appears to be that the compulsory celibacy on priests is unnatural and unwarranted.

He accepts that some may be gifted with the grace to remain celibate, but most are not.

I agree with him that celibacy need not be made mandatory for being a priest in the church. That was not originally so, and it had evolved gradually, and was accepted as a norm somewhere in 306 AD (Council of Elvira).  Even after Elvira, it had not been uniformly so several churches.

Some of the Eastern Churches (Maronite, Melkite, Ukranian etc.) are having married clergy. Syro-Malankara church, when rejoining Catholic church was said to have given the option of having married clergy.

Having been an ordained priest for over 30 years, and having met fellow priests within Syro-Malabar church, priests of Latin and Malankara churches in different parts of India, and having met several priests in various other countries, especially, in the United States, I found his allegations exaggerated, if not baseless:

(i)              There are several catholic priests I have come to know closely who do not consume alcohol at all.

(ii)            There are hundreds of others who are not at all in the habit of drinking, yet not averse to having a drink or two for a party or a solemn meal, and who enjoy it.

(iii)          In my encounter with hundreds of catholic priests in different parts of the world, I have come across or come to know not even half a dozen who were alcohol dependent, or who needed alcohol to lead a healthy priestly life.

(iv)           I have come across or heard about priests who had a daily dose of alcohol, but they were few and far between.  There have been also some priests who were addicted to smoking. Other than these few exceptions, I have hardly come across catholic priests who required to indulge in alcohol to suppress the animal passions that are said to be natural to human beings.

(v)             In the several instances of my short-time ministries in the parishes of USA, as an Indian I was surprised to see, alcohol being readily available in the priests’ residences.  They are not kept hidden, but very often publicly displayed in their living room or dining hall. But I have hardly ever seen any of them indulging in drinking at any point of time; nor did they have to make any excuse or show a pretence for having a drink or two on some occasions; nor does the culture look down upon it.

(vi)           However, in Kerala culture, especially in the Syro-Malabar Church (often turning Zero-Jesus),  or perhaps, in the middle-class Indian culture in general, having a drink is considered something evil, not befitting a spiritual person/leader, something not to be done, yet something a good many of the Indians (men) would like to indulge in. (But I was pleasantly surprised to read the statistics in this regard – according to National Family Health Survey (NFHS 2021)  the national average for men who consume alcohol is 19%, and for Kerala, it is 19.9% - likely hiding in self-reporting adjusted, still it may not be more than 25%.  Now is it about hard drinkers or addicts or generally about those who consume alcohol, including the occasional ones, I am not sure.  

(vii)         In the Latin church, this is much less seen as a taboo by the faithful. So even in Kerala, the trend is likely to be more common among the priests of the Latin Church.

(viii)       While accepting that I enjoy a drink or two on occasion, I am absolutely sure that I have hardly felt any propensity for it, or felt that it was needed to keep the animal passions under check or as a substitute for it. While accepting that to lead a celibate life is not easy, nor claiming to have had perfection in this matter, rather confessing to errors or deviations in this regard, which I continue to correct and refine,  – our pastoral involvement, professional commitment and engagement, our lifestyle oriented to prayer and independence, and not alcoholic dependence, are what help us (to a great extent) to lead a celibate happy life.

(ix)      From my limited experience of lay faithful and priests, I have observed much greater alcoholic dependence or addiction among the lay people when compared to the priests – it may be that in 1000 priests it is likely to find a maximum of 2 addicts (less likely), whereas it could be easily 15 or more among the laity.  Are the lay faithful taking recourse to alcohol because they are not having a worthy life partner to satiate the animal passions natural to human beings?

I felt that Dr. Thambu was venting his animosity or apathy towards the Catholic priestly lifestyle, rather than presenting factual information and logical arguments. His personal experiences with Catholic priests might have been limited to a particular circle. While there may be instances of alcoholic indulgence or deviation, connecting these to form a general judgment that presents the Catholic clergy in a negative light raises questions about the bona fides of his arguments.

On the second point he focuses, I am rather fully in agreement with.  Whether luxury is needed or not, whether it is sinful or not, are debatable issues. It can have an economic argument as well. That apart, personally, my thumbs up to a simpler lifestyle with minimum needs, and no wants. No claims to that either! But before crying foul about the indulgence of the faithful in this regard, those in the authority are bound to examine their own lifestyle and see while in positions of power including that of leading a local faith community, whether they are victims of this trend in their personal lives as well as in the activities they lead and animate. 

Post Script: On second thought, I have to confess, as is almost evident to all: the Catholic church survives and thrives as a robust institution, (besides the strength drawn from its founder Jesus Christ, which should be the case with any other Church, claiming to be Christian) because of the army of dedicated full-timers as priests and nuns, who have set aside the natural animal passion for something they thought as nobler and worthy, and good many of them, drawing a 'kick' from engaging in such activities, full-time with very less to care about their families, and being most of the time compensated adequately by the devotion and trust (and also care,  though not always) of the faithful, and even of others that come into contact with them. This aspect of exhilaration, not necessarily from alcohol, is perhaps unfamiliar to Dr. Thambu, though his own dedicated work at St. Stephen's might have provided similar experiences.  I don't think it was anybody's clever ploy or contrivance that led to the emergence of such an army, but a spontaneous and spirited response to various needs and crises.

In this case, the priests having greater autonomy and possibility for initiatives, might have greater satisfaction from a typically secular point of view, when compared to the consecrated women, who do not enjoy that degree of freedom and autonomy; however, still accomplishing marvellous feats with individualised care as well as institutional ministry. This secondary status, not being an ideal one, is also to be realistically seen as the reflection of the secular world on this religio-spiritual domain.  

THREE DECADES - MINISTRY OF THE WORD, MINISTERING TO THE WORLD

Feb. 2, 2025. Happy Consecrated Day 2025! I come to know about this dedication in the Church, on the feast of presentation only now!! 

I thought of making a note of our 30 years together - in no way claiming to be complete - after all, it is my blog! However, this platform provides flexibility for continued editing and revision. So, in case, there is something missing or not in place, our friends are welcome to point that out. 

1994 - We were 31 CMIs from four original batches; Plus 4 Camillians, 2 from the Order of Carmelites, 2 from Third Order Rigors, 2 for the Diocese of Mananthavady, 3 for the Diocese of Kottayam, 2 for the Montfort fathers and 3 for a secular order of priests. From 54 CMIs and some 10 others in 1987, we had become a smaller band with many additions-deletions.

Of the 31 CMIs, only 25 of us were Dharmaram trained - 4 were from Pune and 2 were from Ashta. In due course, two chose other paths, and one is no more (Mathew Chetikalam - RIP+). So there are altogether 28 of us now spread across the globe - Africa -1, Australia - 1, USA - 3, Philippines -1, Qatar/UP - 1, Germany - 3, Italy -1.  Getting the NRIs is really tough - however, when a proposal of meeting together on completing 30 years was mooted, Joseph Mani Niravathuparampil responded enthusiastically and wanted that to happen in January 2025 so that he could be part of it. Matching the suitability of that time with the rest of the NRIs was the next task - when another German resident Poly responded favourably with genuine interest being shown by Paulson (Philipines), James (Australia), Cherian (Italy) and Paul (Kenya), that became the obvious choice. We zeroed in on the 30th and 29th of January to accommodate the maximum of these people and appealed to the Indian residents to take a break from their engagements - with most of them having very serious responsibilities as HoIs in various parts of the country.  

All said and done, in the two days there were 17 from the 1994 batch and 1 from the 1995 batch, besides some of the former batchmates - Varanath (Thomaskutty), James (Mannanal), CJ (Jose Chiramattel) calling on to say hello. 

A few of us met at the guest house of SH college, Thevara, thanks to the support of Rev Fr Prior and Rev Fr Joseph Kusumalayam. We were greeted by the Prior on 29th morning and had breakfast at the monastery. 

We assembled around 4.30 pm at the guest house of Rajagiri Engineering College (RSET), began with a short prayer, went around the biodiversity-rich campus, undergone a radical transformation in the last 25 years, clicking pictures. We were treated to tender coconuts of the campus (indeed, sweet & tender) by the School of Management Director, Rev. Dr Francis Manavalan.  

It was followed by a short reflective prayer session led by the Spiritual Father of the batch, Devassia.  Then almost all present shared their experience and views as priests in the last 30 years! 

Paul - with a short stint as a teacher of Polytechnic and then as a formator in Keralam, and then in Kenya - now for almost 25 years.  He adjusted his vacation in such a way as to be part of the gathering, overcoming stumbling blocks like an unexpected hospitalisation.  He is still very much the lightweight active Paul only that he is devoid of his trademark beard. 

Abraham (Kizhakkekkuttu), who joined late to the batch is the senior-most among us. He came leaving behind many achievements - an NCC C certificate-holder, a member of the RD parade contingent, a para-jumper, a teaching career, an office post in the police force... His had been a teaching and ed-admin career of past 25 plus years - a pensioner of Gujarat government, a builder of institutions, a pastor - indeed a winner, while also being a modern-day CMI Phoenix bird surviving very many road accidents - some of them fatal - and bouncing back.  Now serves as a parish priest in Junagad. 

Mathew (Mathukutty - Thengumpally ), joined our batch from the junior batch - an athlete and a sportsperson. After initial years as a teacher, and a 2 year pastoral stint in the US, he had been a career principal for over a quarter century across various schools, who made receiving recognition by the various official bodies his habit. Addicted to work, he still finds time for rigorous games, and has survived an attack of cancer with his sportsman spirit. 

Josef Mani (Niravathu or Niravathuparampil), also joined the batch having completed his graduation before joining the congregation. After a brief period of ministry in Keralam, he was sent to Germany to minister there and support the congregation, which he had been doing with great efficiency and earnestness in the past 25 years plus. 

James (Sheen or Thazhoor) is from Kochi (Kadavanthra), however, with his ancestral  roots in Changanachery, he joined Trivandrum province. A language enthusiast - especially of English and Tamil, he chose an international ministry from the very early times - spending more than 25 years in South Africa, and now serving the faithful in Australia. With a sharp sense of humour, he looks at the unchristian follies the Church makes by its apparent blind adherence to ritualism. He is grateful for a second chance from a near hopeless situation of COVID, which he survived by self-treatment and divine grace! India, Africa or Australia - people are all humans, the differences being superficial, he observes. 

Mathew (Manjakunnel) had been the artist of the batch and he has used his artistry to creatively transform the various domains he touched. With a Master's in Economics from Baroda University, he has been a school teacher under Kerala government, but soon left that behind to guide and pioneer several schools in Kerala and one in Karnataka, revived an ayurvedic-nature cure centre of the province, guided the province and many others along path of sustainable social ministry, and is now guiding a province of the CMIs. Carmel province apparently cannot do without such ministry from someone from his family - his uncle, his brother or himself all having been its leaders! Of late, he is on a publishing spree - with his latest work 'Anonymous Christians' being released on this day! (I have taken it along for my reading). 

Peter (Baby Kuzhikandathil) shows the kind of transformation possible through CMI formation - his academic track record shows steady progress from an average student to a brilliant one, an award winner and one of the most illustrious researchers of the congregation - with an H index value of 39, over 170 articles, several books, almost 25 Ph Ds, hundreds of conference presentations globally. He had been a Principal, a research guide, dean of research of the well-established Hindustan University. His career graph also indicates education, training, research, publication, research guidance, institution building (14 centres of excellence initiated), school-college-university level functioning and pastoral work. Enviable track record, and unenviable opposition and scrutiny on the side of his superiors. As I jot this down, I get the news of his appointment as the Pro-Vice Chancellor of St. Joseph's University, Chennai - though the congregation had been reluctant to recognize his accomplishments, not so with the world beyond it - where he has held several academic offices of high-standing.

Joseph (Karikattu or Kochu) - happens to be in this batch, as he had gone for higher studies in Gujarati. The majority of his years of ministry - over 25 years - had been in the education of the marginalised, with a kind of ashram way of life. To my mind, he is a model of simplicity and commitment - especially commitment to the gospel value of being poor in spirit. An artist by birth, he is our proud representative on the ashram path - we cherish his presence, a first time in our company. 

Devassia (Ezholithakidiyel) - was destined to be a formator, with a training for the same from DVK soon after his ordination.  In his assignments of guiding the youngsters in formation (almost after the pattern of our very creative Rector Fr Jose Koluthara), he also managed to secure PG degree and B. Ed which led him to a career path in the public sector, leading the glorious Jamnagar school as its principal. But he quit that at the next instance when the congregation required his services in formation; and before long dedicating his life to the care and protection of HIV affected terminally ill people combining it with the axiom of sustainable production on the 25 acre campus. He is a spiritual guide to several religious communities of the region! Except that silver streaks have appeared on his otherwise dark black canopy, his hairstyle, the chistle-shaped side-burns all remain the same as from Valiyathovala days!

James (Puthuparambil) - he went down by a year from our batch as he pursued higher studies in Gujarati. Having served a government-aided higher secondary school as a Gujarati faculty, he set that security aside to establish an CISCE school in Rajkot, and has remained its Principal to date, for over 25 years, seeing to the formation of youngsters in the mould of sustainability, and building up a green clean campus accommodating over 4000 youngsters!! He feels that our typical appointment and tenure regulations may not fit well for effective ministry. 

Jain (Thomas Kuzhiyanimattathil) - perhaps the only one among us to be away from the web of email or whatsapp, it was not all that difficult to get him invited. And we were all thrilled to have him with us, though his travel from Dharmapuri Retreat Centre by rail and road made him arrive late in the night. He shared with us the thrill of practising the gospel beatitudes - of being poor, of being a peace maker and of proclaiming the good news across Tamil Nadu for various groups, in fluent Tamil. Proud to have a brother who has been effective in ministry sans the typical institutional framework. 

Josekutty (Mariya - Mariyalayam) - is the network man of the batch - who weaves the web of fraternity without making a noise about it - pushing, persuading, and planning so that the batch sustains the fraternal spirit. Excepting a brief stint in South Africa - his had been a career of pastoral ministry while serving various houses of the province, and lately of the CMI general. The years dedicated to the care of the mentally challenged children at Adoor he cherishes the most. The batch owes the most to him for sustaining the evergreen spirit - our Linking Pin. 

Shaju (Valiyaparampil) - is the silent, meek man after St. Francis of Assissi. However, this time he was outspoken, sharing his agonies in the ministry and in coping with his health. With pastoral ministry, a very active social apostolate with the iconic figure of late Fr Kodiyan, a very tough formators' training in an alien tongue in Italy, undeserved reproof from well-meaning superiors, a prolonged stint as the formator of novices, grappling with the debilitating Parkinsonism and to a great extent surmounting it through modern medicine, and now ministering to the ailing at the prestigious Amala medical college - indeed a chequered path of glorious ministry illuminated by high-end suffering! We are all very glad to see him back in the company! 

Puncha (Jose Punchaputhussery) - one of the twins of the family, Puncha is a transfigured person in the 3 decades - from the agile, athletic, austere figure, he is now a rotund yet very pleasant figure with much-restricted mobility. But he overcomes that without complaints, moves about still using public transport, that too at any odd hour, and still makes it a point to be connected, and yet different. He grapples manly with varicose of the oesophagus, herpes, diabetes, suspected filariasis - and yet goes about cheerfully, with complaints to none, taking all these in a matter-of-fact manner, and sharing his witty wisdom to all. A teacher of the primary stage students, he now manages a house at Vaikom, which the province has almost purposefully left to his care, giving him some element of freedom to live his unique life-style. 

Poly (Pereppadan) reminds us of God - the changeless! Then, now and ever (Heb 13:8) - hardly any perceptive change. Young, athletic even at the stage of 60! After joining the Kenya mission very early, he was shifted to Germany with the mission of supporting the mission which he had been doing all these 25 plus years. Fluent in German, and relishing the ministry he has been doing with utmost happiness, he has not forgotten a bit of his Thrissur Malayalam. We remember his dexterity with drums - fear all that has been left behind. 

Paulson (Paliekara) is another silent man behind the sustained network. After his early training in formation and an early stint with that ministry, his had been a long ministry of service in various administrative offices - as Prior, Councillor, Vicar Provincial and General Councillor - everywhere leaving his imprint of calm effectiveness and no-noise.  His expertise with keyboard in the seminary days, seem to have been set aside, to handle the keys of the congregation's finances. In spite of his prior engagements, he made it a point to be part of the gathering and seeing to the tougher organisational part. 

Joshy (Zacharia Plamoottil) - Our creative writer, for many of us, Playmoottil,  thanks to his antics through the barrage of the daily dose of poetry on our WhatsApp group. While remaining a teacher of Malayalam language at the higher secondary stage, he has always been an unstoppable, creative and critical writer, with a few published collections already to his credit. Joshy travelled early morning to be in the company, though he missed the sharing session. He is another great survivor - almost crushed and broken in a road accident, he is now back to his energetic self, travelling all around even by public transport. 

Oh my! It seems that I have covered almost all those who were present. I thought nobody will bother to ask me to share - but some did, and I felt I had nothing much to share, except the feel-good factor in the CMI company, perhaps that is what keeps me going! While I have remained sceptical about this whole business around dogmas and rituals, which I treat as anti-Christian and unwarranted, I also agree that these are what make the church survive as an institution (more an institution, and much less a movement). I feel inspired by Jesus Christ the human who walked the earth and in just about 3 years, living in the Palestine region occupied by Romans, grew to the stature of divine, and by establishing the connect with the ultimate and realizing 'aham brahmasmi' and proclaiming that possibility to his followers - children of the Goodness. All the rest, I feel as crap though I don't question them. And looking back, after listening to my fellow travellers, I felt that I have not done much or anything worth mentioning. I should have done much more! My 3 decades were almost entirely in higher education in Social Work and educational administration; indeed a very apt space to spread the good news of God's care - but I feel I have been inadequate. 

But the company is great and the sharing made me feel that this is indeed a great company of achievers, who have tried to make the world (around them) a better place - I think I too have tried, but not really successfully. 

We missed the company of others. We expected our pride in Rome, Rev. Dr Cherian to be here, but who had matters of greater importance to attend to - having to deliver Bp Jonas memorial address at our alma materDVK; Joy (Vattoly), a regional superior and educator in Maharashtra all these years - excusing himself on account of ill health, Paulson (Thaliath), who tried his level best without success to obtain his documents from the Philippines to enable him to travel. Then there was Joy Parappilly who needs continued medical care, Jose (Thottian) who from the very beginning, who goes about doing his work, shunning all paraphernalia.  We missed our other NRIs - the great organiser Joshy

(Thadiyananickal) who had single-handedly managed our 15th year get-together a memorable event, Jose (Kattakkayam) who has just arrived in the US for a pastoral stint, George (Kalachira) who has a fixed schedule of India visit accompanied by a German group. We were thrilled to have our past companions who are no longer in the CMI company - Thomaskutty Varanath, James Mannanal and Joseph Chiramattel who took the trouble to say hello to the gathering. Most others, except the Kozhikode contingent in this league, were contacted - Karakunnel, Mylackal, Augustine, Vallyara, Thannippara... so on. Job Edathinatt in the US invites us all to have a gathering in the US!  I too escape - after winding up for the day 1, I bid farewell to rush to Doha, to ensure that the Academic Director of our Rajagiri School is there for at least one day of the School Fest - and I make it! Our Master Rev. Dr Joseph Areeplackal was also missed. He had adequately compensated by helping us with a prelude, which took place on the Vempanad backwaters in May 2024. 

The second day is a busy one - with morning mass led by Provincial Rev Dr. Mathew Manjakunnel, guided by the Melchizedek, Rev. Dr Peter and inspired by Rev. Thomas Kuzhiyani. No clue as to what the message was. The gathering remembered the departed ones - batchmates and gurus.  

To some extent, the hurry-burry is compensated by a trip on the Chitrapuzha from Kakkanad to Vyttila by the water metro service. 

I salute the great survivors - Abraham, Joshy, Paulson, James, Shaju, Jose Paul Puncha, Mathukutty - who have overcome severe stresses to still remain active and productive! 

We were a small good company behind this - Mariya, Paulson, Manja, Mathukutty and me - we gathered, discussed, planned and finally all things fell in place. It was a very short but meaningful gathering, with representatives from the world over. The Gujarat contingent made a great impression that now everyone is eager to meet in Gujarat.  

with Sunny Vettikkattukuzhy at Rajagiri, Kalamassery

Holy Eucharist at the gathering at Thevara.

SH new campus! 

Meeting Rev. Varghese Puthussery, director of Kristu Jayanti Public School. 

Dinner at the guest-house refectory. 

Happy Hours of sharing the insights of 3 decades!

Waiting for Godot Water Metro at Kakkanad!