THERE are many who are offended by critiques of the church. But like every institution that church too has its faultlines. After all every institution headed and populated by human beings is subject to abuse. The recent appeal by church elders to the pro-ILP pressure groups to reduce their bandh hours from 36 to 12 hours has drawn much flak from several quarters. The church is expected to stand for the poor and depressed sections of society who eke out a hand to mouth existence as daily labourers. If at all the church had appealed to the bandh callers to call of the bandh it should have been on behalf of these poor, hapless souls. But the church has shown its elitist inclinations by succumbing to the appeal of a section of its adherents who are celebrating weddings!
The reason why the church has lost its bearings is because of its unwillingness to introspect. The faithful don’t question its sources of funding and how they are spent. Many feel that the church is a sacrosanct institution that should be kept insulated from criticism since there is a spiritual aspect to its functioning. Besides the example of Martin Luther and others like him who were considered heretics for questioning certain practices of the medieval churches some of which amounted to corruption (sale of indulgences), are still part of history and memory. But a time has now come to see who the church is actually serving. Is it because of the dependence on the tithes of the wealthy that the church has lost its power to speak the truth? Have the poor and lowly become dispensable hangers-on depending on doles? A bandh directly impacts the daily wage earners. A living church that lives by the values of its founder should be mobilising public opinion in favour of the poor. The disengagement of the church leadership from the present ILP issue as being too contentious and political, cuts no ice. It only exposes the hypocrisy within since God-men are today part of partisan politics. Has the church lost its way? Is this a case of the prejudiced leading the innocent?
