Repent in Dust and Ashes

The unfolding events in the last few days should make all of us repent sitting in dust and ashes. It should give us an awareness of the extent to which our church has become corrupted by the world and its ways and our complicity in it either as a result of our passivity or active connivance. It is not an occasion to celebrate victory as the removal of a bishop does not mean that we have removed the corruption and moral depravity in which we are all caught up. This is a time for introspection and repentance. This “evil spirit” can be exorcised only through genuine repentance and prayer.

The last bishop, the Rt. Rev. Dr. George Isaac, a fine person of rectitude, became a victim of the mafia within the diocese, who unwittingly led him into a trap. As he was a man of conscience, he resigned and left the diocese. A group of clergy, who were trained in the ways of the world rather than in the ways of the kingdom by the same mafia and with little to claim in the way of God’s wisdom, continued to ‘rule over’ us. The same greedy, self-serving and mammon worshipping mafia continued to play out their nefarious designs. Unlike Bishop Isaac, Bishop Kuruvilla, with his egotism and greed for power and money, naturally played into the hands of this mafia to his nemesis. The eyes of the fox are always in the chicken’s cage. They used the church and its institutions to fill their coffers. The majority of well-meaning laity allowed themselves to be manipulated and taken for a ride. They did not realize the demon behind these pious platitudes and ecclesiastical vestments. Only when we, the laity rise up and fight these “powers and principalities” armed with the armor of faith, can we bring about a change for the good of the diocese?

The laity must claim their rightful place in the church as the people of God. We need to reclaim the priesthood of all believers. More than the buildings, hierarchies, ecclesiastics and the institutional paraphernalia, we should recognize the one, holy, catholic and apostolic church in the life of the local worshipping community and in its mission in the world. We should look at all clergy and bishops with an element of ‘suspicion’ and we should not allow them to ‘rule over’ us. We are the ones who spoil them by giving them such honorifics as “thirumeni” or “lord”. Their humanity and fallibility must be recognized and enough democratic safe guards must be built into our church polity. Nothing can be a substitute for this vigilance of the faithful.

The mafia laid their trap using the rhetoric of “development”. Development is a word that has gone bad both in the vocabulary of the secular world and the church. In the secular world what it means today is displacing large sections of the tribal and other poor sections of our community from their land and livelihood and destroying our valuable ecosystem. In the Christian circles, it has replaced the word ‘mission’ and come to mean building shopping complexes, home stays, and other tourism related infrastructure, leasing out our properties in prime locations and establishing self-financing and other educational institutions. Educational institutions, which were one of the prime agencies for Christian Mission in the earlier days, have today become a means of illegal gratification by bishops and their goons.

The SAVE CSI had brought to your attention in one of its earlier posts about the appointments in four Higher Secondary Schools newly sanctioned by the Kerala government for the North Kerala Diocese. Surely for sanctioning these schools money must have changed hands. Besides, the bishop has collected around 8.5 crores for the appointment of thirty two teachers in these schools, that too, for posts that have not yet been approved by the government on condition that their amount would be returned if they are not sanctioned. This is a fact that is known to everyone in the diocese and has been covered well in the local media. In the executive committee that met on 20 October 2010, questions were raised regarding this and the treasurer admitted to have received Rs. 1.5 crores. When asked about rest of the amount, bishop responded that the amount received cannot be divulged and the executive committee members have to just trust him on this matter. In the event of transition of administration, who will be responsible for this amount and how can we return the amount to the teachers if their posts are not approved? In short, our educational mission has been riddled with corruption. The church has been so over powered by the rulers of this world and its ways that we have lost our witness. Let us hope that the transition administration appointed by the synod will go into such financial deals and accounts, and save the witness and integrity of the church.

The spiritual malignancy that we are facing today cannot be dealt with by the changing of a bishop or an administration. The situation calls for greater introspection, repentance and turning to God and envisioning a new form of being a church in the world. We need to work for radical changes in the structure of the way the Church of South India is organized. Let us turn this crisis into an opportunity for repentance and transformation and pray for the Holy Spirit to sweep over us all and empower us to stand against the evil forces.

Officiating Administration Assumes Charge.

We are witnessing a repeat of the Munnar Court intervention in the unfolding drama related to the taking charge of the diocesan administration by the synod appointed committee. At the time, the bishop through his proxy got an injunction from the Munsiff Court, Munnar and on its backing, delayed constituting the new diocesan council. But that turned out to be his nemesis. In this case, Mr. Aaron James, a member of the synod and diocesan executive committees, Mr. Manoj Kumar from Thallap, and Mr. Kanakaraj from Vaniayamkulam sought an interim ex-parte injunction from the Sub-court, Ottapalam restraining the synod appointed administration from taking charge on 24 January 2011. The CSI North Kerala Diocesan Laity Fellowship, becoming aware of this move, impleaded in this case and argued against giving such an injunction and thus, foiled their attempt. However, on the same day, Mr. Vinod Mathew, moved the Hon. Munsiff Court, Kalpetta with the bishop, the general secretary of the CSI and the the moderator as defendants, and obtained an injunction against the officiating administration from taking charge.

Meanwhile, Rt. Rev. John Sadananda, the bishop of South Karnataka Diocese, representing the moderator and the synod, rushed to Shoranur yesterday, 23 January 2011, with the objective of bringing some sense to Bishop Kuruvilla. But, this mission was a failure and Bishop Sadananda returned to Mangalore this morning disappointed. He shall be reporting his concerns to the moderator.

Despite all the efforts of the synod to ensure a smooth transition, today, 24 January 2011, armed with the injunction obtained from the Hon. Munsiff Court, Kalpetta, and with the assistance of a bunch of goondas - Rev. P. T. George, an ever-obedient clergy known for vandalizing the historical heritage of St. Mary’s Church, Calicut; Rev. Trevor Jyothish, the infamous architect of Puthiyara disaster; Mr. Jayan Samuel, husband of Mrs. Soumini Jayan; Mr. Earnest Edapally, bishop’s confidant and a suspended government servant on charges of corruption; and Mr. Sunshine, a peon in one of the BEM schools and a self-acclaimed CPI(M) party worker – blocked the officiating administration and attempted to physically assault them. Criminal cases have been filed against them.

Meanwhile, the old administration - Rev. B.N Fenn, the treasurer; Rev. Jacob John, the clergy secretary; and Mr. M. N. George, the lay secretary, has obliged to abide by the CSI constitution and the synod directive, and hand over the administration to the synod appointed officiating administration and thus avoid an impasse.

Later in the day, it was learned from reliable sources close to the synod that bishop is going to be suspended. It is also learnt that Rev. P. T. George and the bishop are absconding, and their whereabouts are not known. We feel that this is being done to evade the serving of any suspension order. This is most unfortunate and difficult to fathom.

As SAVE CSI had already pointed out in an earlier post, it is strange that a normal administrative action in the event of a diocesan council not meeting within three months from the term of its expiry as stipulated in the CSI Constitution should invite such wrath from the bishop and a miniscule section of the church with other vested interests. Shouldn’t the bishop extend the same ‘ecclesiastical obedience’ that he has been demanding from his clergy and laity to the synod? What moral authority does he have to continue as bishop of a diocese?

The bishop has become like Saul, who was anointed as the king of Israel and yet, because of his own arrogance, became possessed by the evil spirit and went insane. He is seething with anger and spouts venom at all those pious church members who had wished well for him and wanted to uphold the witness of the church. There is something terribly wrong and the synod, in the coming days, has to address these concerns and save the witness of the church, which has been mauled because of the rash actions of the bishop and his coterie in the recent past. It has become rather clear that there is something he is afraid of and wants to hide.

Bishop Kuruvilla is Inviting Suspension

Dear Most Rev Vasanthakumar,

This is in reference to my earlier letters dated 20-11-2010, 18-12-2010, and 13-01-2011.

Bishop K P Kuruvilla

We are extremely grateful to you for the timely intervention, by which a constitutional breakdown has been avoided in the diocese. Sadly, Bishop Kuruvilla continues to remain belligerent. Bishop and his coterie are already making efforts, both in Chennai and Ernakulam, to get an ex-parte injunction against the officiating committee from taking charge. Yesterday, 19 January 2011, he called a few presbyters, district council members and church workers to the diocesan office at Shoranur. It is learned that he tried to compel them to sign on blank papers under the pretext of sending a memorandum to the synod. Fortunately, most of them refused to sign, but only to be threatened by the bishop with dire consequences. We have also learned that he is organizing a few people to prevent the members of the officiating committee from entering the diocesan office and taking charge on 25 January 2011.

We feel the cause of this panic on the part of the bishop is nothing more than his fear of being exposed further of his nefarious financial deals. Since June 2010, Bishop Kuruvilla has collected around 8.5 crores through the appointment of thirty two teachers in four of the newly sanctioned higher secondary schools. This is excluding the huge sums of money that has been collected for appointments in Malabar Christian College and other aided schools. This is a fact that is known to everyone in the diocese and has been covered well in the local media. In the executive committee that met on 20 October 2010, questions were raised regarding this and the treasurer admitted to have received only Rs. 1.5 crores. When asked about rest of the amount, bishop responded that the amount received cannot be divulged and the executive committee members have to just trust him on this matter. In the light of the present change in administration, the amount collected by the bishop would have to be naturally handed over to the administration with a detailed account informing from whom the money has been received.

The more pertinent question is in whose possession is this huge sum of money. Kindly note that since the government and its investigative agencies are already aware of this financial misappropriation, the appointments will never get approved. This is all the more so considering the money was collected against vacancies which were not approved in the first instance and for which no appropriate rank list has been prepared. It is learnt that the bishop has promised the candidates that he would return their money back in the event of their vacancies not being approved. If that is so, the liability of that will be on the diocese. Therefore, it is important that a detailed enquiry be conducted on this matter at the earliest. If the accurate figures of money collected is not ascertained and if that money is not recovered from the bishop and his associates, then the diocese may face a huge liability coming close to Rs. 10 crores. Attached are some of the press reports from the local dailies on the matter.

Now I have learnt, from reliable sources close to Bishop K P Kuruvilla that he is trying desperately to get suspended so that he can walk away without accounting and handing over physically this money.



Thanking you.

Yours faithfully,

T J John

CSI North Kerala Laity Fellowship

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What is Bishop K P Kuruvilla Afraid of?

It has become certain that an officiating administration appointed by the synod will take charge of the administration of the North Kerala Diocese from January 25 till the new diocesan council meets and elects a new administration. This is a routine procedure to be followed in the event of a diocese not able to put in place a new administration three months after the expiry of the term of the old administration. This does not alter in any way the status and powers of the bishop. In such an eventuality, what a bishop can do is to expedite the calling of a meeting of the diocesan council as early as possible, elect new office bearers and an executive committee, and constitute other boards and committees.

It is strange that the bishop should take offence at the appointment of an officiating administration. It is learned from reliable sources that a coterie of bishop’s cohorts is working overtime in Chennai and Ernakulum to secure an ex-parte injunction preventing the officiating administration from taking charge on 25 January and also exploring other legal options. Yesterday, the bishop called a meeting of a few clergy and church workers; and they have decided to physically block the entry of the officiating administration to the office of the North Kerala Diocese. They know that the CSI North Kerala Laity Fellowship will not remain mute spectators to this drama. However, they expect to make the most out of the resulting melee. The bishop may also be expecting support from the Kerala Police.

Meanwhile, another group of the bishop’s cronies sought an appointment with the moderator, but the moderator has told them that he would listen to them only if they comply with the new administrative arrangement. The bishop, who is otherwise obsessed with ecclesiastical obedience in regard to how the clergy and the laity should relate to him, does not seem to be in a mood to show obedience to the moderator and the synod. What is the bishop afraid of? What is the reason for this paranoid reaction? No administration can take away his constitutionally protected powers and authority. But this paranoia substantiates our position that bishop has much to hide. He is afraid of the ghosts that may tumble down from the closet. Otherwise, there is no need for such panic. Another explanation might be that he is suffering from a serious malady. This predicament of the bishop reminds us of the verse from the Psalm 7:

“He makes a pit, digging it out, and falls into the hole which he has made.” (15)

The Tragicomedy of an Erred Bishop

Bishop K P Kuruvilla

One does not know whether to laugh or cry at the turn of events in the North Kerala Diocese. The diocese has a bishop who has no qualms subverting democratic processes through blatant lies and subterfuges, and making a joke of himself. Here we try to unravel the mystery of that bishop in not constituting the diocesan council after the election held on 14 July 2010, which had forced the Synod to appoint an officiating committee with effect from 25 January 2011.

Subsequent to the election, as early as the end of July, pastorate committees in almost all parishes in the North Kerala Diocese were confirmed and by 8 August 2010, they were all installed. The Vicars, while announcing the confirmation of the newly elected pastorate committees, informed the congregations that the diocesan council members cannot be confirmed due to some complaints about the election and a court injunction. But the reality was that there was no court injunction for about 46 days from the date of election, till 30 August 2010, when one Mr. Bhagyaraj filed a case in the Devikulam Munsiff court and got an ex-parte injunction restraining the bishop from “declaring the final result of the election conducted to the Diocesan Council… till the disposal of the appeal filed before the respondent” (the bishop). What had prevented the bishop from confirming and declaring the election results to the diocesan council during this long period of 46 days from the date of election? Was he not perpetuating a lie through the Vicars, the established systems of communication in the diocese?

It is clear from the injunction application of Mr. Bhagyaraj, the complainant, that he had filed an election petition to the bishop on the same day of the election, 14 July 2010, under the provision 89c of the North Kerala Diocesan Constitution. The court was forced to intervene with an injunction owing to the fact that the bishop failed to act on this appeal and did not care to take any measure to settle the dispute as late as 30 August 2010. While that was the cause for the injunction, despite the fact that the injunction has validity only till the appeal is settled by the bishop, he did not care to settle the dispute nor did he file a counter affidavit to defend himself in the court of law. This amply proves that the bishop colluded with Mr. Bhagyaraj to subvert the formation of the new diocesan council and that Mr. Bhagyaraj was acting on behalf of the bishop. This is nothing but gross neglect of his responsibility as a bishop, cheating and misleading the flocks and subverting the democratic process laid down in the constitution.

Grieved by this inaction of the bishop, Mrs. Latha John, the diocesan council member from the Holy Trinity Church, Aluva, impleaded in this case and as per her appeal, the court modified the order on November 3rd limiting the jurisdiction of the order only to Munnar pastorate. If the bishop had initiated steps to convene the diocesan council immediately after this court order, the necessity for an officiating administration would not have been necessary. The bishop again chose the path of denial and falsification of facts, unbecoming of his noble office.

To make the facts more clear, the term of the existing administration expired on 24 October 2010. As per the CSI constitution chapter 8-12, the present administration can continue in office only for another three months, which expires on 24 January 2011. Since the bishop cannot hold the diocesan council before 24 January and elect a new administration, it is incumbent upon the CSI synod to appoint an officiating administration from that date. The bishop, in his worldly wisdom, did not care to report the fact of the expiry of the date of the present administration to the synod as required by the constitution. The constitution states: “In case the new Council cannot be convened within 3 months from the expiry of the term of the old council, the Bishop/officers shall report the matter to the Synod which shall take steps for the proper administration of the diocese.” The synod came to know of the date of the expiry of the old diocesan council from the CSI North Kerala Laity Fellowship and the synod had to confront the bishop with these facts. This was a serious dereliction of duty on the part of the bishop.

It is learnt from reliable sources that the bishop is now explaining his present initiative to call the diocesan council as being caused by the withdrawal of the case in the Devikulam Munsiff Court. The fact of the matter is that the case has not been withdrawn and it cannot be withdrawn without intimating Mrs. Latha John, the 6th respondent in the case. The bishop is touting one lie after another and getting himself into a quagmire from which he would now find it difficult to escape. Can a bishop be more discredited than this? It is further learned that he would move the court against the synod to get an ex-parte injunction against the officiating administration from taking charge on 25 January 2011. The unfolding drama will be very tragic for the church, but would be something that could be also watched with much comic relief.

Attempts to Subvert Democracy Bounces Back on the Bishop

The story of the Bishop of CSI North Kerala, K P Kuruvilla, is getting into a new phase. The long termed efforts to sabotage democratic processes within the church through lies and subterfuge is coming to an end. The CSI Synod has intervened removing the defunct administration. It is good news that the newly appointed synod administration comprises of people who would be able to give a healing touch to the diocese, as well as probe into the misdeeds and corruption of the earlier administration chaired by the bishop.

Watch this space for the detailed story.....

Letter to the Clergy.

Our dear and respected BISHOPS, REVERENDS  AND CHURCH LEADERS

On behalf of this forum, we wish you a very happy and purposeful New Year. 

We are not so worthy to advice you Biblically or spiritually as most of you are very learned and spiritually sound and achieving great things for God in the midst of various problems.  However, there are corrupt elements amongst the flock, spoiling the name of the Church who are to be exposed and eliminated by the church.  It is the responsibility of every one in the church including the clergy and the laity, otherwise the church will be doomed.

We are not biased by caste, creed, origin, area, language etc. etc.  while taking up matters with regard to the church.  We have no bitterness or vindictive attitude towards any one.  We do not want to destroy any one or any institution but only to build.  Because we love the entire church and the properties which our forefathers inherited, we raise our voice seeking justice which is totally Biblical.

On this New Year, we plead you to follow the Biblical principles and the Church Constitution in a fair and just manner in dealing the church matters so that there would not be any problems in the various churches.  Among others, a few such requirements which we feel good are given below:

Are you doing things in a fair and just manner? -  This phrase “fair and just” is derived from the Bible (Colossians 4:1) and being used in all legal matters and domestic enquiries.  Though this phrase is meant for employers by Paul, the Biblical leadership is not master – servant leadership. Jesus Christ came not to be served but to serve.  God expects such a leadership in our churches.

Are you misusing the constitution for selfish motives?  - Many leaders are exploiting the ignorance of the congregation and misusing the constitution for their own benefit or to please their corrupt superiors.  Often constitution is applied only to take disciplinary action against members whereas the leaders are not following their functions as per the constitution.  While a Bishop or Presbyter is a paid employee of the church, they are expected to function purely according to the constitution and set rules.  They are not expected to be masters over the flock.

Are you dealing matters with the consent of the elected bodies? -  When elected bodies are taken into confidence while dealing any matters, there is no need of any issues.  But when the bishops or presbyters behave in a partisan manner, there arise the problems.  Selfishness is the root cause of all evils.  When the chairman is fair and just, there need not be any problem at all.

Are you dealing things in the dark? -  With the matters relating to the church, nothing is to be dealt in a confidential manner.  The decisions of the various committee meetings should be displayed for the information of the congregation.  The constitution should be translated in the mother tongue and given to all the members who wish to have it.  There should be a system like right to information act in the various dioceses to see the various books of accounts or details of the various property deals.

Are you recruiting the right person to be candidates for ordination? – Recently one man of God said that as the parents are dedicating the most inefficient child in the family  to the ministries, the church leaders are like this.  To some extent, this may be correct.  The various seminaries should screen the candidates in a spiritual manner and admit them for the ministerial training.  Now a days, the Bishops are ordaining most inefficient and unqualified church workers as Presbyters and because of that we are suffering.

Is there any system in the church to monitor the performance of the presbyters or the church workers? - While in the worldly responsibilities,  the manager’s performance appraisals are being made on a regular basis and accordingly they are promoted or demoted. There need to be a system in the church to appraise each and every presbyter or other fulltime workers on a regular basis.  Accordingly, their responsibilities should be distributed.  There is no accountability with regard to functions for any fulltime workers.  

Are you conducting elections in a fair and just manner?  -  Majority of elections in the diocese are conducted in a very partial manner with the interference of the Bishops or Presbyters.  There arise all the problems.  From the preparation of electoral rolls to conduct of election, how many fraudulent dealings are done by the leaders.  It is most shameful.  Even the political elections are conducted in a fair manner but we who believe the living God, could not conduct the elections in a fair manner.

Are you exercising the Principle of natural justice while taking disciplinary action? –  Without following the principle of natural justice, members or dismissed from the church which is a gross human rights violation.  Then the members or fulltime workers approach the court and the church is spending huge money on court cases.  That is the easy way to shut one’s mouth and they can pull on the show.  This happening in spite of the Hon. Madras High Court gave a historic verdict, fining a Bishop to pay from his pocket Rupees one lakh for dismissing a member from membership.

Are you conducting the General assembly regularly?  - In majority of the churches, general assemblies are not conducted to discuss the various problems in the church.  As the General assembly is not conducted, the matters are taken to streets.

Are you redressing the grievances of the congregations in a fair and just manner? -   Though there is system in the constitution, that is not being done.  For example, in the North Kerala diocese, after the pastorate election, a member had given a complaint to the Bishop regarding irregularities during July 2010, but till date the bishop is not disposing the petition thereby the Bishop himself allowed the matter to be in courts and prevented to install the committee.

Are you concerned about the reaching unreached? -  In general, the clergy is not concerned about finding new believers for the church and they are not interested at all.  If so, how could we expect growth in the church?  Many believers are leaving the church because of attitude of the leaders.

If the leader concerned soul search on these questions  among others and correct themselves in their functioning, we hope there would not be much problems in the church from this new year onwards.

At the same time, whether the elected bodies and laity are fair and just in their dealings with the ordained Bishops and Presbyters.  They have to ensure that they behave well and give them all sort of co-operation with regard to the ministry. 

If we scan the pages of 1^st John chapter 3,  from verses7,  it is said that  “He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He (God) is righteous. (8) He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.  (9) Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.  (10)  In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.

We would earnestly appeal all concerned to be fair and just in their dealings in the church matters and thereby we can maintain peace and tranquility in the churches always.

May the triune God help every one to be faithful in their calling and practice righteousness in their actions which God expects from every believers and leaders.

Thanking you and in great anticipation.

Yours sincerely,

For CSITA Justice Seekers Forum

Secretary.