To this priest I say, the Unitarian Church awaits you with open arms; now begone!
Fer cryin' out loud, somebody needs to crack down, but fast.
Wafers to be replaced by pappadums.
They're going to assimilaite JC into the Pantheon.
There are always strings involved, but the Vatican realizes it is better to get in front of something like this.
Adoption of indigenous practices will continue, with out without Vatican approval, so why not approve, and verify?
Such a stupid idea ... they could call it the Moronite Ritual Mass...
And as we in the USA know, you can always trust the head of a seminary!
A couple of years ago I attended a Mass with a priest from India on a mission raising funds for the seminary students in his diocese. He didn't make any pseudo-Hindu gestures, just a standard Mass. He was pretty intense, though. Not a bad homilist either.
I really doubt that this is going to happen. I know two priest from Goa, India, and they would have none of this nonsense.
The Apostle St. Thomas (AKA doubting Thomas) is credited with introducing Christianity to India. Many of the Orthodox churches in India are known as St. Thomas Apostle Indian Orthodox Churches. The funny thing is that, even as professed Christians, these people still separate themselves into castes. There are separate churches for the higher class and those considered lower class. I guess old habits die hard.
http://212.77.1.245/news_services/press/vis/dinamiche/a1_en.htm
"HINDUS AND CHRISTIANS IN SOLIDARITY" is the theme of this year's message to Hindus for Diwali, the Hindu feast which celebrates the victory of light over darkness, of good over evil. In the message, which is sent annually, Archbishop Michael L. Fitzgerald, president of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue recalls the solidarity of so many people, "across religious boundaries" in places affected by the tidal wave that hit countries around the India Ocean in December last year. "At a time when aggressive secularism would seem to be on the increase and respect for basic human values often appears to be on the decline, such cooperation among people of different religions can bring about a new respect for religion in today's world."
.../IN BRIEF/... VIS 051025 (270)
http://www.vatican.va/news_services/press/sinodo/documents/bollettino_21_xi-ordinaria-2005/01_italiano/b31_01.html
Proposizione 26
Inculturazione e Celebrazione
Per una più efficace partecipazione dei fedeli alla Eucarestia, questo Sinodo auspica la promozione di una maggiore inculturazione nell’ambito della celebrazione eucaristica, tenendo conto delle possibilità di adattamento offerte dalla Institutio generalis del Messale romano, dai criteri fissati dalla IV Istruzione della Congregazione per il culto divino per una giusta applicazione delle costituzione conciliare sulla liturgia del 1994, e dalle direttive espresse nelle Esortazioni postsinodali Ecclesia in Africa , Ecclesia in Asia, Ecclesia in Oceania, Ecclesia in America. A questo scopo le Conferenze episcopali assumano piena responsabilità nell’incrementare i tentativi di inculturazione favorendo il giusto equilibrio tra criteri e direttiva già emanate e nuovi adattamenti.
Oh, and having the feel of being a Catholic is asking too much?
Gag me.
And an Ashram is simply a Hindu monastery, sometimes with a school. Again, as long as the content is Catholic, I can't see much of a problem with the building.
Key passage.
It states that genuine Christianity is inversely proportional to the degree of Vatican "control". Big red flag.
It's sometimes hard to decipher what is being described in some of these articles and one isn't sure whether the enculturation is legitimate or a headlong rush into paganism.
The above passage suggests to me that it's the latter. Whenever the "Rome out" card appears, it's never good.
Then there's this disquieting passage:
The priests say one of the reasons for making these changes official is to neutralise the arguments of the Hindu right-wingers, who often charge the church with forcible conversions and negating Indian traditions
In other words, the Church's mission of drawing all men to Christ is drawing heat, as it always will when done faithfully, and the backlash is making some uneasy. So it seems that this is being done, not to energize the Church, but to placate its enemies. Not good.
St. Paul took St. Peter to task for this sort of thing;
11When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong. 12Before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. 13
Gal, 2: 11-13
It's amazing how fast the East can repeat the sins of the west. Changing the liturgy as a defensive political move will never work. No credit will be gained, and ultimately everything will be lost.
The only rituals inimical to the Catholic Church are the Biblical ones of Judaism. And this is probably related to Catholic hostility to the facticity of the Biblical narratives as well.
Is this the "worship of the liturgy" you were recently advocating?
This article is media-rot -- the priests are NOT asking to put in Hindu rituals as much as they are asking for Indian style rituals. In short -- like instead of kneeling they have cross-legged sitting, but stil worshipping Jesus not a false deity
The Catholic Church has been in India for almost 2000 years (Thomas the Apostle), why is this necessary now?