Seminaries Full in Southern India (despite new anti-conversion law)

Zenit News Agency ^ | April 11, 2006

[NYer]

KOENIGSTEIN, Germany, APRIL 11, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Vocations in India seem to be booming as increasing numbers of young men stepping forward to prepare for the priesthood.

In a recent interview with the international charity Aid to the Church in Need, Father Ignatius Prasad, rector of the Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Chennai (formerly Madras), gave this optimistic assessment of the Church.

The priest explained that his seminary now has 286 students and that -- due to a lack of space -- he had to turn away 23 candidates, who have been forced to continue their training elsewhere.

The seminary is one of four in southern India with a combined total of almost 800 students from 28 dioceses. More than 60 of them are due to be ordained to the priesthood next month.

In Chennai, there were now more than 30 students in each year-group in the seminary's theology section, double the number in the late 1980s, Father Prasad said.

"Vocations are going up; this has been the case for the last five years or so," the rector said. "We find it difficult to admit all the applicants and set a tight deadline for them to get their papers in on time."

Father Prasad revealed that there was growing "political pressure" to limit the growth of the Church with a new anti-conversion law introduced in the state of Tamil Nadu: Preaching in public is forbidden and would-be converts to Christianity now face a barrage of paperwork thrust upon them by government officials.

Retreats, sodalities

The seminary rector said that people were turning to the Church in protest against the new regulations.

"The more pressure they put on people, the more they feel like proclaiming their faith," he said.

The priest went on to explain that lively youth programs were drawing people to the faith and encouraging men to discern a possible vocation to the priesthood. Retreats, sodalities and altar serving had all helped to boost the number of seminarians.

He also praised the work of Aid to the Church in Need, describing how the charity had supported key training for seminary staff, Mass intentions, library books and a generator.

"What we feel is so important," Father Prasad added, "is to help the students to realize what they are learning about is not so much an academic subject but a mystery, something that is very personal and with a strong human dimension to it."

[Cronos]

And while you'd never know it from the self-styled "traditionalist" Catholics on this site, the Catholic Church has long maintained that those who have not known Christ in name, but having discerned him in creation and yearned for him and his Way of Love can be granted the eternal bliss of the beatific vision. The charity of Christianization is in providing souls with the tools to preserve and grow that grace.

Quite true.

[Cronos]

And yet hinduism is superior to christianity or islam or any other religion. I love my pagan religion , thank you very much. Proud to be a pagan. My hindu gods stronger than your chrsitian god.My daddy will beat the crap out of your daddy.

Sheesh, now you're acting childish and maligning Hinduism as badly as the extreme posters can malign Christianity.

Let's dissect what dangus said, shall we? "Hinduism is a pagan religion,

Pagan = One who is not a Christian, Muslim, or Jew, especially a worshiper of a polytheistic religion. or A non-Christian. So, by that definition, Hindus are, to Chrsitians pagans. That doesn't mean that you are evil or anything, just that, to us, your religion is wrong. YOU ARE FREE TO BELIEVE THE SAME ABOUT US.

. with, I believe, serious flaws."

Again, you are free to reciprocate. If you want a serious discussion, then both sides should be nice and yet bring out there points. I expect you to say Christianity has serious flaws. That's your choice to believe that.

[Cronos]

that was a response to some guy asking me what have your hindu gods done for those poor untouchables. Thats all.

Well, whoever said that was an idiot. Otherwise each time a natural disaster strikes one person or the other, we'll blame it on the god they worship. Ditto about the next person who wins the lottery.

[CarrotAndStick]

Cronos, fair and balanced as ever! Nice discussion with you!

[sniper22]

"Sheesh, now you're acting childish and maligning Hinduism as badly as the extreme posters can malign Christianity."

I am merely pointing out to the sheer idiocy of 'my relgion better than yours , my god superior to yours' debate. Ssupernatural/god/after life etc. are abstract concepts. Not quantifiable by any means.

[Cronos]

A change of faith is purely cosmetic and probably gets one temporary material relief.

Ah, but that's the point, a change of faith won't give you ANY MATERIAL benefits, it's meant to be benefits in the after life.

If you don't mind, I'll explain WHY dalits will convert to any other religion. Because they know that in Hinduism, if you are born a Dalit, you are considered untouchable and have to go through a myriad number of future lives to reach the position of Brahmin (and hence next in line to Brahman). With Christianity, Islam, Sikhism, they are told that EVERYONE has an equal chance at salvation. Hence the term equality. With Buddhism they are told that EVERYONE has an equal chance to escape the cycle of rebirth and death.

THAT is why they convert. It's got nothing to do with material terms. Some progressive Hindu groups reject the idea of this layered approach to salvation and THOSE groups are getting followers from the lower castes. That's great for the poor people, they know they have an equal chance of salvation in the next life.

The entire idea that you are doomed or saved purely due to your birth is odious to me, hence I reject the Protestant Christian idea of this and, I'm sorry, but I also reject the idea of fate, karma, whatever -- life is not already decided for me, I can be what I want and who I want to be -- and so can you.

I beleive in the Orthodox/Catholic concept which says salvation is for ALL if you want to believe.

[Cronos]

All relgion are pretty useless in my ever so humble opinion. There is only one God and his name is the 'Market'. Let him rule , and everybody will be happy.

well, you are entitled to your own choice. But dont' color the views of people that your opinions are in some way tenets of Hindu belief.

[The Lion Roars]

Dude -- British rule was not "Christian" rule in the sense that Islamic rule was, well Islamic rule. The Brits were interested in trade first and foremost. The PORTUGUESE were interested in spreading the word of God.

agreed and i made that point too. for example it is said that the islamic rule of india resulted in the massacre of about 50-70 millin people (from memory). the slammies also destroyed all hindu temples and built mosques over them.

but having said that. the british also had conversion as part of their agenda. maybe not as item #1 or item #2 but it was there on their list.

[Cronos]

I am merely pointing out to the sheer idiocy of 'my relgion better than yours , my god superior to yours' debate. Ssupernatural/god/after life etc. are abstract concepts. Not quantifiable by any means

true. It's not a measurable quantity: I can separate out my engineering mind where I'll ask for hard-core evidence, from my religious mind, where I can believe in mysticism.

[The Lion Roars]

Antoninus, you've got it wrong. To Hindus in urban India, caste is mostly non-existent. To those in the villages I guess it still plays a role. But, and a BIIIIG But, caste is more a case of Hindu CULTURE than religion (there's no clear dividing line), so you do have Muslims and Christians divided by Caste (again with the urban-rural divide).And, there are many Christians in India who are converts (or whose ancestors were converts) from the upper castes -- even the Brahmins (examples in Kerala and Mangalore). Christianity is not a religion only for the untouchables, but for all -- the equality works both ways. Also, the Dalits are now realising that there is reverse discrimination in their favor played out by the political parties, so they are bettering themselves.

mostly true. india itself is like a mini europe with all its cultures and languages. i have found that hinduism in state A is different from hinduism in state B. i guess the caste system is somewhat akin to the tribal system in africa - mostly culturally

i have met a few hindus who seem to support the caste system and its hierarchical nature. but the vast majority especially in the cities think of it as bad but still use the caste structures to find a spouse because it is easy to do so.

[Old_Mil]

For us hindus , our country is always more important than our faith.

If you'd think about that statement for a minute, you'd see how utterly ridiculous it sounds. Religious Faiths, by its very nature, deals with things eternal that surpass and extend beyond the affairs of this world. Meanwhile, countries, governments, constitutions, rise and fall. A faith that is subservient to a nation-state is truly one that is bankrupt and has nothing of worth to say to anyone.

[Cronos]

Religious Faiths, by its very nature, deals with things eternal that surpass and extend beyond the affairs of this world. Meanwhile, countries, governments, constitutions, rise and fall. A faith that is subservient to a nation-state is truly one that is bankrupt and has nothing of worth to say to anyone.

You are trying to ascribe to Hinduism the limitations of "religions of the book" -- namely CHristianity, Judaism, Sikhiism, Islam, which have clearly defined structures.

[Old_Mil]

You are trying to ascribe to Hinduism the limitations of "religions of the book" -- namely CHristianity, Judaism, Sikhiism, Islam, which have clearly defined structures.

Not really. You're right in saying that to one degree or another, anything goes in Hinduism. Nevertheless, it - unlike Islam which makes no bones about its desire to set up a temporal calphate by the power of the sword - is a religion that traffics in spiritual affairs.

The original poster had stated that a Christian's first allegiance was to his God, and then to his nation as if this was a flaw. In reality, it's the sign of a mature religious faith.

[CarrotAndStick]

The original poster had stated that a Christian's first allegiance was to his God, and then to his nation as if this was a flaw. In reality, it's the sign of a mature religious faith.

The original issue was the said poster's claim of him being an Indian citizen, while pleading allegience to the Portuguese flag. Religion wasn't involved in this.

[CarrotAndStick]

If we had the same poster in mind, that is. Otherwise, I've made a faulty assumption.

[Upbeat]

You are absolutely correct. We do want to convert everyone to Christ, but we do it, or at least should do it, by love not by terror.

[Upbeat]

My intent was not a blanket condemnation of an Indian culture. I agree with almost all that you said. India is a growing capitalistic democracy and the murderer of Staines was convicted in a secular court. The problem is that a small terrorist minority within the Hindu religious party has created terror among some of those who would preach the Gospel. Remember that India has a parliamentary system of government and it's comparitively easy in that system for a minority to leverage power and I believe that is what is being attempted.

[Cronos]

The problem is that a small terrorist minority within the Hindu religious party has created terror among some of those who would preach the Gospel. Remember that India has a parliamentary system of government and it's comparitively easy in that system for a minority to leverage power and I believe that is what is being attempted.

And I for my part agree with your points. I think our Hindu friends here also agree with the fact that there IS a small terrorist minority (which they do condemn), but they will get quite irritated if we condemn ALL Hindus for the acts of these unwanted bad apples (and this is quite different from Islam where jihadis are feted and considered as saints with a one-way express ticket to 70 odd virgins and 30 odd young boys)

[CarrotAndStick]

Yes of course. Everyone has their extremists. And they must be removed, no matter what the cost, with impartiality.

[Upbeat]

I thought the jehadis were supposed to get 72 Virginians.