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."

[The Lion Roars]

To say that christianity has always been peaceful in india is not true. Read this report on nagaland. Incidentally some missionaries and some lobby groups in congress condone this murder as a fight for freedom!!

http://www.dailyherald.com/special/passagefromindia/nagaland.asp

And to answer the question on the portugese inquisition in goa please read this

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goa_Inquisition

The first inquisitors, Aleixo Dias Falcão and Francisco Marques, established themselves in what was formerly the sultan of Goa's palace, forcing the Portuguese viceroy to relocate to a smaller residence. The inquisitor's first act was forbidding Hindus from practising their faith through fear of death. Sephardic Jews, many of whom had fled the Iberian Peninsula to escape the excesses of the Spanish Inquisition to begin with, and living in Goa were also persecuted.

this is the synagogue in kerala that the portugese tore down. for the jewish people india was one of the few countries that gave them freedom to worship until the portugese came.

[pganini]

"In China - foreign missionaries are not allowed entry. Chinese pastors are routinely imprisoned , tortured"

Leave it to an Indian nationalist to redirect a criticism against India to China :)

You guys have a huge inferiority complex. Not sure why, but every criticism of India results in some comparison on China. I am surprised ya'll haven't called TBP a chicom yet.

[pganini]

"When India gained independence, it wanted European colonies out of the Indian continent -- just as the USA's Monroe Doctrine prescribed no foreign involvement in North OR South America."

really..? So you'd support Indian's forcible occupation of Goa? Does that mean you'd support China's policy on Taiwan?

You can't have it both ways.

[The Lion Roars]

really..? So you'd support Indian's forcible occupation of Goa?

Yes

Does that mean you'd support China's policy on Taiwan?

dont you claim to be taiwanese?? lol. anyways the answer is NO. any invasion on taiwan will lead to a massive counter attack on all chinese cities. the chicoms better remember that. start behaving. the world is getting tired of your arrogant dictatorship and you have managed to rub off a lot of countries on the wrong side - japan, india, mongolia, vietnam, taiwan to name a few. the noose is tightening acround the chic(ken)coms.

[CarrotAndStick]

Ha ha ha! Taiwan is independent. And democratic. It is free.

China is as free as a dog tied to an iron leash.

Taiwan is not under foreign occupation. Goa was.

[Antoninus]

Yawn. A monkey with a keyboard could write a better screed than that.

[SaltyJoe]

I admire your tenacity and enjoy your posts.

Ever notice a poor tactic of inflaming emotion? Some have tried to accuse me of a "temper" problem when none was given by me. I notice that this "you have a temper problem" is especially used when a debater has lost substance on the subject. For example, "My, you have lost your temper again. Thus, you must be wrong."

This was especially so when I had 3 "Catholic" room mates trying to convince me that abortion was a good thing. When I refused to submit to Satan and his works, all of them said that I had a temper problem. How does it compute that if I disagree with a position, it must mean that I'm prone to losing my temper? What a sham. I got a Mass intention for the each of them instead of playing into their domination games. Perhaps they have married and have children. They surely have the means to see into the womb. Upon looking at their unborn child on a video screen, how would they hold onto a pro-abortion opinion now? Thus, I don't hold a grudge for their hostility against me.

Fly your ethnic flag if you like. It wouldn't (or shouldn't) ever bother an American to see someone display their ancestor's heritage. Most of us in the U.S. know enough that we're all a bunch of mutts anyway. Doesn't the rest of the world know that most of humanity doesn't suffering inbreeding?

I'd trust your opinion before others in your present neighborhood...but don't take that as credit because I'm just a mere mortal. Human respect should be loathed. Remaining in Communion with Christ is the ONLY thing that concerns us. Nationality, culture, ethnic heritage...this is all trivial when compared to being in God's Grace.

Upon seeing the Face of God, all arguments dissolve. Politics is a diabolical tactic to pit human effort against each other. Please recall, too, that even the Apostles suffered "sibling" rivalry in trying to gain Jesus' favor. But Jesus exclaimed emphatically that we are not to be like worldly rulers who use their power to lord it over us. Instead, the greatest among us must be servant to the least. Going further, Jesus showed his Apostles exactly what He meant by washing each of their feet.

So, in debate where searching and sometimes competing wills confront, the challenge of spiritual conscience is to draw out the evil cloaked in human flesh so that the human heart can discern, with unmasked evidence, what is good and what is evil. Jesus did this for all of us by dying on the Cross. That's why the Crucifix is such an important instrument, and indeed a weapon against evil when in the hands of an Exorcist. A devil can surely see the Spiritual Truth of Christ on the Cross. Seeing the Crucified Christ announces the impending doom of the demonic's eternal punishment. Holy Water has similar effect. Yet, as wondrous these sacred objects, they aren't nearly as powerful as the Sacraments of Reconciliation and Holy Eucharist.

Many here have, at one time, been the object of ridicule and suffering. It's very difficult to find peace amidst such an assault. But if die in a State of Grace, then we'll remember these trying moments with the greatest of satisfaction that it was in these painful episodes that we were closest to the Love of Christ and indeed shared in His Glory.

[Upbeat]

Unless Bobby Jindal has experienced a "second conversion", he is still a Catholic, not a "hard core baptist".

[dangus]

>> Likewise in the US, , Bobby Jindal , born to high caste hindu parents , becomes a hardcore baptist to enhance his chances as a Republican Congressman in the Bible Belt. This is a rarity because an overwhelming majority of the 2.4 million strong Indian-Americans in the US are highly devoted to hinduism. Guess thats because the management at Microsoft or IBM dont care too much about the religious affiliation of their employees.) <<

I've decided not to communicate with you, but for the sake of Bobby Jindal:

I've met Mr. Jindal. I presume you haven't. He is born in America. AND HE'S NOT BAPTIST! He's Catholic. Funny how you are so arrogant and bigoted you can presume you know why someone converted despite not even knowing what religion he is. And you may just want to check your stats before asserting that the "overwhelming" majority of Indians in America are Hindu.

Being Catholic, and going to Catholic Universities, it's hard for me to know how representative the people I know are, but huge portions of Catholic University attendees are non-Catholic, and the majority of Indians I've met are Christian.

[Raj13008]

Baptist/Catholic/whatever - I am just a monkey god worshipper. All mean same to me. I dont know what short of group you live in , probably some crazy relgious bunch , but the very fact that you say that majority of Indians you meet in US are x'tian means you need to go out a lot more. You know - all those people with those funny accents , motel owners , doctors , silicon valley geeks - they are all mostly hindus. And make a lot of $$$.

But to give you credit , I guess one of my heroes , Vivek Paul , the ex-VP of Wipro and now with TPG is probably an x'tian ....Great chap. Dont think you have heard of him though. Dont think he is much of a church goer.Too busy making big bucks for that.

[Raj13008]

Just wanted you ton know my pagan soul is available for hire or harvesting or whatever.....

$250k. Thats the starting price. Baptist/ Catholic/ Lutherian/ Whatever. Please save my soul....

[dangus]

"Initially a tribunal would open at a location and an edict of grace would be published calling upon those who are conscious of heresy to confess; after a period of grace, the tribunal officers could make accusations. Those accused of heresy were sentenced at an auto-da-fe, Act of Faith. Clergyman would sit at the proceedings and would deliver the punishments. Punishments included confinement to dungeons, physical abuse and torture. Those who reconciled with the church were still punished and many had their property confiscated, as well as were banished from public life. Those who never confessed were burned at the stake without strangulation; those who did confess were strangled first. During the 16th and 17th centuries, attendance at auto da-fe’ reached as high as the attendance at bullfights."

For the record, these are the offenses the Inquisition was founded to put an end to. Those found innocent of an Inquisition were set loose; their major hardship being their lost productivity. However, because of the Protestant perception that the Church and State are one, many actions of the State are routinely lumped together as "THE Inquisition," presumed to be conducted by the Catholic church.

For instance, the practice of burning at the stake stems from superstitions alien to Catholicism, and was not done by the Inquisition. Furthermore, to the State, non-Christians were often treated as suspicious, in some cases because of smoldering hostilities (Moors in Spain), but in other cases due to ignorance. The actual Inquisition dealt exclusively with professing Catholics. Of course, that doesn't mean it was simple to avoid unjust persecution; if the State is persecuting non-Catholics to rid itself of "foreign subversives," it would seem to make sense to proclaim oneself Catholic out of fear... and then make yourself a target of the Inquisition.

Many of the most famous "Inquisitions" were no inquisitions at all: The relatively uniquely British custom of burning witches, the explusion of Jews from Spain, etc. But that doesn't mean that they were unrelated to the Inquisition:

Spain had been occupied by Islam. After it was returned to Christianity, Muslim subversives claimed Catholicism. (Poorly understood, this is actually something the Muslim faith would prescribe to conquered peoples: you don't have to BELIEVE in Islam, just act like you do.) Amidst a constant campaign to restore Christianity, the public got the very strong message that non-Christians were likely subversives trying to return to Muslim domination. Tragicly, the biblical language for dealing with those "who denied Christ" (as the Muslims did) was often expressed in the terms of Jews.

With outbreaks of violence occuring against the Jews in Spain, heightened by the results of inquisitions and The Inquisition, the Spanish royalty explained to Rome that they could no longer protect the Jews from the crowds. In one of the worst cases of punishing the victims, Rome consented to permitting the expulsion of the Jews "for their own safety". None of this happened through the actual Inquisition, but it certainly demonstrates that a claim that something was not actually The Inquisition does not at all whitewash the Catholic church!

However, in many other cases, all sorts of violent oppressions were conducted by kings who claimed Catholicism, often with the explicit condemnation of Rome and the Catholic Bishops, or using methods which were considered even then to be barbaric and gravely sinful. Threats of excommunication, perdition and eternal damnation could not sway their practitioners from their use. In cases such as these, the use of the term "Inquisition" is a distortion of history, made from a combination of simple-mindedness and deliberate bias.

Incidentally, the head of the REAL Inquisition was just elected Pope (although John Paul had changed the title).

[Conservative til I die]

You know - all those people with those funny accents , motel owners , doctors , silicon valley geeks - they are all mostly hindus. And make a lot of $$$.

Who cares. What does money have to do with any of this discussion.

And I see you haven't learnred your lesson yet. I foresee another ban in your future.

[Conservative til I die]

After life or salvation are very abstract concepts and I would be surprised if that was the basis on which people chose the faith they wised to follow. The only life that matters is 'this life' , not 'after-life'

That's very saddening you think this way. Money is all you care about. And many religionsists would disagree with you about which life matters most.

(Likewise in the US, , Bobby Jindal , born to high caste hindu parents , becomes a hardcore baptist to enhance his chances as a Republican Congressman in the Bible Belt.

Jindal's a Catholic. Please get your facts straight before insulting a person's integrity.

The rest of your post was to disgusting and insulting to my intelligence for me to waste my time on it.

[pganini]

Goa wasn't under "foreign occupation" Goa BELONGED to Portugal.

You guys are hilarious - you'd support your own country's aggression against another for "foreign occupation" reasons but when similar situation is in another country, you'd automatically raise the flag "it's the CCP it's the CCP!"

The same deal goes with your arrogance on the Christianity issue being persecuted in India.

Funny, i was expecting more Hindu nationalists to jump on me - i guess they must have problem getting to work in Bangalore from the riots and the police using DEADLY force (like China) and shot to death 5 protestors, eh?

[CarrotAndStick]

Goa wasn't under "foreign occupation" Goa BELONGED to Portugal.

Are you mad?

[The Lion Roars]

Are you mad?

worse. he s a chicom troll.

[The Lion Roars]

but huge portions of Catholic University attendees are non-Catholic, and the majority of Indians I've met are Christian.

if you go to a christian school you will meet christians. funny to assume that a majority of indians are christian.

[The Lion Roars]

Funny, i was expecting more Hindu nationalists to jump on me - i guess they must have problem getting to work in Bangalore from the riots and the police using DEADLY force (like China) and shot to death 5 protestors, eh?

considering that china had 75000 riots last year and that has prevented chicom trolls disguised as "taiwanese in texas" to post here....i think the bangalore incident wont be a stopper.