Some people believe we are biased against our youth. Nothing can be further from the truth.
Our anti-English stand is not an anti-youth stand. As a matter of fact we support ministering to the youth in English, for the fact is they have to be assimilated to the American society. It is foolish to assume that our youth will and should remain forever Malayalam speaking Mallus, their life revolving around the Syro-Malabar church.
We strongly believe it is a totally misplaced thinking from the part of the church authorities to assume the future of our church is in the hands of the present youth, which is going to be the next generation. Their affiliation with our culture and rituals and church might last at the most until they go off to college. Most of them might attend colleges out of state or out of town. They might graduate and secure better employment in yet another state or city. Some might marry and go off with their spouses to yet another state or city. The farther they go they tend to lose their Syro-Malabar zeal, and identity, which is natural in any case. Whatever the case may be, it is foolhardy to believe that at coming of age our youth will be willing to shoulder the responsibilities of supporting and maintaining a church which many of them already find strange, foreign and backward.
Contrary to the church authorities' stand, we believe that the survival of Syro-Malabar church in the US depends on new arrivals from Kerala. As long as there is going to be migration the church will survive. But the writing on the wall reads ominous. India is fast becoming an economic powerhouse. Whereas the American economy is in decline. If this trend continues there will be no economic incentive for educated youth to migrate. This eventuality alone will be a death-knoll to the Syro-Malabar church in the US.
The situation being this why do the authorities bet the house on the youth? The reason escapes most thinking parishioners. The authorities have not been able to provide a credible and reasonable rational for the course they are attempting to take.
Now let us say they have legitimate arguments. But then how many youth are in our church? We mean, real youth? 25? 50? Or maybe a 100? That is it. In any case it is a very small group. That is why the vicar wants to add children to this category. He wants numerical advantage. He wants a crowd in the church. He wants crowd power. That is why he is exhorting the parents and seducing the children to abandon Malayalam Mass. He is using his position to intimidate and influence them. This is not acceptable.
The children of impressionable age do not belong with the youth. They belong with their parents. They should get their physical, mental and spiritual nurture from their parents. Babies suckle their mothers' breast. They do not order hamburgers from McDonald's. In time they will. Just like the youth will be able to attend English Mass. In the meantime the parents alone should have the freedom and opportunity to plant the seeds of our faith, culture, tradition and language in the tender hearts of their children.
In this inalienable right of parents, church authorities or anybody else must not interfere.That will be infringing on parental rights.
6 comments:
Eda Voice: You are a sinner. You are going to hell only. Your seat has been booked there.
You are abusing the serving priests. And the holy bishop. Every minute you are sinning and angering God. Repent, you Satan, you still have time.
You are misusing God's gift for you the ability to write in good language. God gave it to you to help the mankind. And see what you are doing? Do you think God is not going to ask you: "what did you do with the "thalenth" I gave you?" You have to do penance for your sins. But if you follow the path of God from now on, you will get salvation.
Praise the Lord!
Eda potta,
buttering, soaping, praising, and boosting is the path of god? you are mistaken, my son. you never going to get salvation, because you still not willing to accept the facts, in hellwood.
good luck,
erumayude -amaresam othiyittu oru bhalavumilla.
I think you are jumping to conclusions, and "throwing the baby out with the bathwater," as they say.
With better direction, I am sure that a good number of youth/young adults (especially those who are now starting their careers) will be willing to support our church. Marginalizing an entire generation is not a solution. The problem is that "leadership" unfortunately seems to be lacking in our church...
I am not so sure that we can really depend on recent immigrants (for example some of the issues which were mentioned in the article, such as moving to different states,could also apply to recent arrivals especially those on visas). People who just recently came to this country will be obviously more concerned about making ends meet and sending money back home, rather than worrying about church.
To the person who called us a sinner: I do not remember booking a seat to hell. I will check it with my secretary.
By the way which charismatic nutty gang do you belong? Your brain is really screwed up. You need help.
“India is fast becoming an economic powerhouse. Whereas the American economy is in decline. If this trend continues there will be no economic incentive for educated youth to migrate.”
Very true in regards to educated youth, but America will still be a dream for little-educated and arrogant fools like you!
We vehemently object to your unkindly characterization of us as "little-educated and arrogant fools". We belong to neither category. We are reasonably well-educated and very gainfully employed as to afford us enough leisure to be a royal pain in the holy behinds of our clergy. We stand by our statement. This church will be sustained by newly arriving immigrants. Of the new generation you have pinned your hopes on, the smart and educated ones will move on. Only a tiney minorty, mainly a bunch of losers will be left. Their world will be bellwood. Their life will be the syro malabar church. Their god will be the vicar. And their vallet will alwayes be empty.
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