SCCs: Renewal from below
The first national convention of the Small Christian Communities (SCCs) hosted by the Church in Goa brought about an intense encounter and new bonds between Goan Catholics and their counterparts from the rest of India. Indeed, it was an opportune time for the Church of Goa, which often appears insulated from the rest of India, to open its doors to Indian Christians and be influenced by pluralistic Indian cultural trends.
Kudos also to the Goan families who opened their homes in the true spirit of hospitality and welcomed the out-station delegates. This event has certainly mutually enriched Christians in Goa and rest of our country to revitalize Christian life lived in the neighborhood through a life of love, prayer and service. Being a grass-roots movement, or a movement from below, SCCs can transform the Church that often relies on its institutional power that flows from the top to the bottom.
The change from below has already begun. Critics have often accused the Catholic church of a mismatch between what it professes and what it practices. The Church of the SCCs is built on relationships of love and care that strives to live the way of Jesus in the circumstances of its daily life. However, Christians do not always fare well on this count as one can trace strife-ridden, enmity-infested and caste-laden neighborhoods. While there are many leaders in the Church who are non-dominating and always willing to listen to a different point of view, critics have pointed out that there are also, like in many other walks of life, others who are perceived as arrogant, self-righteous and far too involved in worldly indulgences. Indeed, one of the most significant contributions of the Convention of SCCs was that it did not allow anything to be hidden and some awkward issues were brought to the fore.
Critics of the Church, both from within and without, contend that while Church leaders speak of the importance of small communities, they are confronted with allegations of land scams, nepotism, wrangling of priest transfers and cover-ups of scandals. Some leaders have been accused of reducing the pastoral problems that arise from time to time in different parishes, into “law and order” problems. As a result, pressing matters involving aggrieved Christians are resolved only within the ambit of the Canon law. So, while it ought to uphold its law, the Church is also expected to be a custodian of ethics, morality and human values. At a time when some Church leaders have viewed the Canon law as a weapon to quell criticism, Pope Francis sees it as a tool to make the Church more attractive to its people. “The Church, and also the Code of Canon Law, gives us many, many possibilities, so much freedom to make the Church more welcoming. We must find those moments to welcome and receive the faithful, when they enter the parish church for one reason or another,” Pope Francis recently advised priests in the diocese of Rome. That is the path to follow.
The national SCC convention is an apt occasion for the Church, and not just in Goa, to do some soul-searching. The teaching of every speaker, including the Archbishop of Goa, has been enlightening and inspiring. But the real success of the convention lies in lessons that the Christian community can draw from this historic event.
