Dear Friends,
We would like to send you a copy of the 20th open letter sent by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) to the Jesuit superior general in Rome regarding Fr. Pallath’s case.
Readers are encouraged to write to the Jesuit superior general and call for an inquiry into Fr. Pallath’s case.
For further information, including this letter and all details abut the case, please visit http://jjpallath.ahrchk.net.
Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Desk
Asian Human Rights Commission
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20th Open Letter to Jesuit Superior
(This is the 20th of a series of letters on the issues regarding the treatment of Fr. Pallath J. Joseph of the Kerala Province of Jesuits in India.)
April 18, 2002
An Open Letter to:
Rev. Fr. Peter-Hans Kolvenbach
Superior General
Curia Generalize
Compagnia di Gesu
C.P. 6139
00195 Roma Prati ITALY
FAX: 39-06-686-8214
20TH OPEN LETTER – RE: Physical Assault, Slander through the Gutter Press, Filing of Fabricated Criminal Cases, Denial of Right to Livelihood and Other Matters Relating to Fr. Pallath J. Joseph ?REQUEST FOR AN INQUIRY: FORUM OF RELIGIOUS FOR JUSTICE AND PEACE AND THE MOST RESPECTED VOICE ON HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES IN INDIA, FORMER SUPREME COURT JUDGE V. R. KRISHNA AYER, CALL FOR AN INQUIRY; A PROPOSAL OF THE ORGANISING COMMITTEE OF THE PROVINCE MEET
The Theme of the 20th Letter: A Spirituality of Silence?
Dear Rev. Fr. General,
This week saw Rome breaking its diplomatic silence on the issue of pedophiles among Catholic priests by calling all Catholic bishops in the United States to Rome to discuss the issue. Although cynics might say that this belated response is only a reaction to immense public condemnation of the Church’s silence on the issue, we would like to believe that it comes from a more deeper moral commitment to correct something which has gone wrong. This pope is known for his many apologies for wrongs done by the Church in the past. From a human rights point of view, these attempts represent a truth and reconciliation approach, which is one of the great developments in the last two decades that is most prominently symbolized by the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the International Criminal Court (ICC), which is now a reality.
Silence before known injustices is called complicity and is now a well-established principle. It is also well-established that territorial limitations are no bar to intervention to correct grave wrongs. Rome’s actions last week are further proof of this quite well-respected principle now.
You still seem to be believed that, whatever the gravity of the wrong, your duty is to keep silent. This old military habit, which asserts that superiors can do no wrong, still seems to be a guiding principle for you, for religious orders, for their own preservation, have created very unjust rules for the “inferiors?of their organizations. By way of illustration, let us cite a recent case—also in India—in which the mother superior gave the following instructions to other nuns regarding a fellow nun:
“No one should go and meet her in jail, and don’t have letter correspondence with her; no community or institution should allow her to enter after her release from jail; don’t comment on the incident or its background to anyone” (a letter by Sr. Corona Mary, OSM, servite generalate, to all nuns of her order dated Nov. 29, 2001. For more details, see www.ahrchk.net/urgent appeals).
The Jesuits in Fr. Pallath’s case gave similar instructions to exclude all communication with other Jesuits (some of whom defied these instructions), but they were careful not to put these instructions in a general circular but kept them to personal letters and verbal instructions. This was done with your full knowledge and through many people in Rome.
Thus, we have these two spiritualities—one in which you are determined to keep silent to all correspondence regarding Fr. Pallath’s case, including our 20 letters, and another that seems to be a more open approach that Rome displayed last week. We wish to believe that the latter spirituality will finally prevail and that some day you will understand that silence in these circumstances means complicity.
