Prayer of Child Abuse Victim

Lord, thou heard my languish of heart-wrenching pain

I cried to heaven yet my cry was silenced 

Thou silence quietened cry of my pain

Ignored have I walked alone.

Oh God, I never stopped outcrying 

The more I kept quiet, the more it got louder

My outcry was louder than the measures put to silence it

I thought my heart is deaf or Thou are mumbling 

At last, Lord of the pain heard my outcry

Painful outcry overpowered the might cover-up

Lord, I thank you for divine intervention 

Yet again, you showed us on which side you stand

Continue to listen to the painful languish 

Bring justice to the little ones of the world.

 Amen

(Inspired by the letter written by the Pope as a response to the child abuse grand jury report)

Crow raises the bar

It was fascinating to read in the New York Times on 19 August about crows are being trained to clean up the park in France. The crows are trained to pick up cigarette buds from the park and dash it in the bin. The trainer has six crows which are brought in a box to the park and sent to clean up the park and as a reward, they are given a piece of cheese. This might look like animal abuse or work but crows like to play. The trainer opined that it is a play for the crows and in fact they enjoy doing it. He also says that it is to make people guilty that they should clean the park, not the crows. 

While this fascinated me, I wondered how animals can be taught to do something good like this and they do it faithfully. Of course, crows are considered to be intelligent birds. Do you think they are more intelligent than humans? Then why humans don't clean up but mess up the park? Humans also need to be taught even though humans are intelligent beings. What is taught to humans is important but soon taken for granted or can be influenced by other factors such as this, not our park or I didn't dirty the park and so on?

Animals also have a degree of belonging to nature hence they can feel with nature. If they feel nature is not suitable or habitable they migrate to a better habitable place in nature. They are close to nature than humans. It is important that humans take some cues from animals so that our nature is protected and kept clean. In fact, humans need nature more than animals because most animals can migrate from one place to the other without much difficulty. But humans cannot migrate so easily for there are more constraints of migrating.

Sin in the Church.

It is nauseating to read the Grand Jury report on priests abuse in the State of Pennsylvania yet it is not easy to erase the reality that has long been swept under the carpet with a strategic cover-up by the Church authority. As my Sunday pastor perched today, "secret has made the church sick and enough is enough." The Catholics find themselves in quandary in this whole sage of child molestation in the church. They are so confused about what to say and what to do now. Obviously, every Catholic would stand with the victims but can they condemn their church? 

The grand jury report has enshrined the abuse done by the predator priests graphically. The predator priests who took nude photos of a bit posing as a Christ on the cross. Another predator priest forced a boy to give him oral sex, then washed his mouth with holy water. Another predator priest abused a boy so violently over several years that his back was injured. These are the few evil acts of predator priests out of so many to mention here on this blog. 

The grand jury has brought a huge slap to the church. This slap must have been brought about 3 decades ago. Hence, victims could have brought some sense of justice. 

Three things to note, firstly, the grand jury is strongly condemning the cover-up by the Church while this could have dealt with more efficiently. Most of these cases cannot be prosecuted now because they are beyond the statute of limitations. This means the victims have not been served justice because of the hush up was done by the Church authority. Most cases the predator priests were moved to another place without any alarm. 

Secondly, the revelations have taught us that it's time to speak up and not remain secret. Victims will feel ashamed but it's not their fault. Victims must speak up in due time so that they are safe in the hands of the powerful. If parents see any signs of behavioural changes in your children or they tell you that someone touched them inappropriately, don't shun them to shut up but try to inquire what has happened behind that behaviour. The church also needs to speak up because harbouring and protecting a predator is more dangerous than being shamed for justice. Jesus will appreciate if the evil is reported to the proper authorities. The church does not have trained investigators, hence, hand over the case to the competent authority. 

Thirdly, this is a humanitarian crisis not merely sexual and spiritual crises. Just like, refugee crises, every attention must be given to this. Everyone must get angry but not lose hope. Righteous anger can challenge us not to withdraw but to embrace because the victims need us now more than anyone else. If Catholics run away from the church now it simply gives the impression that we don't want to take responsibility for the acts of the church leaders so we technically remain silent to protect ourselves. Catholics and other faiths must stand together to fight this cancer of abuse in the church and society. There will be fear, anxiety and hopelessness as we follow our faith. But this can be turned around only if we embrace our fear so that courage can be our reward in our faith. 

In conclusion, it important to report of any suspicion of abuse to the competent authority. As the Gospel says, everything hidden in dark will be brought to light. Nothing can be hidden in this world. No place for secrets in this issue. See something, say something, know something, say something. This way we can protect our innocent children from the predators. Let's us learn from this experience of abuse and cover-up that God is speaking that evil cannot be tolerated. God always speaks to about tired but powerful have silenced God's voice of justice. Give God a voice please and don't silence him. 

Prison in Brazil

An experience

Whatsoever you do to the least of my brother that you do unto me. This is my first impression whenever I did prison ministry. After being a small help at Wandsworth prison, I had. An opportunity to explore prison apostolate in Brazil. I was rather reluctant despite my positive disposition of prison ministry because of the formalities that the prison system follows here in Brazil. But with slight luck and encourage d by my Jesuit brothers I ventured into one of the Brazilian prisons. 

This prison is one among seven other prisons in the area of Belo Horizonte. I could go to prison for mass only two times in seven months. This means only two masses in seven months. This is the tragedy of Catholic faith in a Catholic country. The first time I went, it was rather penetrating into a war zone area because I had to go through 4 times security check which quite contrary to London where I used enjoy going in singing hallelujah without any security checks. It was almost a strip check. But this time slightly better, I was pleased to see a huge cabin in which we go to stand and a scanner films you this then projected on a computer screen before a grim-faced officer. This is a new technology which has reduced 4 person job into one. After all this, I was not allowed to carry anything except an alb and a stole which is fair enough. My only concern was the rays from the scanner would affect me anyway there we are. 

Inside now, we could entertain only about 20 prisoners for mass but we were asked to celebrate mass in a large quadrangle facing the cells. There were about 14 cells on two floors and each cell contained about 8 to 10 prisoners. This looked it was overcrowded. The cells are meant for about 4 and the rest have sleep on the floor with a thin mat. This shows the contrast between dear Wandsworth prison and Brazil. 

I had a great blessing of saying mass for them. My voice was not able to overshadow the noise that was rocketing from the cells because we were out of microphones. I was able to shout with the top of my voice so that people in the cells could hear me. But I would assure that this mass was one of my best masses because I felt a strong and hovering presence of God in that quadrangle. The prisoners were attentive and overly religious with their heads bowed down and hands folded in a great reverence to the Eucharist. This showed me that God loves everyone irrespective of who we are. The Eucharist was really a chance to pour their hearts out to the Lord. They were so joyful to sing the songs they knew and the rest clapping to the beats of the song. The communion was distributed with utter reverence. The prisoners in the cells weren't able to come therefore we had to pass the communion through the rails of the cell. This again showed me their respect and homage to the holy communion. It was a moving experience for me. This experience has made me think that God is present particularly in the lowly and rejected and condemned by the society. 

Most of them have a rough background thus they are forced into wrongdoing which has ended them to the prison. Some of them had some horror stories to share but had to interrupt since I had time constraints. I could spend the whole day listening to only two people. They need someone to listen that they are forced into drugs and their family has no one to care for. This might sound routine story for us who have been working and listening to the prisoners but it is not routine for them at all. It is a profound and deep experience for them when they open up their hearts. Most of them feel that they are erred and want to rectify and none of them would like to go back to the same old trade. This is important for as they feel sorry for their wrongs and none would like to go back. 

Most of them have families and kids, some of them even many women and many children to care for. Some of them are far away from them and cannot afford to visit them in the prison. Poverty has to lead their families to withdraw from every social activity in the society. This is a huge problem and challenge for us who are right in the society. How can we love and treat these shattered families and restore faith once more? This is a big question for me as well. I am trying to understand why do we lock up a prisoner and take them around like an animal in chains? 

Tribute to a Cheerful Nun

Words are not enough to express gratitude to Sister Admirabilis Browne who has passed on to her heavenly abode. Sister Admi has left an ineradicable mark in the hearts of so many Guyanese. Likewise, I had the honour of experiencing her pleasant demeanour. We have been touched by sister in exceptional ways. Sister was born in 1924. She went to Sacred Heart School and St. Joseph’s School in Georgetown. Early education in these schools emulated her religious vocation to the Sisters of Mercy. After taking a job for few years, she entered Convent of the Sisters of Mercy in 1947 in Dallas, Pennsylvania.  She pursued an MA in Mathematics from Fordham University. Her contribution towards education and hospital has been outstanding. She was the administrator at Mercy Hospital in Georgetown for several years.   

Sister celebrating her 70th anniversary recalled a simple yet profound experience in Mercy Hospital as a young sister. She was walking down the corridor when a young boy ran up to her called her, “Auntie Jesus, Auntie Jesus.” The boy has been taught to address a woman as Auntie and the boy noticed the cross on sister, hence the boy called her, ‘Auntie Jesus’. This encounter with the boy reminded sister to be like Jesus. Encounters as this will make us truly disciples of Jesus. Through this encounter, Sister encourages us to be close to Jesus even if it seems like He is not close to us, to know that God is doing His own thing to strengthen us. Therefore, do not be discouraged or worry when things are not going right.

 Her cheerfulness and love engulfed with a contagious smile is the hallmark of her life. Anyone who has met sister will never leave without being refreshed with a charming smile. She loved everyone in her own way since she believed in the love of God and love of people. She preached and practised her own saying ‘seeing happiness in others made you happy.’ This charming quality comes from her relationship with God for she articulates, ‘listen to the inner voice of yourself where God speaks.’ Sister encourages us to love Jesus not merely in a distant way but focus on loving those around us and this will have an amazing impact on

us. Her approach towards the young people was to meet them from where they are, although sister belonged to the ‘typewriter’ era. Therefore, she is loved and missed by many young people. I personally admired her for her attentive ear towards my preaching in the Church even though she had wealth of knowledge and spirituality. She has inspired me to remain humble because in humility we praise God. As we celebrate her life in gratitude, we imbibe the qualities of cheerfulness, love, humility and acceptance of a changing world. I conclude with her own motto, “All for Jesus through Mary.”