austraLasia #2692 The twisted tale of 'Brother Thomas'
ROME or....?: 14 August 2010 -- Since the details are in the
public forum, and since the currently raging 'brush fire' was lit by
Catholic news update Asia reporting on a National
Catholic Reporter article a day or two ago, it seems appropriate to
try to offer some balance on it all, a balance which has subsequently
begun to emerge from people unhappy with the NCR material.
We don't know who 'Brother Thomas' is, since he is
obviously a pseudonym for any one of 700,000 candidates for the term in
Myanmar/Burma. I read the original article and immediately felt it
would be improper to re-publish its contents, certainly without some
other views. It was disrespectful to the episcopate and seemed to
make claims based on few encounters on the part of someone coming in
from outside with little appreciation of the history.
You can read the article for yourself, but then bear
in mind at least the following:
- many details may be simply inaccurate. A
'local' response to the claim that "priests in the cities earn about
$400" indicates that not only is such a figure impossible, but that the
claim ignores the fact that most Catholics live in villages and the
mountains, not in the cities, and that payment for blessings and
sacramental service is simply not the case in the country. Nor is Mass
celebrated with "backs to the people" as claimed. Not anywhere in the
country.
- Catholic attitudes and action at the time of
the 'Saffron revolution': much of the article focused on this,
including the way the episcopacy handled it, but also comparing Pope
Benedict and Archbishop Desmond Tutu's comments at the time. One
response points out that Pope Benedict is well aware that he has half a
million Catholics to be concerned about in the country, while Desmond
Tutu did not seem to have that concern - there are Anglicans but not so
many. The article is quite vague about how many Catholics its reporter
met in the country, so claims like "many Catholics....felt that the
Church hierarchy had lost serious credibility" simply don't have clear
evidence. The claim also ignores other realities, including the
necessary acknowledgement that Catholics and religious do not have an
easy time in such a poor country where there is so little freedom. A
report which misrepresents the actions of bishops and clergy in a
negative and unfounded manner does not help anybody, though it may
reflect the voice of a few. Besides, it might have been a case of 'with
friends like this who needs enemies' for the Buddhist monks, had the
Church come out strongly on their side. They (the monks) were at least
an authentic homegrown resistance. The minority Church is often
under suspicion for being 'western'. The monks did not need that burden.
MYM is part of our Region. It is only right that we
should read up a little about it and understand it. Some provinces in
our region are doing their utmost to help. The NCR article, negative
though it may be, spurs one to read up and understand something of the
circumstances, but it must be kept in balance. If you are
interested in the several written reactions to it, I can point you in
the right direction. Just ask. _________________ AustraLasia is an
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