Indian media’s complicity in the current global scandal of the Christian church

The Pope appeared in grandiosity for the Mass in Vatican this week, but the airs hung heavy all around- gone were the crowds of cheering multitudes, the palpable enthusiasm of the masses in attendance that was infective at the time of his anointment, and the scene painted was of the Vicar of Christ on earth putting up appearances amidst his frocked clergymen the source of much embarrassment.

It was the tried and time tested method of the Church, at damage control, to own up the lapse and pretend at attonement, and the irony of his raised hands of Blessings among these men working behind the scene their curses all over the world was not lost on anyone except perhaps the apple polishing BBC that covered it doggedly.

Indian media’s complicity in the current global scandal of the Christian church, is telling- while there is no respite for the diggers of the skeletons from mire the Church has landed itself in the west and elsewhere, Indian media has utterly failed in its watchdog role of reporting these abuses handing a raw deal to its Indian victims.

The raring to go and over eager accommodation of the Christian church’s point of view, and the timidity of the Press and electronic media due to direct and indirect stake the Christian organizations hold in their outfits, had encouraged the Christian god-men to carry on with their scandalous behavior to the babyish laity, and could confidently be sure to surface sooner than later.

The promotion of its agenda of evangelism, using any means- many that would be held utterly scandalous by western standards in the cloak of religious rights, has had a fallout of providing a Critique and Probity free environment- during the period when West had unearthed shocking scandals of these depraved ‘godmen’- a term that our media reserves only for Hindu religious heads.

Kowtowing of the Church line and absence of critical coverage during this Global Church-Scandal era, is another Media Complicity Scandal is a story worth unraveling in itself. The obsession with the ‘Right wing’ Hindu-organisations, countryside quacks-small time godmen and the painting of a slanted picture, contuitive to forging a feigned victimized identity all around by Indian media, had further emboldened them and weakened the voice of its victims in India. The media had thus done the whole lot to turn India a safe haven for clerical abuse and its fugitives from the global scandal.

Here is just a short list in the very same Orissa where the Church went overdrive screaming ‘atrocities’. The indignant Pope even rushed in a huff to accuse India and slight its image in a public condemnation, even as the churchmen kept up their murky activities.

2003-Nov 25 -A poor Vanavasi child used by a nun called Meena for immoral Activity, and arrested by police.Devgad District.
Attack on Jagannath Rath Yathra
2004-july 4 : At Navarangpur Osagamunda Village. Thrown eggs on deity.
2005-Feb 16: Another Vanavasi girl called Jyothirmayi has been brutally raped and murdered.Denaknal Block
2005-july 1 : Vanavasi boys called Kishore prasanth and Gagori nakada has been found dead swallowing poison at a MissionHostel-SundergadMissionSchool.
2006-jan 15 : A poor village women called Rugmini beaten so brutally for denying conversion at Jajpur Jilla.
2006 Oct 23 : School Principal of LAYOLA Mission School has been detained and suspended by authorities for using children for immoral traffic.
2007-july 28: Two nuns called Prema and Mary of BARIPADA Vijya sadan MissionSchool also detained by police for using boys for sexual activities.
2008-Jan 28 : In Thalpada Village Missionaries brutally attacked boys and sexually harassed a girl.Balgad District.
2008-july 14 : In Raygad 120 Vanavasi children are under custody of missionary workers for more than 25 days.
2008-july 15 : Two vanavasi student who were participated in swimming competition has been found dead in suspicious situation in At Lamathapur Mission School.

This list is by no means to date or complete, but a random report collected from low key reports that appeared in dailies.

Reports of Clergymen wanted on charges of sexual abuse in U.S. working their miracles on the unsuspecting unhindered in the Missions in India are just the tip of the ice-berg.

This complete failure of the Indian media, in its obligatory role as a Watchdog against abuses regarding Christian organizations, will surely come in the unwrapped when the Christian victims divulge and come out with the same shocking exposes of these godmen in frocks.

While the craven Indian media keeps mum, all the while trying to linkup an isolated statements from Savarkar and Golwalkar, to ‘unearth’ the Fascist face of Hindu rightwingers, the western counterparts have been less circuitous and straight up on the whole issue.

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