Archives
See what's in?

Subscriptions
Subscribe to CC

Advertising
Want to Advertise in CC

Hot Topics
Cast your vote,
Make a difference.

Campaign
Raise your Voice,
Let others hear you!

Testimonials
What others say about us

Sabrang Team
Meet those talented people 
of Sabrang

Our Activities
Activities carried out by Sabrang

Letters to Editor
Send your letters to 
the Editors

Contact Us 
Umh!, Whats this?

Get FREE E-mail.

Interview with Dolphy D’Souza, AICU

The All India Catholic Union which has decided to launch a nationwide campaign to press the Union government for reforms in Christian  personal laws is a mass-based, democratic, grassroots federation with a presence in more than hundred of the 130 dioceses of the Catholic Church in India. It has a collective membership that runs into lakhs and is the only organisation of the Catholic laity that is recognised by the Catholic Bishop Conference of India. Communalism Combat spoke to Dolphy D’souza, national secretary, human rights and social justice AICU and convenor, Voice of the Exploited (VOTE), Mumbai on the subject. Excerpts from the interview:

What is the action plan of AICU for the national campaign?
We have set ourselves a deadline of six-eight months for building up the national campaign. The first aspect of the campaign is to motivate Catholics and the rest of the Christian community so as to ensure their active participation in the national campaign. As you are aware, the proposed reform bills enjoy the full backing of numerous organisations of both the clergy and the laity from virtually every Christian denomination in the country. But to build a national campaign we need to mobilise ordinary Christians in large numbers to be able to build up enough pressure on the government to act. 

We have to give people an opportunity to understand what is at stake, what are the changes suggested by representative organisations of the community. There is a widespread myth about religion–related personal laws being sacrosanct. People need to be informed about the interpretation of these laws in modern times in keeping with unfortunate, present day social realities. If the human aspect of equality between men and  women is  discussed,  people will begin to understand. We need to ask our people: Is there equality between men and women in any real sense?

The world is changing at such a fast pace but our attitudes are slow to keep pace. This needs to be corrected, our attitudes need to change. We cannot afford to be out-dated in our thinking. Religion must play a positive and radical role in enhancing the values that we all cherish from a human viewpoint.
We need to take the idea of gender justice to a large section of our people; our women who are a dynamic and vibrant force that can help us working for other social changes.

How exactly do you plan to go about your mass motivation and mobilisation plan?
We plan to send out detailed, background papers on the issue of comprehensive reform in Christian personal laws related to marriage, adoption, divorce and inheritance to all the diocesan organisations all over the country. These papers will have details of all the changes that have been recommended to the government. We will, of course, also highlight the fact that the changes sought have been suggested by representative organisations of all denominations of the Christian clergy and laity, that it is something that the community’s leadership itself has been demanding for many years now.

There are 130 diocesan organisations within the Catholic Church in India. Along with the background papers, a campaign strategy for the local level will be suggested: how to  raise this demand consistently so we can be heard.
Secondly, the issue of reform in Christian laws is not merely a Catholic venture. Therefore, AICU will network with all other Christian denominations on the issue.
Thirdly, we believe that networking with secular formations – women’s groups and civil rights groups — on the issue is vital to enlist their support for the campaign.
Fourthly, there is the critical question of advocacy —members of Parliament, people in the ministry, government officials and the bureaucracy.
We have set ourselves a deadline of six to eight months for the campaign to build up.

Do you not expect resistance from within the Catholic community?
There is the possibility of some resistance. However we are very confident that once the campaign gets under way, a campaign that envisages explaining the whole rationale behind changes in Christian law being initiated, people will come around. 

We have to stress that we are talking about a creative life for women and men within the church, changes that are bound to enhance the dynamism and growth of the church and the country. We know that we, regrettably, have a patriarchal set up at the level of the State, community and family. But such changes can assist the process in setting things right.

However, if we pitch the campaign well and manage to take the people along, assure them that the changes will only enhance the quality of life of people, of women and the Church, people will come around.