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UPDATE: The Twelfth Open Letter on the Issues Regarding Fr. Pallath's Case

August 19, 2001

UPDATE ON URGENT APPEAL UPDATE ON URGENT APPEAL UPDATE ON URGENT APPEAL

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAM

Update on Urgent Appeal 20 August 2001

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UP-32-2001 (RE: UA12/01: Jesuit Priest Abused by His Own Order)

UPDATE: The Twelfth Open Letter on the Issues Regarding Fr. Pallath’s Case

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Dear Friends,

We would like to send you a copy of the 12th open letter sent by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) to the Jesuit superior general in Rome regarding Fr. Pallath’s case.

For further information, including this letter, please visit http://jjpallath.ahrchk.net.

Thank you.

Urgent Appeals Desk

Asian Human Rights Commission

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Twelfth Open Letter to Jesuit Superior

(This is the twelfth of a series of letters on the issues regarding the treatment of Fr. Pallath J. Joseph of the Kerala Province of Jesuits in India.)

August 20, 2001

 

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

 

TWELFTH 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

 

The Theme of the Twelfth Letter: Brahmin Cunning and Jesuit Spirituality: Can These Coexist?

 

Dear Rev. Fr. General,

 

In the first and second open letters to you, the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) raised some concerns from a moral and human rights point of view regarding all of the episodes relating to the case of Fr. Pallath J. Joseph of which you are aware. Our third letter to you outlined in detail why we as a human rights organisation are concerned about Fr. Pallath’s case; and in the fourth letter, we questioned the manner in which the leaders of the Jesuit order have dealt with this issue. In our fifth letter to you, we raised the issue of racism in regards to the treatment of Fr. Pallath by the Jesuit order in this case. Our sixth letter to you dealt with the use of common sense to resolve Fr. Pallath’s case. In our seventh letter, we compared the cases of Belgian Jesuit Jacques Dupuis and Fr. Pallath. Our eighth letter noted the lack of justice that has transpired in dealing with Fr. Pallath’s case and questioned whether this conformed with the central place of love in Jesuit teaching and Christian theology. The danger of overemphasising obedience that is reflected in the German saying Bevel ist bevel - an Order is an order - that laid the foundation for Nazi fascism during World War II and that appears to be playing a role in Fr. Pallath’s case was highlighted in our ninth letter. In our 10th letter, we referred to your continuing silence in responding to Fr. Pallath’s case, a lack of action that we noted fosters impunity in this serious matter. Our 11th letter contained Fr. Pallath’s call for an inquiry into his dismissal and his reply to a version of the facts below by a person called “Tamara Joseph,?a version that is believed, in fact, to be authored by the Jesuits in Kerala. While it is not our intention to interfere with the affairs of your order, there are matters of public interest about which many people, including our commission, are quite concerned. They are as follows:

 

(1) The physical assault of Fr. Pallath J. Joseph by two members of your order, together with several other hired thugs;

 

(2) The throwing of the body of Fr. Pallath over the wall of the Jesuit’s premises and onto the road while he was in an unconscious or semiconscious state;

 

(3) Slandering Fr. Pallath by some members of your order using a gutter magazine called Crime Star;

 

(4) The filing of fabricated criminal complaints against Fr. Pallath with the view to have him arrested as a way to prevent him from entering a Jesuit house;

 

(5) The failure of the Jesuit superiors to respect an agreement entered into between Fr. Pallath and the Jesuits in Kerala through the mediation of the bishop of Calicut; and

 

(6) The failure to provide for the livelihood of Fr. Pallath after 33 years of service.

 

Brahminism is nothing except cunning. It is this priestly tradition that has used all sorts of tricks to attain every social benefit for itself and to deny everyone else their rights. It does not acknowledge truth as a virtue, and a lie is no evil either. If your trick can help you get what you want, that is all that matters. This situation is all too well known by any Indian, or South Asian for that matter. For those in the West, however, who may think that this is an exaggeration, there are good books which explain this phenomenon. We especially suggest the book by B. R. Ambedkar entitled Annihilation of Caste (see www.ahrchk.org) and the beautiful novel which exposes this ugly affair - The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy.

 

A few leading Jesuits in Kerala involved in the episodes relating to Fr. Pallath’s case have demonstrated a common phenomena among some priests who have assimilated the dominant mode of priesthood in India, which is Brahminism. Fr. Pallath’s case is just one among many cases of priests who have had to face similar situations. They were punished and silenced. In fact, there is a common saying in Kerala that almost all priests who took a great interest in the developments of the Second Vatican Council are no more. At the time AHRC decided to support Fr. Pallath’s case, AHRC was aware of many earlier cases and some pending ones. These other cases involved not just the Jesuit order.

 

The problem in finding justice in these cases is very much linked to the fact that many people think that it is futile to fight a cultural tradition based on cunning. They take it for granted. Caste and caste-based habits are so deeply ingrained. The attitudes of people are formed on the basis of such strong prejudices.

 

While these internal attitudes are not difficult to understand, what is difficult to understand is how Jesuit superiors residing outside of Kerala refuse to inquire into matters like these when they are brought to their attention. It can be said that they have refused to carry out any inquiry since at no stage was Fr. Pallath called to be present for an inquiry into his accusations of being physically attacked by some Jesuits, the use of the gutter press and other means to slander him and a refusal to grant him the basis for his livelihood after 33 years of service. While all that is foul goes well with Brahminism, one wonders how the same goes on well with the Jesuits. There is a contradiction here. Or is there no contradiction? We believe that the Jesuit tradition arose from a tradition of humanism and that it is capable of correcting itself once it recognises its mistakes. It is a pity that Brahminism and the Jesuit tradition are publicly perceived as the same. We once again urge you to open an inquiry into these matters.

 

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Update
Document ID :
UP-32-2001
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Extended Introduction: Urgent Appeals, theory and practice

A need for dialogue

Many people across Asia are frustrated by the widespread lack of respect for human rights in their countries.  Some may be unhappy about the limitations on the freedom of expression or restrictions on privacy, while some are affected by police brutality and military killings.  Many others are frustrated with the absence of rights on labour issues, the environment, gender and the like. 

Yet the expression of this frustration tends to stay firmly in the private sphere.  People complain among friends and family and within their social circles, but often on a low profile basis. This kind of public discourse is not usually an effective measure of the situation in a country because it is so hard to monitor. 

Though the media may cover the issues in a broad manner they rarely broadcast the private fears and anxieties of the average person.  And along with censorship – a common blight in Asia – there is also often a conscious attempt in the media to reflect a positive or at least sober mood at home, where expressions of domestic malcontent are discouraged as unfashionably unpatriotic. Talking about issues like torture is rarely encouraged in the public realm.

There may also be unwritten, possibly unconscious social taboos that stop the public reflection of private grievances.  Where authoritarian control is tight, sophisticated strategies are put into play by equally sophisticated media practices to keep complaints out of the public space, sometimes very subtly.  In other places an inner consensus is influenced by the privileged section of a society, which can control social expression of those less fortunate.  Moral and ethical qualms can also be an obstacle.

In this way, causes for complaint go unaddressed, un-discussed and unresolved and oppression in its many forms, self perpetuates.  For any action to arise out of private frustration, people need ways to get these issues into the public sphere.

Changing society

In the past bridging this gap was a formidable task; it relied on channels of public expression that required money and were therefore controlled by investors.  Printing presses were expensive, which blocked the gate to expression to anyone without money.  Except in times of revolution the media in Asia has tended to serve the well-off and sideline or misrepresent the poor.

Still, thanks to the IT revolution it is now possible to communicate with large audiences at little cost.  In this situation there is a real avenue for taking issues from private to public, regardless of the class or caste of the individual.

Practical action

The AHRC Urgent Appeals system was created to give a voice to those affected by human rights violations, and by doing so, to create a network of support and open avenues for action.  If X’s freedom of expression is denied, if Y is tortured by someone in power or if Z finds his or her labour rights abused, the incident can be swiftly and effectively broadcast and dealt with. The resulting solidarity can lead to action, resolution and change. And as more people understand their rights and follow suit, as the human rights consciousness grows, change happens faster. The Internet has become one of the human rights community’s most powerful tools.   

At the core of the Urgent Appeals Program is the recording of human rights violations at a grass roots level with objectivity, sympathy and competence. Our information is firstly gathered on the ground, close to the victim of the violation, and is then broadcast by a team of advocates, who can apply decades of experience in the field and a working knowledge of the international human rights arena. The flow of information – due to domestic restrictions – often goes from the source and out to the international community via our program, which then builds a pressure for action that steadily makes its way back to the source through his or her own government.   However these cases in bulk create a narrative – and this is most important aspect of our program. As noted by Sri Lankan human rights lawyer and director of the Asian Human Rights Commission, Basil Fernando:

"The urgent appeal introduces narrative as the driving force for social change. This idea was well expressed in the film Amistad, regarding the issue of slavery. The old man in the film, former president and lawyer, states that to resolve this historical problem it is very essential to know the narrative of the people. It was on this basis that a court case is conducted later. The AHRC establishes the narrative of human rights violations through the urgent appeals. If the narrative is right, the organisation will be doing all right."

Patterns start to emerge as violations are documented across the continent, allowing us to take a more authoritative, systemic response, and to pinpoint the systems within each country that are breaking down. This way we are able to discover and explain why and how violations take place, and how they can most effectively be addressed. On this path, larger audiences have opened up to us and become involved: international NGOs and think tanks, national human rights commissions and United Nations bodies.  The program and its coordinators have become a well-used tool for the international media and for human rights education programs. All this helps pave the way for radical reforms to improve, protect and to promote human rights in the region.