12th March, 2013.
“The boat of the Church does not belong to me”,
declared Benedict XVI, “neither does it belong to you. It belongs to the Lord
and He will never let it sink.” That was the assurance of faith with which the
Supreme Pontiff Emeritus took leave of the public domain. Ever since, the
number of interpretations of the plausible reasons and postulated treasons, the
volume of fanciful predictions and preposterous prophecies, the degree of
journalistic curiosity and pretentious perceptivity, have augmented to demonic proportions.
Such as the conclave, which has always been a secret space of holy silence, has
been dubbed as if being an under-cover operation of a political conspiracy.
What was hurting was to see the Christian news agencies, and worse still
Catholic news vendors, who have been behaving like some infantile upstarts
making these sacred events into a paranormal affair and a naïve number game.
Today, finally the Cardinal Prelates enter that private ‘space behind closed
doors’, and the hand of God will have a free space to operate. In the name of
secular autonomy and freedom of expression every form of demonization has been
unleashed against the Church in the past three weeks and every urge to paranoid
interpretations given vent to. I hope and pray atleast beginning this day, some
respect will be shown to the real faith that Catholics have that it is the Holy
Spirit who raises the leader of the Community at a given time, with the given
need in perspective. With hordes of the so-called Catholics having joined the
fad-conditioned secular masses in criticizing their own pastors and shepherds,
and looking at them with suspicion and pessimism, I wish those who have
remained calm and committed to their basics in faith have a respite with the
proceedings given their due respect. Let us pray together my fellow catholic
brothers and sisters, that we remain steadfast in our faith and continue to
feel the Holy Spirit still guiding us on, amidst all insanity that pervades the
moment. Let us wish our elders, our shepherds, a moment of Divine Guidance all
through this process of discerning our Chief Shepherd. Let us remain united
with them in prayer.