Vatican II affirmed that every Christian shared Christ's role as priest, king, and prophet by virtue of baptism and dismissed the erroneous notion that the clergy is one step above the laity in terms of power, rank, and decision-making.

The spirit of the Council did not fully materialise, so the clericalist culture continued to sway churches across the world, such as in Bangladesh, where Catholics number just 400,000 among a 170 million predominantly Muslim population.

Clericalism, which Pope Francis despises as "a cancer" is a major obstacle in the Church's progress to synodality in Bangladesh, as it is across Asia.

While Catholics are enthusiastic about becoming part of a synodal Church, eager to occupy their rightful place in the Church's mission, most clerics find no urgency to mend their old ways that assert clerical superiority.

Bangladesh's eight dioceses held synodal consultations at parish, diocese, and national levels.

Apparently, representatives from different sections and diverse groups of people participated and presented a host of proposals and observations. However, the final national document sent to the Vatican has not been made public.

The Church leadership circulated the Asian Continental and Vatican Synod documents across dioceses, but not their own document. Catholic bishops' responses to the Vatican Synthesis Report has been the only accessible document.

The response praises the local Church's growth, good clergy and religious vocations, efforts in evangelisation, social welfare and inculturation, and calls for "shared responsibility" for all to ensure a synodal Church.

Interestingly, it mentions nothing about a clericalist culture that is still predominant.

Secrecy

A sense of secrecy shrouded synodal consultations and findings in Bangladesh.

This secrecy is the best example of continuing clericalism, which forces the hierarchy to believe ordinary Catholics have no right to know the decisions the hierarchy makes for the Church.

So, there is no clue to determine whether the participants spoke against clericalism in Bangladesh and sought ways to get rid of it.

In most probabilities, the answer is no. Because tolerating the "cancer of clericalism" is deeply rooted in the psyche of most Catholics in Bangladesh.

Most Catholics do not find any problem with priests making final decisions on administrative matters at parish, diocesan, and national levels.

Lay people consider it their honorable duty to agree with a priest's decisions. On the contrary, any disagreement will almost always be frowned upon as anti-Church.

For a major part, the laity should be blamed for clericalism in Bangladesh.

Most would assert that "all good Catholics" should obey their priests always and everywhere. Such a highly clericalized laity allow clericalism to flourish in the Church.

Primacy of the priest

The "primacy of the priest" in the psyche of Bangladesh's Catholics is not just something leftover from the Church's centuries-old link with the Roman Empire but also a legacy of European colonialism in Asia.

At a time when the hierarchy's leaders were kingmakers and anointers who bestowed divine authority on kings, the masses saw priests not only as dispensers of spiritual power but also as those close to secular power.

During the colonial era, the public looked at missionaries as collaborators of the colonial powers and a majority of Christians — mostly from socially and economically poor social sections — took them as benefactors who doled out material assistance for their welfare.

In the benefactor-beneficiary relationship, lay Catholics willingly became subservient, and clerics appropriated powers to control the lives of parishioners.

Although colonialism ended more than seven decades ago, the new generations of priests in Bangladesh and South Asia have continued cultivating the benefactor-beneficiary system.

With many Christians coming from poor, low-income groups, the clergy has continued to dominate decisions as they have played vital roles in dispensing the Church's social welfare benefits.

In Bangladesh and most of South Asia, most priests are now natives, and only a very few Europeans are active in missions.

Yet, the native clergy do not see the laity in their communities as equals, even in the Church, and even if the laity are more educated and skilled. What a tragic irony!

Social inequality and discrimination

Added to this is the continuing social inequality and discrimination within the Church.

The rich and powerful receive better treatment from the clergy, and the poor and powerless are ignored or looked down upon.

The clergy also continue attempts to be connected to the secular power and love to hobnob with the elites and politically connected.

At least half of Bangladesh's Christians are tribal people who struggle for social equality and to assert their rights as humans.

Tribal Catholics dominate in five of the eight dioceses, and they happily accept a priest's dominance in all their affairs rather than fight clericalism. A synodal Church will not be their priority until priests make it so for them.

Another issue is a lack of proper adult catechism. Catholics in Bangladesh have not yet internalised the notion of the Second Vatican Council, that the Church is the People of God.

They would love to see the hierarchy as the Church. In this part of the world, considering the hierarchy as the government of the Church and communities of Catholics as the Church's core is a thought frowned upon.

The dominating hierarchy smothers any criticism, however legitimate it may be, against its members and their policies. Critics are branded as anti-clerics and, therefore, anti-Church.

This fear of vilification stops many good Catholics from speaking the truth and defending the rights of the poor in the Church. It allows the Church to become unchristian.

Reform needed

The Church in Bangladesh needs major reform and a shake-up to remain relevant in these times, which demand equality, justice, and fairness.

The old-fashioned priesthood and elitist clericalism must be dismantled with calibrated action to build a truly synodal Church.

If the issue of clericalism is not addressed, the two-year-long process of the Synod on Synodality will end up being a waste of time, energy and money.

• First published in UCA News
• Rock Ronald Rozario is a journalist for UCA News. Based in Bangladesh capital Dhaka, he covers social, religious, political, and human rights issues in Bangladesh and Asia.

Around 90 percent of the South Asian nation is Muslim, with 7.95 percent being Hindu, 0.6 percent Buddhist, and just 0.3 percent being Christian - just about 500,000 people in a nation of 170 million.

Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who resigned and fled the country on Monday, headed the Awami League, a secular party most non-Muslims support.

The protests against the Haina government began in early July with demands from university students to abolish quotas in civil service jobs. Still, they grew larger into a broader anti-government movement.

Read More

"We thank God at the end of the day for all the blessings we receive," the 52-year-old Catholic says with a smile.

Rozario, a father of two, makes a living by cultivating rice on 0.4 hectares of land leased from his neighbor for 100,000 taka (US$ 909). In addition, he also works as a daily laborer in Joyramber, his Christian-majority village in Gazipur district of central Bangladesh.

He makes 600 taka working eight hours as a daily laborer. He also sells around 2,400-2,800 kilograms of rice, left over annually after his family's needs are met.

"I earn about 40,000 taka by selling the rice," he says while wearing a T-shirt and lungi, a sarong-style garment popular in rural Bangladesh.

He also rears livestock — three cows, a bull, a chicken, and some ducks.

The village is home to 180 families, mostly Catholics and a handful of Hindus, bisected by a canal that connects Belai Beel, a low-lying marshland, where hundreds of villagers like Rozario grow rice twice a year.

During the rainy season, the village looks like an island when the marshland is filled on three sides by rainwater, providing a bounty of water lilies and hyacinths.

Most of the village houses are located along the canal banks just like Rozario's brick and tin-sheet-roofed abode. The houses are built on high ground packed with soil to avoid land erosion during the monsoon.

The swamp is also a source of fish, though stocks have been depleted in recent times due to the use of pesticides and chemical fertilisers on the farmland.

The canal is mostly used as a cheap way to transport goods and construction materials and is navigable only during the rainy season.

A parish of workers

Joyramber is one of three villages that make up Sacred Heart parish in Rangamatia with an estimated 3,000 Catholics. About half of them are low-income people like Rozario.

The parish is part of Bhawal region, one of the oldest and largest Catholic settlements covered by Dhaka archdiocese, where Catholicism dates back to the 17th century thanks to Portuguese missionary work.

Rozario and other Catholics in his village walk about three kilometers along an unpaved village road to attend Sunday Mass and other religious feasts at the parish church.

His ancestors have lived in the village for over three centuries, he says adding that he is unsure when they converted to Christianity from a lower-caste Hindu group.

"My grandfather, his father, and his grandfather lived here for ages," he said.

Fighting poverty with hard work

For generations, local Catholics in Rangamatia have been farmers, cultivating rice and vegetables to support their families.

However, the younger generation has largely ditched traditional occupations to take up alternative work such as teaching, cooking, tailoring, electrical and mechanic jobs in cities like the capital Dhaka, about 40 kilometers away.

Some villagers rely on small businesses like running grocery stores for a steady income.

The young Rozario could not continue education after Grade 4 because of his family's extreme poverty. His father didn't own any farmland, just the homestead.

After quitting school, Rozario started helping his sharecropper father in farming, the only family income source.

His parents raised eight children — five daughters and three sons. Khokon ranks seventh among them. After their father died at the age of 71 in 1997, the homestead was divided among his sons.

Rozario's five sisters are all married and live with their husbands. His brothers live separately with their families close to his home.

After his marriage in 1995, Rozario lived in a thatched house for years. His parents arranged his marriage with Sagorika, following the largely patriarchal society's traditions.

Their two children — son Showrov, 27, and daughter Meghla, 21 — are now grown up. Both follow the Catholic faith.

"We work hard and sleep deep," says Rozario with his 47-year-old wife smiling in agreement.

Educating children

The couple focused on educating their children.

However, Showrov was poor academically and dropped out after Grade 9. He pursued some basic training in hospitality and found a job at a guest house in Dhaka. Now, he works in a restaurant in the city as a waiter, earning a monthly salary of 15,000 taka.

Meghla scored high grades in her secondary and higher secondary school examinations. She aspired to become a nun and in 2019-2022 received religious formation at a novitiate run by the Associates of Mary Queen of Angels (SMRA), a local women's religious congregation.

But she later lost interest in religious life and returned home earlier this year.

Now, she's doing a bachelor's degree in Business Administration at the National University of Bangladesh (NUB). She commutes three days a week to the college located some 15 kilometers from their village.

The family has to save some 2,100 taka every month for fees, transport and food for her to complete her studies over the next four years.

"Our daughter's pursuit of higher education is her real vocation," says Rozario.

A dream comes true

Rozario said he dreamt of building a decent house and for years, and both he and his wife saved money with Rangamatia Christian Cooperative Credit Union Ltd, a cooperative run by laypeople.

In July 2023, they borrowed 1.1 million taka from the cooperative and took out another 15,000 taka personal loan to complete their 660 square foot house.

The family's monthly home loan is calculated to cost 26,000 taka, and the loan is expected to be paid off by 2026.

The house was completed in 2022 and replaced their dilapidated shack. It has three bedrooms, a kitchen, a toilet and a dining space. They also managed to install a water pump to ensure the supply of piped water.

Showrov sends most of his salary to support the family after paying his living costs in Dhaka, his father said.

Faith and work

While Rozario still works hard in the fields during the day, his wife takes care of household chores, including caring for the animals.

Eggs from poultry and milk from cows are sources of protein for the family.

"Sometimes we sell the eggs and eat the chickens instead of buying from the market," Sagorika says.

Rozario says they are no longer poor like before, but need to continue working hard to better their economic situation.

"We've to make our family fortune, we need to realize our dream of a better livelihood," he said.

For years, the couple has followed a strict daily routine.

The morning begins early, at 5:30 a.m. Rozario takes the cows and the bull to graze, while his wife prepares the meals.

He works until 3 p.m. and returns home. After taking a bath, he meets up with neighbors and friends in the village, often over a cup of tea.

He returns home by 7 p.m., lights a candle in front of a crucifix and a small Marian statue, and begins the rosary prayer. It takes about an hour.

The prayer is followed by dinner. They go to bed by 10 p.m.

Rozario says they inherited their faith in God from their ancestors who embraced Christianity centuries ago.

"We don't work on Sundays for an income. We go to church for Mass,, but we also do our ordinary chores such as cooking and washing," says Rozario, adding that they are connected with the parish through the parish council.

The family makes donations to the church annually, including for Christmas, the parish feast in June, and other major feasts. They pay 250 taka annually to the parish fund and another 500 taka for Christmas.

"The parish council involves parishioners in various activities during feasts such as Christmas," Rozario says.

Culture and traditions

Like Rozario, Catholics in Bhawal region speak a dialect of Bangla (Bengali), an Indo-Aryan language and lingua franca in the Muslim-majority nation.

The language is also the mother tongue of the majority of people in West Bengal state in neighboring India.

The common attire for men in villages is a lungi and shirt, and a saree for women. Young girls often wear a shalwar and kameez, long and wide dresses popular in many regions of South and Central Asia.

During religious ceremonies and social feasts, men wear Western-style trousers and shirts.

Catholic villagers observe family programs such as birthdays and social events like baptisms, weddings, funerals and national days following their traditional culture blended with religious practices.

When a family member or relative passes away, all clan members mourn and observe niramish (abstaining from meat and fish) for three days. On the third day, they join a commemorative Mass and a communal meal consisting of rice, fish curry and lentils.

Sons shave off the hair on their heads as an act of mourning, while the wives and daughters usually wear white sarees.

The same rituals were followed when Rozario's 71-year-old father, Lucas, died in 1997.

Well-off families also arrange for challisha, or fortieth day events for dead loved ones, a tradition common in various Asian nations. The tradition is marked with prayers and lunch for clan members and relatives.

Some Christians connect the 40-day observance with the Ascension of Jesus.

Nowadays, well-off families celebrate birthdays, wedding anniversaries and sacraments of Holy Eucharist and Confirmation in a befitting manner even in rural areas like Rangamatia.

Despite the rise in literary and economic development, many villagers still believe in myths and superstitions.

For example, on the third day of remembrance of a dead person, family members take a plate full of rice and curry and pour the food at a village crossing.

The meal is meant for the departed soul. The relatives believe the dead person might get angry if they do not share food.

Hopes and fears

Rozario says his family has come a long way through faith in God and hard work over the years, but they have more to do to achieve socio-economic stability.

The building of a better house has brought more social respect for the family, he noted.

"I'm still poor in many ways compared to the richness I see around me, but I have the freedom to work and bring about change in our lives. So, I work hard to fulfill our dreams, and by working together we can bring about positive change," he said.

"My dream is to combat illiteracy and poverty to uplift our future generations," he added.

Rozario is upset about rising alcoholism and drug use and a decline in morality among the younger generation.

He said that although drinking homemade liquor during social feasts is part of the local culture, it has now become a social menace.

"Young boys and younger ones are drinking homemade liquor, smoking cigarettes, and using other drugs while adults make and supply the drugs. This problem has gone beyond the community now," he said, adding that alcoholism is often the cause of family and social disputes.

Moreover, the younger generation lacks interest in age-old customs, which dismays their elders, he noted.

"One of the reasons I decided to send my son to Dhaka for a job was to save him from social pollution. Though I'm poor, I want to have a peaceful life," he adds.

Rozario says he dreams of a respectful social life of dignity and wants to see his two children yield the "best harvest" in the future.

"I have faith and trust in God and the rest I do with my hard work. I'm doing my best to ensure a good and honest family," he said.

"I am a happy farmer and thankful to God for all I have. We work hard for our dream to create heaven on earth."

• First published in UCA News. Republished with permission.
• Raphael Palma is a journalist at UCA News.

About 50 million people who live slightly above the poverty line (i.e. those earning more than US$2 a day) may fall below the line because of the pandemic.

In the past, natural disasters and climate change effects were the main drivers of poverty in Bangladesh.

However, pandemic has impacted all sectors in the country, says Zahid Hussain, who is a World Bank economist.

The most affected will be those involved in unorganized labor sectors.

These sectors include daily laborers, transport workers, rickshaw pullers, restaurant workers and small businesses.

About 20 percent of Bangladesh's more than 160 million people are poor.

An additional 10.5 percent are extremely poor, a 2019 study by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics says.

The study calculated people's ability to buy and consume kilocalories of food instead of gross income or purchasing power parity.

Anu Muhammad, a professor of economics at Jahangirnagar University, thinks up to 80 million poor people in Bangladesh will be drastically affected by the pandemic.

"We have always cast doubts on the government's definition of poverty as we believe the real figure was even higher."

"Despite a government stimulus package for industrial and agricultural sectors as well as relief programs, the real poor are unlikely to benefit and survive," he says.

"Corruption will eat out whatever is for the poor unless we fix the system that deprives them."

"This global crisis is also a result of an unequal global system, and the world must learn a great lesson and abandon the development of wastage such as arms, plastics and nuclear weapons."

Holy Cross Father Liton H. Gomes, a social researcher and rights activist says a greater focus on Bangladesh's recovery and support for vulnerable communities is needed.

Father Gomes, secretary of the Catholic bishops' Justice and Peace Commission agrees.

"The government has come up with stimulus packages, and we need to ensure the support reaches those who need it badly. This might improve the situation for hard-hit people," he says.

"In the aftermath, in our country and across the globe, we should follow the economic model of less production and less consumption, and this can lead us to a better and more equal world."

Catholic charity Caritas Bangladesh has distributed hygiene kits, masks and cash handouts in eight regional working areas.

It is making plans for better and creative projects to address urban and rural poverty.

This will involve prioritising income-generating and self-employment projects to help people in Bangladesh fight poverty effectively.

Source

• UCA News
• Image: LightCastle Partners

He also says it is "imperative" for world governments to immediately provide assistance to help the Bangladeshi government cope with Asia's worst refugee crisis in decades.

Bangladesh has opened its borders to the refugees.

The United Nations is calling the situation the Rohingya are enduring a textbook case of "ethnic cleansing."

Francis used the opportunity his trip provided to appeal to Myanmar's Buddhist leaders to overcome "prejudice and hatred".

Later in his trip, in a speech before Bangladesh President Abdul Hamid, government officials and ambassadors from around the world, Francis praised Bangladesh's sacrifice and generosity in welcoming in so many refugees "before the eyes of the whole world."

He also met with 18 Rohingya people who are seeking refuge in Bangladesh.

He said the refugees wept as they told him their stories.

"In the name of all those who have persecuted you, who have harmed you, in the face of the world's indifference, I ask for your forgiveness," he told them.

He explained to journalists on his home-bound plane journey that he knew that he was going to meet the Rohingya while he was visiting Myanmar and Bangladesh, but he didn't know where and how.

Nonetheless, meeting the Rohingya was one of his conditions for making the trip, he told them.

Source

• Channel News Asia
• New York Times
• Catholic Herald
• Aljazeera
• Image: aa.com.tr

He is striving to have "the wealth of our differences" to be part of the conversations between religions. Read more

It is estimated that in less than three weeks, up to 400,000 Rohingya refugees have fled Myanmar.

They are fleeing mass human rights violations and atrocities, including: the burning of villages and crops, using petrol and rocket launchers; executions by shooting, stabbing, beating or burning; beatings; and sexual violence.

But the Rohingya refugee crisis is not new. For decades, the Rohingya have been persecuted in Myanmar, with almost one million fleeing Myanmar since the 1970s.

Previous waves of displacement and return have been marked by violence and growing suspicion towards Rohingya by the Rakhine Buddhists and the national (military and civilian) governments.

The crimes being committed in the past weeks against the Rohingya are also not unusual.

They have only escalated in intensity and number, with the perpetrators no doubt spurred by the impunity with which they have been able to commit such atrocities for so long.

UN officials such as the Secretary General and the High Commissioner for Human Rights have called the current situation "ethnic cleansing."

The UN has avoided the term "genocide" - however, it is genocide that is taking place. Myanmar's military government has systematically sought and acted to remove the Rohingya minority from Myanmar and overall, from existence.

Rohingya are a minority group living in Rakhine state of Myanmar, located on the western coast and along the border with Bangladesh and close to India.

Rohingya are referred to as "Bengali" - a derogatory term - and, despite evidence of their residence in Myanmar for centuries, are denied citizenship and the participatory rights that come with that privilege such as participating in the public service.

Rohingya's freedom of movement is restricted (they are even herded into detention camps and ghettos), their employment rights and options severely limited, and they are denied access to food, healthcare and education.

In addition, long-term mass violence has been carried out, including instances of organised massacres accompanied by sexual violence. Continue reading

Sources

• ABC Religion & Ethics, article by Gerhard Hoffstaedter and Melanie O'Brien.
• Image: Kenn Orphan

The Catholic charity's volunteers distributed 4,000 Bangladeshi taka (about 46 euros) and cleaning kit for each person, for at least 1,650 families affected by the emergency.

Efforts are concentrated in two districts in the north of the country. The delivery of relief supplies was also attended by officials of the central government of Dhaka.

In the summer of 2016, Bangladesh - a poor country and often the scene of natural disasters, which annually cause victims - had to face the worst floods in 10 years.

At least three million people are affected. Read more

Catholicism came to the region in the 16th century with the arrival of Portuguese sailors. The Catholic Bishops' Conference of Bangladesh was established in 1971, the same year Bangladesh achieved its independence from Pakistan.

In a nation with a total population of about 150 million, the Bangladeshi Catholic population is 350,669, according to the 2014 Catholic Directory, which also says that there are 367 Catholic priests, 1,051 nuns, and 107 religious brothers, along with 97 parishes and 49 Catholic secondary schools.

Owing to the Portuguese influence, many current-day Bangladeshi Catholics have Portuguese names. However, there is an increase of Catholics with non-Portuguese names, according to "S," a Catholic journalist based in Dhaka, Bangladesh, who, for security reasons, requested that his full name not be used.

Based on multiple news reports, it appears that anti-Christian attacks are on the increase. Such groups as World Watch Monitor, which reports on persecution of Christians around the world, recently published an article, "More Attacks on Christianity in Bangladesh," which tells how the country "continues to see a rise in attacks and intimidation" against Christians.

Despite this information, S sees the overall situation as less religiously volatile and contends that the persecution takes place over issues of land. As Bangladesh is a "tiny but overpopulated country," the price of land is rising, so "some land-grabbers try to occupy Christians' land illegally," and this is the motivation behind most anti-Christian persecution.

Perhaps the most infamous anti-Catholic attack took place in June 2001, when a bomb exploded in a Catholic church during Sunday Mass, killing nine and maiming dozens.

More recent attacks include a January 2014 incident, in which homes were set ablaze and eight Catholics were injured, allegedly for exercising their right to vote in the nation's parliamentary elections. Continue reading

Sources

• The Catholic World Report, from an article by Ray Cavanaugh, a member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA).
• Image: Jihad Watch

Catholic social teaching is being quoted as the death toll in the Bangladesh tragedy of a collapsed garment factory rises above 1100. Bangladesh is the second or third largest exporter of garments in the world, behind only China and possibly Vietnam.

In the United States, government officials, investors and religious groups are warning major retailers like Walmart, Benetton and Gap that they could face a financial backlash from consumers, damage to their share value or sustained public protests if they do not adopt stricter standards.

The New York Times reports growing impatience with American and European retailers and apparel brands because only two companies — PVH, the parent company of Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, and Tchibo, a German retailer — have signed a binding agreement on safety standards for factories.

Edward J. O'Boyle, senior research associate with Mayo Research Institute in the US, cited Pope John Paul II's 1981 encyclical Laborem Exercens, which said labour's effect on the worker is more important than both its effect on the product and on profits.

"We cannot purchase imported goods at the price of the lives of people in other countries simply because they live in other countries where working conditions are deplorable; we have an obligation to intervene," O'Brien said.

Christopher Westley, an economics professor at Jacksonville State University, said economic and social systems "have to be based upon the primacy of the human person", as Catholic social teaching says.

Father Seamus P. Finn, representing shareholders from the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, has been circulating a letter among religious organisations to express displeasure with the American retailers.

He says the retailers have not done nearly enough to improve workplace safety for the more than three million garment workers in Bangladesh.

"What happened in Bangladesh is a game-changer because of the gravity of the situation and the tremendous loss of life," Father Finn said. "People are really coming to life about this and saying, ‘We need to do something'. "

Sources:

New York Times

Catholic News Agency

Image: New York Times