Bertrand Russell was a great philosopher of this planet. He was a professor at Oxford in UK. During the First World War he was arrested and detained by the British government for being conscientious when he from the class where he was teaching told the students not to support British government in its war. According to Prof. Russell this war was of no use, it was a useless war British government is fighting and you should not support the British government in this war.
Then came the Second World War and again the same Prof. Bertrand Russell in the same university and the same class from where earlier he told his students to stop coming to college, now during the Second World War instead told the students to join the British government in this war in fighting against the Nazis of Hitler. He further said “this monster Hitler is all out to destroy the human civilisation. We by all means have to stop him. Hence, you all join together and help the British government to fight against Germany”.
From the above we see two divergent views expressed by the same man according to his firm upright and truthful principles. Both his views were right according to the voice of his conscience and belief. And because he followed the voice of his conscience strictly and correctly with religious zeal he even accepted arrest but never altered his principle and belief in justice to please his government’s wrong act.
During the invasion time of Kuwait, in the month of September 1990, Saddam Hussein made the Chaldean Christian Bishop to declare from Iraqi TV his support for the illegal invasion of Kuwait. By acceding to the wishes of Saddam Hussein, Chaldean Bishop of Iraq committed a big mistake by justifying the wrong deed of Iraq and thereby he committed a sin against Christianity which does not approve of wrong doing. And as a leader of Christians he should be more faithful to the Christian doctrine of justice than that of Saddam Hussein’s injustice. As a leader of Christian community in Iraq he should have been more faithful to God than to Saddam Hussein even to the extent of going to the prison if required like Bertrand Russell.
The Bishop of Germany during the Second World War declared his support to Hitler while the Bishop of England opposed Hitler and his war on Europe. It is really ironical and funny to see Christian leaders are becoming cowards in front of their State leaders who by supporting injustice go against the Christian doctrine. A true Christian leader will remain faithful to the doctrine of his Heavenly father rather than that of the State leader when there is a clash of interest. A true Christian leader will be bold enough to face even the persecution of his State leader when the matter of fight comes for declaring truth which is the hallmark of Christianity.
On the day of the invasion of Kuwait on 2nd August 1990, early in the morning at about 6.00 I was caught by the Iraqi soldiers at gun point and while they were leading me to the Open Air Prison opposite to Kuwait City Sheraton Hotel, somehow I managed to escape from their clutches. Then next to the Church I entered into the Flat of one Goan family to tell them to take their females and flee from this area because Iraqi invading soldiers will start raping as it happened in Goa in 1961 December when my beloved Goa was invaded by Indian army men. Immediately after me, two Iraqi soldiers entered that Goan Flat and asked all the males from that Flat to leave except females one of them was a young school going girl. Knowing the motive of these ugly and dirty Iraqi soldiers, I refused to leave the Flat holding the young girl’s hand tightly. Noticing my refusal to leave, one Iraqi soldier pointed his gun to me threatening “either leave or I will shoot you”. Then he put the barrel of his gun on my neck and pushed me out of the Flat like a goat.
Immediately I came home and called one of the priests in the Church pleading with him to come out and try to save the girl from the clutches of the Iraqi soldier, the girl was doing lot of good work in the Church including Choir singing. As a priest I told him, Father you will have better chance to save that Catholic girl. But that priest like a coward refrained from doing anything by telling me “just pray and pray”. Wasn’t it the duty of the above priest to be bold enough to come out of the Church and try to save that girl? As a religious leader he should have been ready to risk even his life in the name of God. But I think this priest became coward. Such cowards do not deserve priesthood. Priesthood is the challenge to the brutes and sinful like Iraqi invaders who raped females even in the vicinity of the Kuwait City Church.
Jesus knew that men cannot produce good fruit by its own nor can do anything good so He said His words are recorded in the Gospel of John 15: 4 & 5 by this we can understand that if a person abides in Jesus then he is with Jesus and His character is within a person who abides in Jesus. If a person seeks for the things which are of this world rather than seeking those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God (COLOSSIANS 3: 1). A person should set his affection on things above, not on the earth (COLOSSIANS 3: 2). If a priest is dead for this world (if he truly abides in Jesus) then his life is hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3: 3).
When priest’s life is hidden in Christ then he acts also like Jesus, one of the characters of Jesus is He is a Good Shepherd for He said in John 15: 13. Jesus said in John 10: 14 that I am a good shepherd. He said in John 10: 11 I am a good shepherd; the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.
Before the invasion of Goa by the mighty Bharati Military in December 1961, from Portugal its dictator Salazar sent a message to his Governador in Goa to destroy Goa and turn it into ashes before Indian Military entered Goa. Accordingly at some places and locations Bombs were kept, some detonated while others kept undetonated. Then immediately the Portuguese Patriarch of Goa in Goa intervened and forcefully advised the Goa Governador not to carry on with the advice of Salazar because it is a bad advice. Patriarch as a top religious leader of Goa followed the advice of Heavenly Father and agreed to make peaceful end of Portuguese Government in Goa. For this the Governador of Goa had to face the punishment from Salazar when he returned to Portugal.
While concluding I must say that our religious leaders must be ready to speak out the truth fearlessly because the greatness of our religion lies in the truth, straight forward truth as expressed by Prof. Russell, by British Bishop and by the Portuguese Patriarch of Goa. Now a day we see our religious leaders are become “Chamchas” of their governments and rulers for this reason we see rampant injustice prevailing in our midst. Lip service to religion is become the mode of propagating of the religion.
A. Veronica Fernandes,
Kuwait.
