Chairman: Mar Joseph Powathil Episcopal Members: Mar Goerge Punnakottil Mar Thomas Chakiath Secretary: Fr.

Philip Nelpuraparampil (newsandviews1@gmail.com) 2 September 2012

CARDINAL BURKE: LITURGICAL LAW MUST ENJOY THE PRIMACY AMONG CANONICAL NORMS, FOR IT SAFEGUARDS THE MOST SACRED REALITIES IN THE CHURCH. ARAB BISHOPS DECRY VIOLENCE IN SYRIA

CARDINAL DOLAN CLOSES OUT REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION WITH PRAYER U.S DOCTRINE COMMITTEE ADOPTS PROTOCOL TO RESPOND TO THEOLOGICAL QUESTIONS CARDINAL MARTINI, BIBLICAL SCHOLAR, FORMER ARCHBISHOP OF MILAN, DIES FOR POPE BENEDICT IN LEBANON, THE PASTORAL IS POLITICAL

 USAIN BOLT INVITED TO ADDRESS VATICAN CONFERENCE REPORT HIGHLIGHTS ISLAM'S GLOBAL DIVERSITY

HIMACHAL PRADESH (PARTIALLY) REPEALS ITS ANTICONVERSION LAW

PRIEST, NUN HONORED FOR WRITING LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

CARDINAL BURKE: LITURGICAL LAW MUST ENJOY THE PRIMACY AMONG CANONICAL NORMS, FOR IT SAFEGUARDS THE MOST SACRED REALITIES IN THE CHURCH.
Anti-Canonical Priestly Culture Devastated Church After Vatican II Lamenting a clerical culture dismissive of canon law in the decades following the Second Vatican Council, Cardinal Raymond Burke addressed a Kenyan canon law convention on August 28 about the essential service of canon law in the work of the new evangelization. After I began my studies of Canon Law in September of 1980, I soon learned how much the Churchs discipline was disdained by her priests, in general, he recounted. Institutes of the Churchs law, which, in her wisdom, she had developed down the Christian centuries, were set aside without consideration of their organic relationship to the life of the Church or of the chaos which would necessarily result from their neglect or abandonment. The hermeneutic of discontinuity and rupture, which has tried to hijack the renewal mandated by the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, is marked by a pervasively antinomian culture, epitomized by the Paris student riots of 1968, and has had a particularly devastating effect on the Churchs discipline, he continued. It is profoundly sad to note, for instance, how the failure of knowledge and application of the canon law, which was indeed still in force, contributed significantly to the scandal of the sexual abuse of minors by the clergy in our some parts of the world.

The prefect of the Apostolic Signatura continued: The years of a lack of knowledge of the Churchs discipline and even of a presumption that such discipline was no longer fitting to the nature of the Church indeed reaped gravely harmful fruits in the Church. For example, I think of the pervasive violation of the liturgical law of the Church, of the revolution in catechesis which often rendered the teaching of the faith vacuous and confused, if not erroneous; of the breakdown of the discipline of priestly formation and priestly life, of the abandonment of the essential elements of religious life and the devastating loss of fundamental direction in many congregations of religious Sisters, Brothers and priests; of the loss of the identity of charitable, educational and healthcare institutions bearing the name of Catholic; and the failure of respect for the nature of marriage and the time-proven process for judging claims of nullity of marriage in ecclesiastical tribunals. From the above considerations, it should be clear that the knowledge of and respect for canonical discipline is indispensable to the Churchs response to the call to a new evangelization, he added. Liturgical law must enjoy the primacy among canonical norms, for it safeguards the most sacred realities in the Church.

ARAB BISHOPS DECRY VIOLENCE IN SYRIA

Decrying the conflict in Syria, the Conference of Latin Bishops of the Arab Regions is expressing its closeness and solidarity in a message to the apostolic vicar of Aleppo, Syrias largest city. Thousands of people are victims of fratricidal violence, tens of thousands of refugees leave their country, millions of people live in poverty in the present situation and the uncertainty of the future, the bishops noted. We, the Latin Bishops of the Arab Regions, strongly condemn the escalating violence in Syria, which terribly affects Christians, ecclesial structures of your Apostolic Vicariate, Catholic dioceses and other Christian churches. We express our closeness and solidarity with you and all who serve with you the priests, men and women religious and the faithful, the bishops added. We assure the clergy and the faithful that we are in union through intercessory prayers, that the Lord enlighten the minds and open the hearts of the international community to find the path of dialogue between government of Syria and the opposition in Damascus.

CARDINAL DOLAN CLOSES OUT REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION WITH PRAYER

By Catholic News Service TAMPA, Fla. (CNS) -- Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York offered the closing prayer at the end of the Republican National Convention in Tampa Aug. 30, thanking God for 'the great gift of our beloved country.' Cardinal Dolan, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, will also offer the closing prayer at the Democratic National Convention Sept. 6 in Charlotte, N.C. The cardinal's prayer, which followed Mitt Romney's acceptance speech for the Republican presidential nomination, cast a wide net. He asked God to bless those in this country 'yet to be born' and those at the end of their lives. He prayed for families who have been in this country for generations and recent immigrants, soldiers and those looking for jobs. He also prayed for those 'afflicted by the recent storms and drought and fire' and for the 'grace to stand in solidarity with all those who suffer.''May we strive to include your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, in the production and prosperity of a people so richly blessed,' he said. The cardinal prayed for God's guidance upon those who govern and those who seek public office. 'Help them remember that the only just government is the government that serves its citizens rather than itself,' he said. He also gave thanks for the 'sacred and inalienable gift of life' and for the 'singular gift of liberty' and prayed for a renewed 'respect for religious freedom' and a 'new sense of responsibility for freedom's cause.' The cardinal's presence at the Republican National Convention -- and his similarly scheduled appearance at the Democratic National Convention -- is 'solely as a pastor, only to pray, not to endorse any party, platform or candidate,' according to a statement by Joe Zwilling, spokesman for the New York Archdiocese. The cardinal cleared his activity at both conventions with the bishops who preside over the dioceses where the conventions are taking place. The tradition of prayers at party conventions goes back more than 100 years. Although it is unusual for the same person to pray at both conventions in the same year, it is not without precedent. In 1948, Philadelphia Cardinal Dennis J. Dougherty prayed with both parties when the nominating conventions met in Philadelphia. Representatives from other faiths who led the daily opening or closing prayers at this year's Republican National Convention included: -- Rabbi Meir Soloveichik, director of Yeshiva University's Zahava and Moshael Straus Center

for Torah and Western Thought, who delivered the invocation Aug. 28. -- The Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, an Assembly of God minister and president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, based in Sacramento, Calif., who gave the closing prayer Aug. 28. -- Ishwar Singh, the president of the Sikh Society of Central Florida, who said the opening prayer Aug. 29. He said he was the first Sikh American to deliver the invocation at a national convention. -- Greek Orthodox Metropolitan Methodios of Boston, who delivered the closing prayer Aug. 29 on behalf of Greek Orthodox Archbishop Demetrios, who had been invited to offer the prayer but was unable to do so because of travel.

U.S DOCTRINE COMMITTEE ADOPTS PROTOCOL TO RESPOND TO THEOLOGICAL QUESTIONS

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The U.S. bishops' Committee on Doctrine has developed a protocol to respond to questions raised about the work of theologians. Approved provisionally in September 2011, the protocol outlines various steps that committee members and the staff of the Secretariat for Doctrine at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops can take when evaluating the work of theologians to ensure that the material in question conforms to church teaching. The six-page protocol states that the committee reserves the right to 'seek authorization to publish its statements without the prior consultation' with a theologian or the theologian's representative 'if it judges that intervention is needed for the pastoral guidance of the Catholic faithful. Publication of any comment, however, must be approved by the bishops' Administrative Committee. The protocol was approved after the Committee on Doctrine issued a critique of the book 'Quest for the Living God: Mapping Frontiers in the Theology of God' by Sister Elizabeth A. Johnson, a Sister of St. Joseph who is a professor of theology at Fordham University. After a yearlong review, the committee in March 2011 criticized the 2007 book for having 'misrepresentations, ambiguities and errors' related to the Catholic faith. The committee did not meet with Sister Elizabeth prior to issuing the critique. In subsequent written responses in 2011, Sister Elizabeth defended the book, saying her work was 'thoroughly misunderstood and consistently misrepresented' by the committee. A statement from the Secretariat for Doctrine introducing the protocol in Origins, the Catholic News Service documentary service, said the Committee on Doctrine does not consider the protocol as a replacement for the 1989 document 'Doctrinal Responsibilities: Approaches to Promoting Cooperation and Resolving Misunderstandings

Between Bishops and Theologians.' That document calls for a bishop to seek an informal conversation to discuss concerns with a theologian during any review of work.

CARDINAL MARTINI, BIBLICAL SCHOLAR, FORMER ARCHBISHOP OF MILAN, DIES

By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Italian Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini, a renowned biblical scholar and former archbishop of Milan, died Aug. 31 at the age of 85 after a long battle with Parkinson's disease. Pope Benedict XVI met privately with the cardinal during a visit to Milan in June, and was informed of his ailing health Aug. 30, the Vatican press office said.

CARDINAL In a telegram to Cardinal Angelo Scola of Milan, Pope Benedict MARTINI (CNS praised Cardinal Martini's generous service to the Gospel and the FILE/CATHOLIC church and his "intense apostolic work" as a Jesuit, a professor and PRESS PHOTO) "authoritative biblicist." As archbishop of Milan, the pope said, Cardinal Martini helped open for the church community "the treasures of the sacred Scriptures." The pope prayed that God would welcome the cardinal into "the heavenly Jerusalem."
The cardinal was a prolific author whose books were best-sellers in Italy and included everything from scholarly biblical exegesis to poetry and prayer guides. He retired as archbishop of Milan in 2002, where he was known as a strong pastor and administrator, and as a very careful, thoughtful advocate of wider discussion and dialogue on some delicate and controversial church positions. At various times, he expressed openness to the possibility of allowing married Latin-rite priests under certain circumstances, ordaining women as deacons and allowing Communion for some divorced Catholics in subsequent marriages not approved by the church. During a special Synod of Bishops for Europe in 1999, he made waves when he proposed a new churchwide council or assembly to unravel "doctrinal and disciplinary knots" such as the shortage of priests, the role of women, the role of laity and the discipline of marriage. His carefully worded remarks reflected his belief that the church would benefit from a wider exercise of collegiality, or the shared responsibility of bishops for the governance of the church. The idea of a new council was not

taken up formally by the synod. Following his retirement, his interests focused on biblical studies, Catholic-Jewish dialogue and praying for peace in the Middle East. In a September 2004 message to a symposium on the Holy Land and interreligious dialogue, the cardinal wrote that Christians who visit Jerusalem should suspend judgment on the political situation there and simply pray for both sides. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict had become so complicated and painful that even an expert would have trouble sorting it out, he said. In a November 2004 speech at Rome's Gregorian University, he told Catholics they could not understand their faith unless they understood the Jewish faith practiced by Jesus and his disciples. "It is vital for the church not only to understand the ancient covenant (between God and the Jewish people) which has endured for centuries in order to launch a fruitful dialogue, but also to deepen our own understanding of who we are as the church," he said. Even in retirement, the cardinal kept up with issues of importance in the life of the church. He was sought after for interviews and frequently published opinion pieces in Italian newspapers. In a 2008 book-length interview titled "Nighttime Conversations in Jerusalem," Cardinal Martini said Pope Paul VI's 1968 encyclical "Humanae Vitae" ("Of Human Life"), which taught that artificial birth control was morally wrong, led many Catholics to distance themselves from the church and from listening to and being challenged by the Catholic vision of human sexuality. While not specifically addressing the morality of contraception, the cardinal said the church needed to take a more pastoral approach to questions of sexuality. "The church should always treat questions of sexuality and the family in such a way that a leading and decisive role is up to the responsibility of the person who loves," he said. Born in Orbassano, near Turin, Italy, Feb. 15, 1927, Carlo Maria Martini entered the Society of Jesus in 1944, was ordained a priest July 13, 1952, and took his final vows as a Jesuit in 1962. The cardinal, a biblical scholar, never held a parish post. With doctorates in theology and biblical studies, he was a seminary professor in Chieri, Italy, 1958-1961; professor and later rector of the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome, 1969-1978; and rector of the Pontifical Gregorian University from July 1978 until his December 1979 appointment to Milan. After his retirement in 2002, he moved to Jerusalem and purchased a burial plot there but

returned to Milan after his health worsened in 2008. He died in a Jesuit retirement home near Milan, surrounded by his Jesuit confreres and members of his family. When he was named archbishop of Milan, Cardinal Martini was the first Jesuit in 35 years to head an Italian archdiocese. Pope John Paul II ordained him an archbishop Jan. 6, 1980, in St. Peter's Basilica and named him a cardinal in 1983.

FOR POPE BENEDICT IN LEBANON, THE PASTORAL IS POLITICAL

By Francis X. Rocca Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- When Pope Benedict XVI travels to Lebanon Sept. 14-16 -assuming spillover from the civil war in neighboring Syria doesn't force a last-minute cancellation of the trip -- his purpose will be above all pastoral; and, as usual for papal trips, most of his remarks will focus on the spiritual. Yet as the Syrian conflict exemplifies, the concerns of Christians in the Middle East are in many respects inseparable from politics; and however diplomatically the pope may word his statements, some will inevitably touch on the region's political struggles and tensions. Pope Benedict's primary reason for visiting Lebanon is to deliver his document of reflections on the 2010 special Synod of Bishops, which was dedicated to Christians in the Middle East. At that gathering, bishops spoke out on a range of issues that included the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the rise of Islamic fundamentalism, dialogue with Islam and Judaism, and the emigration of Christians driven by persecution, military conflict and economic hardship. Bishops at the synod also affirmed the value of "positive secularism" and of an idea of citizenship that recognized a person's full rights and responsibilities in society without reference to religious affiliation. According to Michael La Civita of the Catholic Near East Welfare Association, these are strikingly new concepts for the region, where sectarianism still dominates public as well as private life. Pope Benedict may draw on the bishops' vocabulary of secular citizenship when he addresses Lebanon's political, religious and cultural leaders in the presidential palace Sept. 15. He is also likely to renew his earlier calls for the protection of religious minorities. That cause has become an increasingly urgent one for Christians in the Middle East since the start of the Arab Spring, a revolutionary wave that started in December 2010, leading to the fall of dictatorships in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Yemen, and currently threatening the government of Syria.

Though they profess no love for the old regimes, many Middle Eastern Christians fear that revolution has furthered empowered Islamist extremism in the region, increasing the danger of attacks and persecution of the sort that Iraq's Christians have suffered since the fall of Saddam Hussein. According to Habib Malik, a professor of history at Lebanese American University, the pope in Lebanon will find an especially receptive audience for any talk of minority rights, since the country's Muslim and Christian populations are both composed of a variety of smaller communities, and moderate Muslims there are also "scared of the radical elements in their midst." Yet, Pope Benedict knows from experience how sensitive a topic this is. In January 2011, after the pope denounced killings of Christians in Egypt and called for the protection of religious minorities, the Egyptian government recalled its ambassador to the Holy See, and the most prestigious university in the Sunni Muslim world, Cairo's al-Azhar University, suspended its interreligious dialogue with the Vatican. An even more delicate topic for the pope during his visit will be the Syrian civil war. Some Christian leaders have opposed the fall of President Bashar Assad, and the Vatican has yet to take a stand on proposals for outside military intervention to end the fighting. In Lebanon, the pope will also confront the sensitivities and complexities of local church politics. Historically a refuge for Christians in the Middle East (with a Christian population today of nearly 40 percent, the largest proportion in the region), the country is home to at least a dozen major Christian churches, including Eastern Catholics in communion with Rome, Orthodox and Protestants. At the 2010 synod on the Middle East, bishops affirmed the importance of preserving the variety of ancient traditions of Eastern Catholicism, whose survival is especially threatened by emigration; but the bishops also warned against the dangers of confessionalism: an attachment to distinct identities in a spirit of tribalism that undermines Christian unity. As Father Guillaume de Brute Remur, rector of Beirut's Redemptoris Mater seminary, told Vatican Radio in August, Pope Benedict's unifying message is urgently needed in Lebanon, "especially in the midst of Middle Eastern revolution, where Islam also arises with some force and a certain radicalism threatens the unity." Even as he addresses Christians who are now a minority in a country where they once predominated, Pope Benedict will also be speaking to a global audience. So he may choose to

draw or suggest parallels between the church's situation in the Middle East and that in other parts of the world. The Lebanon trip comes less than a month before the pope opens the world Synod of Bishops on the new evangelization, a project aimed particularly at revitalizing the church in an increasingly secular West. For Bishop Gregory J. Mansour, who leads Maronite Catholics in 16 states on the East Coast of the United States, the Christian minority in the Middle East sets an example for the new evangelization through its network of social services, including schools and health care facilities. Such services are extensively used and highly valued by the region's Muslim majority, Bishop Mansour notes, and thus constitute a powerful though nonconfrontational form of witness. Yet the bishop says that the long and arduous experience of Middle Eastern Christians also holds another lesson for Christians in the West, and particularly in the United States: "Don't be silenced by anybody." "We deserve a robust freedom of religion, freedom of conscience, freedom in the city square," Bishop Mansour said. "The message of Christians in the Middle East is not to be silent."

USAIN BOLT INVITED TO ADDRESS VATICAN CONFERENCE

The worlds fastest man, Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt, has been invited to address a Vatican conference on religious liberty, reports the Catholic News Agency. We look for a most fundamental common ground among different religions, conference organizer Giovanna Abbiati told CNA. Most of all wed like to focus on the absolute value of religious freedom as a human right. The TEDx Via della Conciliazione conference will be held in Rome in April, and will focus on the theme Religious freedom today. It is being coordinated under the auspices of the Pontifical

Council for Cultures Courtyard of the Gentiles outreach, which aims to create a dialogue between believers and non-believers. Those already confirmed as participants are drawn from the worlds of sport, music, culture and academia, including Vlade Divac, the former NBA basketball player; Gloria Estefan, the Cubanborn American pop singer; and the Japanese architect Etsuro Sotoo. It is the invitation of Bolt, however, that has made the headlines. The 26-year-old recently won three gold medals at the London Olympics. As a Catholic, Bolt is known for making the Sign of the Cross before racing competitively. He also bears the middle name Saint Leo. Among the other sporting personalities invited to participate is the Ivory Coast soccer star Didier Drogba. However, the NFL quarterback and Evangelical Christian Tim Tebow has already informed organisers that he will not be able to attend.

REPORT HIGHLIGHTS ISLAM'S GLOBAL DIVERSITY

By Chris Lisee, Religion News Service Nearly all Muslims can agree on the basic beliefs of Islam: There is one God, Muhammad is God's prophet, and Muslims should fast during the holy month of Ramadan and give alms to the poor. Yet beyond these central pillars of the faith, Muslims worldwide vastly differ as religious convictions are shaped by cultural and social contexts, according to a new report by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. "The World's Muslims: Unity and Diversity" draws on 38,000 face-to-face interviews in 39 countries, and finds that Muslims differ sharply over questions of faith, such as who counts as a Muslim and what spiritual practices are acceptable. With 1.6 billion adherents, Islam is the world's second-largest religion, behind Christianity, and accounts for one-quarter of the world's population. "There isn't one single Muslim world. There are many Muslims around the world that share beliefs, but there are differences as well," said James Bell, director of international survey research at the Pew Forum. Though broad, the report is not comprehensive. "Political sensitivities" and "security concerns" kept researchers out of some countries with significant Muslim populations, including China, India, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Syria.

Muslims are united by the shahada, the declaration of faith that there is only one God and Muhammad is his messenger, as well as by specific religious practices and belief in angels, judgment day, and fate. But they differ significantly by country and region in levels of religious commitment, openness to multiple interpretations of faith and the Sunni/Shiite divide. For instance, 95 percent of Muslims in sub-Saharan Africa said religion is "very important" to them. Solid majorities agreed in the Middle East, North Africa and the United States. Meanwhile, the atheist strain within communism continues to reverberate through former Soviet states like Russia and Kazakhstan, where much lower percentages of people (44 percent and 18 percent, respectively) say religion is "very important." Generally, men and women worldwide held similar religious commitments. However, they differed greatly in mosque attendance, especially in Central Asia and South Asia, which is probably due to local or cultural norms, Bell said. Younger Muslims worldwide were less religiously committed than older Muslims, with the biggest differences seen in the Middle East and North Africa. In Lebanon, for instance, Muslims older than 35 were 28 percentage points more likely to pray several times a day than younger Muslims. Only Russia showed younger Muslims placing significantly more importance on religion. Sectarian differences were divisive in some countries. In most predominantly Sunni countries throughout the Middle East and North Africa -- like Egypt and Morocco -- half or fewer of Sunnis accept Shiites as fellow Muslims. But in nations where large populations of Sunnis and Shiites live side by side -- like Iraq and Lebanon -- majorities of Sunnis recognize Shiites as fellow Muslims. Outside of this area, sectarian affiliation doesn't matter as much; one in four Muslims polled do not identify as Sunni or Shiite. The report also found a striking difference between Muslims worldwide and U.S. Muslims. Basic practices like daily prayer and weekly mosque attendance, as well as the importance of religion in daily life, were lower for American Muslims. Americans also showed a greater acceptance of denominational differences. Whereas 63 percent of Muslims worldwide believe Islam has only one interpretation, only 37 percent of American Muslims believe this.

HIMACHAL PRADESH (PARTIALLY) REPEALS ITS ANTICONVERSION LAW

by Nirmala Carvalho The state's high court strikes down Rule 4 (obligation to notify the authorities within 30 days one's intention to convert to a religion other than Hinduism) as well as rules 3 and 5 (requiring the state to investigate conversions). For Card Oswald Gracias, president of Catholic Bishops' Conference of India, the ruling "upheld and protected the constitution" and recognised that everyone has "a right to choose his or her religion."

Mumbai (AsiaNews) - In a landmark decision, the Himachal Pradesh High Court has struck down parts of the Freedom of Religion Act 2006, the state's anti-conversion law. Speaking to AsiaNews, Card Oswald Gracias, president of Catholic Bishops' Conference of India, said he was "very satisfied" because the ruling "upheld and protected the constitution" and recognised that everyone has "a right to choose his or her religion." More specifically, the High Court repealed Rules 3, 4 and 5 of the law leaving the rest in place. Rule 4 made it punishable for a person intending to convert not to give prior notice to the district magistrate 30 days before the ceremony. Anyone who failed to give prior notice would be fined up to a thousand rupees (US$ 18). Such a rule did not apply to people who wanted to "return" to his or her religion (i.e. Hinduism), usually in mass ceremonies organised by Hindu fundamentalists. Rules 3 and 5 (which are directly linked) required that the state investigate religious conversions, without defining when, how and who would investigate. "Local officials and administrations use such laws to torment and persecute people who want to exercise their freedom of conscience," Card Gracias told AsiaNews, "and have often been used for violent acts against minorities." "My hope," the prelate said, "is that the ruling by the Himachal Pradesh High Court will now set an example for other Indian states that have anti-conversion laws." Other states that have anti-conversion laws are Arunachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat and Rajasthan.

PRIEST, NUN HONORED FOR WRITING LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

By Vincent Carmel Indore: Writing letters to the editor could be a hobby for some, but for some Catholic priests and nuns it is a means of evangelization.

Among them are Holy Cross Sr. Lima Varghese and Fr Joy Parapally of Khandwa diocese who have got more than 100 letters published in newspapers in the past one year. They wrote against corruption, injustice, and other social evils plaguing the Indian society. The two were applauded for their unique apostolate at a function organized at the headquarters of the Universal Solidarity Movement (USM) in Indore, Madhya Pradesh on Friday. Bishop Devprasad Ganawa of Khandwa, while honoring them, said the Church people have so much good to proclaim but they have built walls around them. We are afraid to speak up, to write and share our stories with others. When some members in the Church take some positive steps to be open and transparent, other members do not want to see, do not want to know and do not want understand. Accepting the honor, Sr Varghese and Fr. Parapally told the gathering that the Church people can play a very powerful prophetic role through this means. The two are retired missioners. Sr Varghese, a member of the Lucknow province of the Sisters of the Holy Cross (Menzingen), is currently working in Indore diocese. The 67-year-old nun has worked most of her life as a professional nurse and after her retirement joined USM in 2011. She said although she has no writing habit or skills, she took up writing letters to editor as a challenging mission inspired by USM founder director Fr Varghese Alengaden, a prolific writer and an orator. She has sent over 200 letters to the editors of various newspaper in last one year and got 130 of them published. Fr Parapally is now in-charge of Tapovan Ashram in Khandwa. He started writing in newspapers recently and more than 100 of his letters are published in one year. He motivated all the young religious who attended the program to dare to write and not to be lazy. USM, which trains people in leadership for national harmony and peace, demands its trainees to write letters to editor in the various newspapers to develop skills in forming opinions and communicating to the public.