Pope's comments create ripples not just in news but in pews too

CHENNAI: A couple of days ago, Pope Francis had stated that the theories of evolution and the big bang, which is today thought of as the origin of the world, "is not inconsistent with the notion of creation" and that it was possible to believe in both evolution and the Catholic church's teaching on creation.
Ever since the Pope made the statement, Fr Arun, director of the Xavier Institute of Business Administration, Goa, has been breaking down the statement explaining what he believes the Pope meant to his congregation."The more conservative members are shocked at the Pope's statements, but the younger members of the congregation are clearly excited. But overall, I have had to keep explaining that the Pope is not against the idea of creation but is accepting of the view that evolution is also possible. On the surface it can appear contradictory to what the church believes, but I think it is just a more inclusive view. I believe that what he meant was that evolution is possible because of the creator," says Fr Arun, who adds that last week, the Pope's views on abortions, divorce and same sex marriages - where he encouraged the church to be more inclusive - had a similar reaction from the congregation. "I have had members telling me how they feel they can be a part of the church now as it is becoming more accepting," says Fr Arun. "But I have had a lot of explaining to do with my congregation in terms of reading the fine print. I have had to explain that while he says evolution is real, he has also mentioned that evolution is not possible without god. So it does not go against the church's views in any way. It has just made the church more accepting of different thoughts," says Fr Arun. "I have met the Pope. He has a fire in the belly. So we need to be ready for more radical views from him," says Fr Arun.
While the Pope's statements have Fr Arun answering a barrage of questions online and in person day after day, from young congregation members, and handling the shock of the older more conservative members, in Chennai, the Pope's views came up for discussion earlier this week at the 37th conference of the Indian Theological Association at Dhyana Ashram, where theologians emphasised the need to set up an Academy of Religion like the American Academy of Religion, because of the need to look at religion in more a scientific way.
"The ITA believes that the church needs to respond to the needs of post-modern culture. Therefore we cannot ignore issues such as gender inequality, abortion and same sex marriages or scientific theories like evolution, which are a part of today's culture. So with the Pope calling for more acceptance, we need to do the same," says Fr Roy Lazar, secretary of the ITA.
In fact, says Fr Lazar, with the Pope bringing up the issue of sexuality, the ITA has selected the theme of family, sexuality and marriage for its conference next year. "The topic needs a lot of study," says Fr Lazar. According to Reverend Fr SJ Anto of Loyola College, Chennai, Pope Francis is known for his transformative leadership and the world is looking at him as a transformative leader and he needs to provide that kind of thinking. "The catholic church in India though is progressive, so my guess is Pope Francis's views will be accepted more easily here than in the more conservative churches abroad," says Fr Anto.