Spiritual Atom Bomb!

In its ongoing tussle with the left-front Government on the issue of autonomy of its educational institutions, the Catholic Church in Kerala has of late been flaunting with gusto, a pastoral letter(ഇടയലേഖനം), issued by bishop James Kalassery of Changanassery Diocese in August 1945. Churchmen love to recall the bishop's challenge to Diwan CP Ramaswamy Iyer on his threat to nationalise private schools. According to a Church Spokesman Kuryas Kumbalakkuzhi, in the pastoral letter the bishop had threatened to use the Church's “spiritual atom bomb” (ആദ്ധ്യാത്മിക അണുബോംബ്) against the Diwan.

While we do not know the full background of the Bishop's fight with the notoriously headstrong Diwan, I was a little irritated by the use of the atrocious expression “spiritual atom bomb”(ആദ്ധ്യാത്മിക അണുബോംബ്) in a letter meant for the guidance of the faithful. Yet, we may dismiss it as the forgiveable indiscretion of an overzealous bishop.

But our feelings change when we notice the timing of the pastoral letter. According to Church spokesmen, it was written around 10th August and read to the faithful sometime near 15th August, 1945. Now, what was special about August, 1945? That was when tens of thousands perished in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the first, and so far last, instance of use of nuclear weapons. Hiroshima's horror was perpetrated on 6th August and Nagasaki's on 9th August.

So the pious bishop's letter was written a day after Nagasaki and read to the faithful within a week. Obviously, the holy man got the idea of "spiritual atom bomb" after hearing of the horror of the two cities. Of course, nobody can say the man was not 'inspired'.