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-Short Attention Span Theater-
Short on Priests, U.S. Catholics Outsource Prayers to Indian Clergy
2004-06-14
BANGALORE, India - With Roman Catholic clergy in short supply in the United States, Indian priests are picking up some of their work, saying Mass for special intentions, in a sacred if unusual version of outsourcing. American, as well as Canadian and European churches, are sending Mass intentions, or requests for services like those to remember deceased relatives and thanksgiving prayers, to clergy in India. About 2 percent of India’s more than one billion people are Christians, most of them Catholics.

In Kerala, a state on the southwestern coast with one of the largest concentrations of Christians in India, churches often receive intentions from overseas. The Masses are conducted in Malayalam, the native language. The intention - often a prayer for the repose of the soul of a deceased relative, or for a sick family member, thanksgiving for a favor received, or a prayer offering for a newborn - is announced at Mass.

The requests are mostly routed to Kerala’s churches through the Vatican, the bishops or through religious bodies. Rarely, prayer requests come directly to individual priests. While most requests are made via mail or personally through traveling clergymen, a significant number arrive via e-mail, a sign that technology is expediting this practice.

In Kerala’s churches, memorial and thanksgiving prayers conducted for local residents are said for a donation of 40 rupees (90 cents), whereas a prayer request from the United States typically comes with $5, the Indian priests say.

Bishop Sebastian Adayanthrath, the auxiliary bishop of the Ernakulam-Angamaly diocese in Cochin, a port town in Kerala, said his diocese received an average of 350 Mass intentions a month from overseas. Most were passed to needy priests. In Kerala, where priests earn $45 a month, the money is a welcome supplement, Bishop Adayanthrath said.

But critics of the phenomenon said they were shocked that religious services were being sent offshore, or outsourced, a word normally used for clerical and other office jobs that migrate to countries with lower wages.

In London, Amicus, the labor union that represents 1.2 million British workers, called on the government and workers to treat outsourcing as a serious issue. In a news release, David Fleming, national secretary for finance of Amicus said the assignment of prayers "shows that no aspect of life in the West is sacred.’’
Funny, been saying that about unions for a long time now!
However, congregations in Kerala say the practice of ordering prayers is several decades old. "The church is not a business enterprise, and it is sad and pathetic to connect this practice to outsourcing software work to cheaper labor destinations,’’ said the Rev. Vincent Kundukulam of St. Joseph Pontifical Seminary in Aluva, near Cochin. In Bangalore’s Dharmaram College, Rector James Narithookil said he often received requests for Mass intentions from abroad, which he distributed among the 50 priests in his seminary. Most of the requests from the United States were for requiems, with donations of $5 to $ 10, he said. Bishop Adayanthrath said sending Mass intentions overseas was a way for rich churches short on priests to share and support smaller churches in poorer parts of the world.

The Rev. Paul Thelakkat, a Cochin-based spokesman for the Synod of Bishops of the Syro-Malabar Church, said, "The prayer is heartfelt, and every prayer is treated as the same whether it is paid for in dollars, euros or in rupees."
Posted by:tipper

#9  Frank, Marion's doing it For The Children™. G-d help us all.
Posted by: Seafarious   2004-06-14 6:20:03 PM  

#8  BTW - heard that Marion Barry was going to run again for a DC council seat. Will he never go away???
Posted by: Frank G   2004-06-14 5:40:46 PM  

#7  I've always figured that a decently tuned rat motor could turn them prayer wheels fast enough that we'd all get to brabam hood.
Posted by: Shipman   2004-06-14 5:38:42 PM  

#6  Its not a purchase. Learn something. Its an honorarium thats paid to thank the church (note the lower case "c") for taking the time and effort. Much like a special offering to assist overseas missionaries (Jesuits, Capuchins, etc). And its completely voluntary. Your own prayers are considered enough thanks, but money helps the locals. The mercantile selling of Church (note the big "C") favors ended quite some time ago.

Its not like they use that money to go down to the corner crack dealer (AKA MArion Barry).
Posted by: OldSpook   2004-06-14 4:59:44 PM  

#5  Chris! outrageous! I'm pissing myself laughing here. As they say, nice one centurion!
Posted by: Tony (UK)   2004-06-14 3:31:47 PM  

#4  In Kerala’s churches, memorial and thanksgiving prayers conducted for local residents are said for a donation of 40 rupees (90 cents), whereas a prayer request from the United States typically comes with $5, the Indian priests say.

Hi boys and girls! Can you say "indulgences?" Very good, I knew you could!

[/Mister Rogers]

While not precisely indulgences, per se, purchasing the pious prayers of others still strikes me as pretty d@mn odd. Sorta takes the starch right out of an individual's personal relationship with their God. Oh, that's right ... the Catholic church was never big on that in the first place.
Posted by: Zenster   2004-06-14 3:23:30 PM  

#3  I wonder if Bernie Law runs their Help Desk?
Posted by: tu3031   2004-06-14 1:55:37 PM  

#2  LOL Chris!
Posted by: Doc8404   2004-06-14 11:21:07 AM  

#1  Our Ganesh, who art an elephant, hallowed be thy name...
Posted by: Chris W.   2004-06-14 11:17:16 AM  

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