JUNE 28, 2013
The New Community Bible
Cardinal Oswald Gracias fools Indian Catholics with half-truths assisted by ignorant laity
One Prakash Lasrado writes a cockeyed improperly-researched letter to the Cardinal; the Cardinal replies something completely else, fooling Lasrado [who is ‘greatly relieved’]
and over one hundred people including the Pro Nuncio and Bishops and priests in the Cc of Lasrado‘s mailing list, and everyone complacently accepts the Cardinal’s reply as the truth. But his reply is only half-truth, and half the truth is … a lie!
From:
prakash.lasrado@gmail.com
To:
Cardinal Oswald Gracious; Catholic Bishops Conference of India;
Cc:
Prabhu [and over 100 others] Sent: Sunday, June 02, 2013 9:53 AM
Subject: Criticism of New Community Bible which is historically distorted.
Rev. Cardinal Gracias,
The New Community Bible reminds me of Hitler rewriting the Bible as in web link below. Hitler’s Nazi Bible project was a failure.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-399470/Jewish-references-erased-newly-Nazi-Bible.html
One cannot distort history by portraying Joseph wearing a turban, Mary wearing a sari and a red dot and the Holy Family being simple Indian villagers in the New Community Bible.
Inculturation is good but the New Community Bible distorts Christian history which is unacceptable.
Every Bible whether it is Chinese, Arabic, Japanese etc. portrays Jesus as a Jew born in a Jewish society without any distortion of facts. The Bible is merely translated in many languages but there is no historical distortion.
Kindly rebut me with cc to all. I am keeping an open mind to rebuttals.
From:
Prakash Lasrado
To:
Cardinal Oswald Gracious; Catholic Bishops conference of India;
Cc:
Prabhu; [and over 100 others] Sent: Sunday, June 02, 2013 10:01 AM
Subject: Re: Criticism of New Community Bible which is historically distorted.
Rev. Cardinal Gracias,
If I were in your position, I would have released a book “Similarities between Hinduism and Christianity” which reflects on the similarities in teachings of Jesus, Gandhi, Bhagavad Gita etc.
I would not have rewritten the Bible as it is a theologically unsound practice to rewrite the Word of God and distort its original meaning.
From:
Prakash Lasrado
To:
Prabhu
Cc:
Emmanuel Thankachan ; Catholic Bishops Conference of India; [and over 100 others] Sent: Thursday, June 06, 2013 2:46 PM Subject: Fwd: Cardinal’s reply
Dear Michael Prabhu,
Cardinal Gracias has confirmed via his secretary Fr. Emmanuel that New Community Bible text has not been changed.
Please refer word attachment. This comes a big relief for me. […]
Regards, Prakash
———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Emmanuel Thankachan <ktemmanuel@gmail.com> Date: Thu, Jun 6, 2013 at 12:18 AM
Subject: Cardinal’s reply To: prakash.lasrado@gmail.com
Dear Mr. Prakash,
Attached please find His Eminence reply to your email dated 3 June 2013.
With kind regards & best wishes.
Fr. K. T. Emmanuel
Secretary to the Archbishop
A01-001.03 June 3, 2013
Dear Mr. Lasrado,
I refer to your emails of June 2, 2013. I appreciate your concern about preserving the integrity of our Faith.
The new Community Bible has not changed the text of the Bible. An approved translation has been used. Biblical scholars from India have prepared the footnotes.
I am passing on your comments to the publishers.
With kind regards and best wishes,
Yours sincerely in Christ,
Oswald Cardinal Gracias
Archbishop of Bombay & President – CBCI
Prakash Lasrado writes to the Cardinal that the New Community Bible is “historically distorted”.
That historical distortion, according to Lasrado, is the NCB‘s depiction of the Virgin Mary and her spouse St. Joseph as “simple Indian villagers“. What he is referring to are some of the twenty-four illustrations in the NCB.
“One cannot distort history” in this way, he says, adding, “Every Bible whether it is Chinese, Arabic, Japanese etc. portrays Jesus as a Jew born in a Jewish society without any distortion of facts. The Bible is merely translated in many languages but there is no historical distortion.” From apparently referring to the illustrations, he suddenly switches to talking about the fidelity to history in translations of the Bible into different languages, which makes no sense. He also suggests that the Indian Church has “rewritten the Bible“.
That Lasrado has done absolutely no research is clear when he expresses “a big relief” at the Cardinal‘s response which conveniently refers only to the text of the NCB for which he says, rightly, an “ approved translation ” has been used. The Cardinal was only too happy [he replied to Lasrado within 24 hours] to grab the opportunity to give a cleverly-fashioned response to a poorly-informed lay man and create a false public image of pastoral appreciation [Lasrado marks copies of his unsolicited emails to over a hundred Catholics] for laity who are concerned about “preserving the integrity of our Faith“, and Lasrado was equally happy to bask, unquestioningly, in the adulation that he received from the Cardinal.
Cardinal Oswald Gracias writes, “The new Community Bible has not changed the text of the Bible. An approved translation has been used. Biblical scholars from India have prepared the footnotes.”
What the Cardinal is conveying is that there is nothing at all wrong with the contents of the NCB.
Using Lasrado‘s letter as a publicity-op, the Cardinal has replied not only to Lasrado but to longtime critics [since 2008] of the NCB.
There are three relevant sentences in the Cardinal‘s response to Lasrado.
They are:
1. “The new Community Bible has not changed the text of the Bible.” That is true.
2. “An approved translation has been used.” It is also true.
3. “Biblical scholars from India have prepared the footnotes.” This too is absolutely true.
So where’re the half-truths and the lie which fooled Lasrado and possibly many others?
There has never been any claim to the contrary that the NCB has “changed the text of the Bible” or used an unapproved translation. So the Cardinal is responding to a non-existent charge.
There three different facets of the contents of this so-called Bible, the NCB:
1. Its text and its translation from earlier recognised non-controversial versions
2. Its twenty-four “Indianised” illustrations, and
3. Its commentaries, “prepared” by “Biblical scholars from India” – which the Cardinal refers to as “footnotes“.
Ordinary lay Catholics, leaders in ministry, priests and priest-theologians from Indian and from all over the world — and even representatives of the majority religion, Hinduism — have objected to some of the illustrations as well as to many of those Indian theologians’ “footnotes” which I call “commentaries”.
The problems with the illustrations and the ‘footnotes’ are not simply “historical distortion” as the uninformed Lasrado puts it, but range from inculturational to syncretistic to even doctrinal! Twenty-one reports — see the list below — [and counting] at this ministry’s web site, hundreds of protest letters, dozens of critical articles and scores of scathing comments lament the NCB as being heretical, Hinduised, New Age and more.
Despite having received the nihil obstat and imprimatur from the Indian bishops, the crusade launched by this ministry — and supported by hundreds of angry Catholics — commencing July 2008 eventually led to the withdrawal of the NCB. St Pauls did not give up. I had been in touch with St Pauls insiders and knew that they were most desperate to recover their investment; sadly, it remains for them just a financial enterprise.
After a cosmetic touch-up which anyway goes to show that the Indian bishops simply cannot be trusted for doctrinal integrity, the NCB came out almost surreptitiously in a “Revised” edition with most of the original errors and controversies still in it, once again with the Bishops’ seals of approval!!! It is now being exported.
Sold at ridiculously low prices, it is replacing excellent Catholic Bibles overseas. The Indian poison spreads…
I possess photographs of the New Community Bible lying on his desk in Cardinal Oswald Gracias‘ office as well as in his car. It is his Bible of choice. Why wouldn’t he defend it?
See
HINDU RELIGIOUS MARK ON THE FOREHEAD 19-THE VIRGIN MARY WEARS
26 JUNE 2013
http://ephesians-511.net/docs/HINDU_RELIGIOUS_MARK_ON_THE_FOREHEAD_19-THE_VIRGIN_MARY_WEARS.doc
NEW COMMUNITY BIBLE 01-A CRITIQUE JULY 14, 2008
http://ephesians-511.net/docs/NEW_COMMUNITY_BIBLE_01-A_CRITIQUE.doc
NEW COMMUNITY BIBLE 02-THE PAPAL SEMINARY, PUNE, INDIAN THEOLOGIANS, AND THE CATHOLIC ASHRAMS SEPTEMBER 2008/SEPTEMBER 2009/APRIL 2012
NEW COMMUNITY BIBLE 03-A FRENCH THEOLOGIAN DENOUNCES ERRORS IN THE COMMENTARIES FEBRUARY 24, 2009
NEW COMMUNITY BIBLE 04-THE ONGOING ROBBERY OF FAITH FEBRUARY 24, 2009
http://ephesians-511.net/docs/NEW_COMMUNITY_BIBLE_04-THE_ONGOING_ROBBERY_OF_FAITH.doc
NEW COMMUNITY BIBLE 05-THE ANGEL GABRIEL DID NOT APPEAR TO THE VIRGIN MARY MARCH 15, 2009
NEW COMMUNITY BIBLE 06-PRESS REPORTS AND READERS’ CRITICISMS MARCH 22, 2009/DECEMBER 2009
http://ephesians-511.net/docs/NEW_COMMUNITY_BIBLE_06-PRESS_REPORTS_AND_READERS_CRITICISMS.doc
NEW COMMUNITY BIBLE 07-UNPUBLISHED LETTERS AGAINST ITS ERRONEOUS COMMENTARIES-THE EXAMINER MAY 2009
NEW COMMUNITY BIBLE 08-LETTERS CALLING FOR ITS WITHDRAWAL DECEMBER 2008/DECEMBER 2009
http://ephesians-511.net/docs/NEW_COMMUNITY_BIBLE_08-LETTERS_CALLING_FOR_ITS_WITHDRAWAL.doc
NEW COMMUNITY BIBLE 09-LETTER TO THE CONGREGATION FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH APRIL-MAY 2009
NEW COMMUNITY BIBLE 10-CORRESPONDENCE WITH THE SECULAR MEDIA, AND WITH PRIEST-CRITICS OF OUR CRUSADE AGAINST ITS ERRORS MAY 2009
NEW COMMUNITY BIBLE 11-VATICAN HELD RESPONSIBLE, BRAHMIN LEADERS DEMAND ITS WITHDRAWAL JUNE 25, 2009/DECEMBER 2009
NEW COMMUNITY BIBLE 12-LETTERS TO ROME JUNE 2009
http://ephesians-511.net/docs/NEW_COMMUNITY_BIBLE_12-LETTERS_TO_ROME.doc
NEW COMMUNITY BIBLE 13-RESPONSES FROM THE BISHOPS AND THEIR EXECUTIVE COMMISSIONS AUGUST 2009
NEW COMMUNITY BIBLE 14-UKRAINIAN ORTHODOX GREEK CATHOLIC BISHOPS CALL IT A NEW AGE BIBLE, “EXCOMMUNICATE” INDIAN BISHOPS
MARCH 2010/APRIL 2012
NEW COMMUNITY BIBLE 15-DEMAND FOR ORDINATION OF WOMEN PRIESTS-FR SUBHASH ANAND AND OTHERS
APRIL 2010/JULY 2010/APRIL 2012/17 MARCH/10 APRIL 2013
NEW COMMUNITY BIBLE 16-REVISED EDITION COMING, ST PAULS DETERMINED
JULY 2010/DECEMBER 2011
http://ephesians-511.net/docs/NEW_COMMUNITY_BIBLE_16-REVISED_EDITION_COMING_ST_PAULS_DETERMINED.doc
NEW COMMUNITY BIBLE 17-DERRICK D’COSTA’S CRITIQUE ON ORKUT
JULY 2010
http://ephesians-511.net/docs/NEW_COMMUNITY_BIBLE_17-DERRICK_DCOSTAS_CRITIQUE_ON_ORKUT.doc
NEW COMMUNITY BIBLE 18-CONTROVERSIES
JULY 2010
http://ephesians-511.net/docs/NEW_COMMUNITY_BIBLE_18-CONTROVERSIES.doc
NEW COMMUNITY BIBLE 19-INDIAN CHURCH’S SYNCRETIZED BIBLE EXPORTED
7 MARCH/6/9/24/30 MAY/5 JUNE, 2013
http://ephesians-511.net/docs/NEW_COMMUNITY_BIBLE_19-INDIAN_CHURCHS_SYNCRETIZED_BIBLE_EXPORTED.doc
NEW COMMUNITY BIBLE 20-EXTOLLED BY CAMALDOLI BENEDICTINE OBLATE
1/5/10 MAY 2013
http://ephesians-511.net/docs/NEW_COMMUNITY_BIBLE_20-EXTOLLED_BY_CAMALDOLI_BENEDICTINE_OBLATE.doc
Categories: Hinduisation of the Catholic Church in India
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