Editor,
When church leaders become abettors and collaborators of corruption perpetrated by politicians or those in authorities like bureaucrats/Ministers etc, it becomes a problem.
It is often noticed that church leaders with or without their members hobnob with politicians/Ministers/bureaucrats for obtaining favours/grants/schemes for school buildings, playgrounds, school halls, church halls, church walls, fencing etc, and in turn, support them during elections or favour them with kickbacks or quid pro quo. This common practice indulged by them is morally wrong, most detestable, it is a crime and a cardinal sin for church believers if they are true followers of Christ. It is also widely noticed that church leaders are most blatant in supporting candidates from their own church and did their utmost best to canvass for their friends, relatives and the faithful to ensure their victory.
The Khasi-Jaintia Church Leaders Forum (KJCLF) got fundamentally wrong and off-track by convening a meeting of politicians (MLAs) asking them to stop the rampant corruption. This exercise is bound to yield no result. The forum has called upon the wrong people for they are only the elected. The real masters and deciders of democratic form of governments like ours are the voters, the electors at the grassroots level. It is them who need to be made aware, taught, admonished and addressed repeatedly by the church leaders, religious leaders and civil society leaders who wish to root out corruption in all forms, especially in high places and public life. It is indeed irresponsible and appalling to see that the church authorities and church leaders abdicated their authorities to repeatedly, continuously and fiercely fight and campaign against injustices and all forms of corruption, including rampant corruption in public life perpetrated mostly by the politicians and those in government authorities.
Philip Marwein,
Senior Journalist,
Shillong
