If today’s socio-political trends in India were to continue for a few more decades, it is quite certain that our life and mission as disciples of Jesus will face unprecedented challenges. The fate of Fr. Stan Swamy and that of many others like him clearly point towards such possibilities. But the unlawful detention and subsequent arrest of two Catholic nuns on 26th July, 2025 in Durg, Chhattisgarh are advancing the advent of such challenges.

Certainly, we need to strongly condemn these unwarranted and illegal attacks and arrests and demand that the fundamental rights and freedoms guaranteed in the Constitution of India be upheld for all citizens.

In such situations what more are our options? What are the sources of strength and stamina that we need to carry on our mission effectively in the face of resistance, threats, intimidations, and unpleasant scary consequences? We cannot compromise with our mission cherished in the four apostolic preferences which demand specific perspectives to experience and understand today’s realities. They elicit specific responses. The responsibility of answering such crucial questions falls on each of us, in general and, on our men in formation, in particular. We need to squarely face whether our formative processes and their content are equipping our men in formation to think and plan alternatively and strategically. This amounts to attaining an adequate degree of spiritual and intellectual depth in life.

On the one hand, we need the intellectual depth that digs deeper into a subject matter and unearths its deeper foundations and causes, and on the other, the spiritual depth that provides a foundation in the Gospel Values to understand and to respond to a situation. It amounts to reading the signs of the times and responding. Let us not risk being reproached by Jesus:

You know how to judge the appearance of the sky, but you cannot judge the signs of the times - (Mt. 16:3).

We may look back at Pope Francis and all his initiatives. He was busy building bridges among peoples and gathering the lost sheep of the Lord in whatever he said and did, and expected the priests and religious to do a similar service, in their respective contexts and in ways that are conducive to their life-mission.

At a time when narratives of division, distraction, and destruction are increasingly taking root in the country, and as we witness the very real dismantling of the fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitutions, we need to come out and join hands with the people of goodwill to take a stand in the name of compassion and collective action. Together, we can work towards a country that is peaceful, compassionate and just.