Prof.George Sebastian

 

It was with a heavy heart that we bade farewell to Prof. George Sebastian yesterday at Chunkapara.I was requested to give the funeral eulogy at the funeral rites at home where Abp. Mar Joseph Perumthottam led the service. A few teachers and a lot of the  people from the parish were present at the funeral. Prof. George Sebastian's enthusiastic voice still rings in my ears. I saw him while he was at the ICU at Lisie Hospital. When I prayed over him and spoke to him , tears were rolling down from his eyes. He used to keep me updated about his visits to  different doctors and I thought he would overcome his illness and resume his  active life. But  God's will was different and it was time for him to go. His voice was always full of  laughter and enthusiasm. He was always particular to visit the sick teachers and was present at he funerals of retired teachers. He was very helpful to the Principals at the college and so was he to me while I was the Principal. Always present at the college for occasions when his service was requested for, For the maintenance of discipline, for the organization of various committees at the different exhibitions at the college, for the management of the new store and for every small and big events , he was available and offered his help without any reservation. He even lent financial help to the college when I was in need of funds for the college at the time of retirement. He was also very actively involved in the development of the parish. I feel sorry for his absence from our midst but feel consoled that he is with the Lord after this hectic life here. God bless him and his family.

His wife, Mariamma, children: Soji, Aby and Jogy.

Archbshop Mar Joseph Powathil

 

It was with great sadness that I received the news of the demise of Mar Joseph Powathil. I know that he was sick and that he was losing his memory. A few months ago, I visited with him and he asked me where I was working. That  meant that he was losing his memory as he used to call me whenever a new development with regard to the legal cases concerning the Church came up in the news. I did not want to bother him through visits and calls after that question because I knew he was losing his memory.

I am deeply aware of my indebtedness to him. He was the one who appointed me the Principal of the college, in spite of the tremendous pressure he  had from some other quarters to do otherwise. It was that appointment that changed the career graph of my life, giving me the prominence and authority to become deeply involved in the academic affairs of the college. He was also the one who appointed me the Secretary of the KCBC Education Commission during my time at the college as the Vice- Principal and the Principal. It was  while working there that we were able to create the Inter-Church  Council for Education whose first Secretary I became. Through the Inter-Church Council , it became possible to establish  a good relationship with the Heads of other Churches. When he appointed me the Secretary of the KCBC Commission for Education he expressed his desire that I should become as prominent as Fr.Vallamttom during the time he  was the Secretary of  the Corporate Management Association .I was glad that  with the Archbishop as the Chairman, I was able to immerse myself deeply in the educational matters of the Kerala Catholic Church. I became aware of the nuances of the Articles on Minority Rights in the Constitution and  was  adamant in enforcing the total amplitude of those Articles while dealing with the Govt. Several big meetings were held on behalf of the Inter-Church  Council , with the Archbishop as the Chairman.

Everyday during the eleven  years of my term as the Vice-Principal and the Principal , he used to call me to make me aware of  what was happening in the field of education and urged me to respond to  them. He was a great reader and asked me while I was in the States to get new books and journals published there. I met for the Inter-Church Council Mr.K.M.Mathew of the Malayala Manorama about the matter of publishing the  articles of Abp.Powathil in the Manorama. He readily agreed and asked me to contact Mr.Thomas Jacob. From that time onwards, the articles of Abp. Mar Powathil were published in the Manorama.I did draft the articles and he would approve of them with needed changes. When I sent books with my articles to him, he would send replies with his appreciation the next day. When I sent him the copies of my articles in the Stanford University Review and the IFCU publication on Asian Higher Education, his response and appreciation were prompt.

It was while he was the chairman of the Inter-Church Council, that I held the Executive Council meeting of the IFCU at S.B. College. His support and encouragement were behind the success of the meeting. 

We went together to Israel for a conference on Christian Religious Unity. Cardinal Padiyara and Cardinal Pimenta of Bombay were at the meeting. We visited the holy sites in Jerusalem in the company of Mar Padiyara.

He was the chief Guest at the  function of the Kachiramattom Educational Award and gave me the award.

He was the one who saw all  my activities at the college and all my work for the Church. He was the one who asked me to take up the post of the Vicar General of Chicago when he came to visit me at St. Patrick's Church, Washington D.C. He was waiting for my call in Rome when he went there immediately after spending a couple of days with me in D.C. to know whether the Bp. of Chicago called me and whether I accepted the offer.

I really miss him as he was the one who knew all my work at Changanacherry. When I joined he college first for my studies for MA and later as the lecturer  at S.B, he was teaching there. I joined the Dept. of English in 1970 and Fr. Powathil was made the bishop in 1972. All the priests from the college went to the Cathedral when the announcement was made.

Yesterday, I joined with others in Changanacherry to bid our final farewell to Abp.Powathil. His knowledge, his simplicity, and reading habits were very praiseworthy.

He was very generous in his dealings with me. He approved all my plans for the development of the college. When I was in need of money for the construction of the Research Centre, he gave the college one lakh of rupees for its completion. Hence I decided to name the Conference hall  of the Research Centre Mar Powathil  Sacerdotal Jubilee Memorial.

     His smile, gentleness and affection are unforgettable. May God bless him.

                             Archbishop Mar Joseph Powathil

                                          Obituary Note

 

It is with a heavy heart that we received the news of the sudden passing away of Mar Joseph Powthil, the leading light of the Church and a forceful articulator of the values of the Gospel. Mar Powathil evokes all that is best and noblest in our lives.  With his passing away, there comes the end of an epoch of moral integrity and deep fidelity.

With a welcoming smile and gentle demeanor he greets everyone respectfully and cordially. Even though there is no exuberance in his approach and behavior, people have been impressed with his simplicity, gentleness and warmth. Even those who come to meet him with apprehensions and misconceptions leave with great appreciation of his personality and understanding.

An array of thoughts and emotions passes through one’s mind at his passing away.

It is no exaggeration to say that he was a towering religious personality in the last decade of the 20^th century on account of his scholarship, wide awareness of the contemporary values of the society and the indefatigable determination with which he approached the events of the day in the light of the values of the Gospel. Steeped deeply in his understanding of the secular vision of the Constitution of India which lays emphasis on the support to be given to the minority communities in order to give them equal standing with the majority, he became an ardent advocate for the preservation of the integrity of constitutional protections that were given to the minorities in the Constitution of India. With a greater understanding of the discussions that took place in the Constituent Assembly, he was aware of the mind of the Assembly in giving unchallengeable amplitude to the articles of the Constitution to safeguard the interests of the minorities. In education as well as in the field of human rights especially of the minorities and of the weaker sections of the society, he was a beacon of strength and inspiration.

The leadership he gave to the Church and to the society of Kerala was superb when he was elected the President of the Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council, the CBCI and the Inter-Church council for Education. When the attacks on the Constitutional integrity of the Minority Rights became rampant, he felt that it was good for the Church to act in unison and hence he took the initiative of founding the Inter-Church Council for Education with the support and encouragement of the heads of other Churches in Kerala. He has intervened boldly and confidently before the Central and State Governments for the defense of the minority rights and the rights of Dalit Christians.

His relationship with other Christian Churches was one of deep respect and sensitivity and has collaborated with them to found the Nilackal Ecumenical Movement.

His interrelationship with the other communities and their leaders was one of extreme cordiality and respect. He was keeping in close contact with the leaders of the NSS, the SNDP and with local Muslim leaders. He was an ardent advocate of fellowship and harmony in his dealing with other religious communities and the leaders of these communities found in him a solid supporter and a sincere guide.

He was a man of principles and stood for them with deep convictions. The strong positions he has taken regarding the recognition of the individual Churches and their equal rights for evangelization and pastoral service are memorable and worthy of great admiration.

The decisive role he has taken for the protection of the Syro-Malabar Liturgy and other valuable traditions of the Church can never be forgotten. Similarly the leadership he gave to the struggle to preserve the educational rights of the Private Managements and to get them recognized by the Government of the State of Kerala is stupendous.

He was a leader par excellence, having had the gift of feeling the pain of the aggrieved and bringing it to the fore for the attention of the leaders of the State and of the Central Governments. With his wide reading and openness to the contemporary trends and ideologies, he was able to present his ideas cogently and coherently. His passing away creates a void in the Church of Kerala as well the Society with the absence of a voice, unwavering and eloquent ,to plead for great moral and religious values. In his life and public pronouncements, he lived out what Abraham Lincoln has said in his famous Gettysburg speech: “Charity for all, malice towards none.”

He has departed for his heavenly reward in the company of saints and angels to live forever in the abode of Eternal Love. The Lord who has guided his life through thick and thin is waiting with His hands outstretched to receive this great servant who was eloquent in his silence, eminent in his humility and noble in his simplicity.

May Mar Joseph Powathil guide and lead the Church in the years to come through the magnificent example of faithfulness and integrity he has given through his life.

 

Cardinal George Alencherry

The Major Archbishop of

The Syro-Malabar Church.