Priest, nun honored for writing “letters to the editor”

August 25, 2012: Writing letters to the editor could be a hobby for some, but for some Catholic priests and nuns it is a means of evangelization. Among them are Holy Cross Sr. Lima Varghese and Fr Joy Parapally of Khandwa diocese who have got more than 100 letters published in newspapers in the past one year. They wrote against corruption, injustice, and other social evils plaguing the Indian society. The two were applauded for their unique apostolate at a function organized at the headquarters of the Universal Solidarity Movement (USM) in Indore in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh on Friday.

Bishop Devprasad Ganawa of Khandwa, while honoring them, said the Church people have “so much good’ to proclaim but they have built walls around them. “We are afraid to speak up, to write and share our stories with others. When some members in the Church take some positive steps to be open and transparent, other members do not want to see, do not want to know and do not want to understand.”

Accepting the honor, Sr Varghese and Fr. Parapally told the gathering that the Church people can play “a very powerful prophetic role through this means.” The two are retired missioners. Sr Varghese, a member of the Lucknow province of the Sisters of the Holy Cross, is currently working in Indore diocese. The 67-year-old nun has worked most of her life as a professional nurse and after her retirement joined USM in 2011. She said although she has no writing habit or skills, she took up writing letters to editor as a challenging mission inspired by USM founder director Fr Varghese Alengaden, a prolific writer and an orator. She has sent over 200 letters to the editors of various newspaper in last one year and got 130 of them published.

Fr Parapally is now in-charge of Tapovan Ashram in Khandwa. He started writing in newspapers recently and more than 100 of his letters are published in one year. He motivated all the young religious who attended the program to dare to write and not to be lazy.

USM, which trains people in leadership for national harmony and peace, demands its trainees to write letters to editor in the various newspapers to develop skills in forming opinions and communicating to the public.