ANTI-CORRUPTION CAMPAIGN
COME BE A PART OF IT
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Dear Beloved of the Father,
These days we are all bombarded with various social issues and at the heart of it all is the issue of corruption. Corruption is a big problem which is faced by almost all the countries up to a certain level. India has a very high level of corruption. We easily find people complaining about corruption but we will see very less people who talk about various ideas of saving oneself and others from corruption.
The Catholic Bishops of Karnataka have come out with a Pastoral Letter on Anti-Corruption which gives us good ideas for an anti-corruption campaign. Let us benefit from this pastoral letter.
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KARNATAKA REGIONAL
CATHOLIC BISHOPS’ COUNCIL
A PASTORAL LETTER ISSUED BY THE
CATHOLIC BISHOPS OF KARNATAKA
ON THE IMPORTANCE
OF ANTI-CORRUPTION CAMPAIGN
Introduction
On the eve of our departure to Rome for our ad limina visits, we, the Catholic Bishops of the Karnataka Region, would like to send this pastoral letter to make an urgent call for an end to the malaise affecting our Society, especially corruption, bribery, exploitation and other such vices. Corruption, bribery, exploitation, lawlessness, etc are the great evils that affect our state and country. In some sectors of society, these "works of the flesh" are made manifest in a crude and shameless fashion. We strongly denounce administrative corruption, fiscal evasion and indifference, which we describe as "entrenched in some areas." These places need Catholics to make a clear and defined proclamation of the living Christ, with a message that brings hope to the world.
As President of the Karnataka Region Catholic Bishops' Council (KRCBC), at the Press Conference held on 21st April, 2011, I had already said: "We welcome and endorse the Lokpal Bill, but it should have teeth. It should cover everyone, including the judiciary and the administration. Let it not be controlled by anybody. Only then will it be transparent and people will have confidence in it. In India, corruption is institutionalized. It is against moral and social teaching of the Church." I also said that the Lokpal Bill is a good idea and it will instil fear against corruption right from the top to the entire gamut of officials. Its insistence on accountability and action will make people hesitate before indulging in a corrupt act. I suggested the rules being framed are to be very simple and easy to understand, and leave no room for interpretation, which officials could exploit. This will also help the common man to understand the law.
What promotes corruption today?
The following are the listed particular activities that provide fertile ground for corruption.
a) Regulations and Authorizations: In our state and country, licenses, permits, plan sanctioning and approvals are required to engage in such activities as opening a shop, investing or engaging in local and foreign trades. These regulations and authorizations give the officials a monopoly power and require frequent and protracted contact between citizens and bureaucrats. Very often, the enormous time spent dealing with the officials can be reduced through payment of bribes.
b) Taxation: Unclear tax laws that require contacts between taxpayers and tax inspectors are more likely to lead to corruption than clear tax laws.
c) Spending Decisions: Lack of transparency and effective institutional controls can invite corruption in public spending through several channels, including investment projects, government purchases of goods and services, and extra-budgetary accounts set up to reduce the political and administrative controls more likely to accompany spending that goes through the budget.
d) Goods and Services: Provision for goods and services at below market prices-for example, foreign exchange at a special rate, credit at soft terms, electricity and water at subsidized rates, and public housing at subsidized rents-is another government activity that can breed corruption. In some cases, limited supply makes rationing and queuing unavoidable. Public employees often have to decide how to apportion this limited supply, while those who want such goods may be willing to pay a bribe to gain access.
e) Other Discretionary Decisions: Some public officials may have discretion over important decisions. In these situations, corruption, including high-level political corruption, can play a major role. It is natural that some individuals and enterprises to whom these decisions mean a lot will attempt to get favourable decisions either by paying bribes or exploiting close personal relations with public officials. Important areas include decisions regarding: the use of private land (zoning laws); authorizing major foreign investments; privatization of state-owned enterprises.
f) Bureaucracy: A final area is bureaucracy. The quality of the bureaucracy varies greatly among state and private institutions and bears on the degree of corruption. Politically motivated hiring, patronage, nepotism, and the absence of clear rules on promotions and hiring all undermine the quality of a bureaucracy and help create conditions for corrupt behaviour.
What brought about this disaster?
Corruption is older than sin itself. It is the subtle, yet powerful ploy of the enemy (devil), to enslave the human race to a never ending greed or need for more and more. Corruption is a seed sown deep into the human heart that produces an ever entwining creeper of sin that just creeps up upon and around us like a python, squeezing the life out of us, crushing us and grinding our bones to death.
Our minds are continually bombarded with advertisements justifying material luxury. Satan tempts all of us with his false promises of happiness and luxury and corrupts our minds by creating a lust for something, which is nothing but delusion that leads to bribery and other evil practices.
Desire for wanting more is so inherent in our human nature (inherited from our first parents) that we cannot get rid of it by ourselves.
Biblical perspective of this problem
The Bible tells us that corruption is the fruit from satan's seed called greed. Of all the chapters in the Bible, the third chapter of the book of Genesis is the most tragic one. In this chapter, we are told of the fall of man and its consequences. The most glorious and intimate door way to heaven was slammed shut. The deep and personal relationship between God and man was broken and lay shattered. The honey moon between Adam and Eve came to a screeching halt. Paradise was lost, and the misery of man began.
In this chapter:
• We come across the first recorded lie in the Bible.
• We see the subtlety of satan, who speaks through a serpent.
• Satan sows seeds of corruption in the mind of God's daughter.
• Eve allowed satan to access through the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life.
• Adam became the first human sinner (Rom 5:12). Eve was deceived; Adam partook of the fruit knowingly.
• Adam was the head of the human race, and so the rest of the race (his children) was condemned, we inherited his sinful nature.
The following Scripture passages tell us the causes for and consequences of corruption:
"For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile a man." (Mark 7:21-23).
"Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." (Luke 12:15).
"But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you." (Eph 5:3).
"What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?" (Mark 8:36).
When Jesus Christ came to reconcile us to the Father, Satan refused to give up. Corruption crawled into Judas Isacriot. Judas allowed Satan to sow the seed of corruption in his heart. It bore fruit. He accepted bribe to betray his friend and saviour. Satan's plan backfired. Judas forfeited his soul to the fruit of corruption, in the form of a few pieces of silver.
Corruption usurps inner peace
Praise and Glory be unto our Lord Jesus Christ. The good news is that the love of God refuses to allow us to remain as slaves. God gave us Jesus Christ that whosoever accepts the invitation of Christ into his life can be delivered and set free from the slavery of wanting more (Heb 10:19).
The grace of God through the blood of Jesus Christ promises us freedom from the corruption that arises out of greed. We are freed from the corruption of lustful and greedy wants and desires, by abiding in the Word of God which is an incorruptible seed, blessing us with the fruits of everlasting and satisfying peace - A soul is perpetually at rest!
"There is absolutely no satisfaction in this life, except in the life Jesus Christ came to give eternal peace and joy (Jn. 10:10). The joys of the earth are transitory, but the joy in the Kingdom of God is eternal and incorruptible. The pleasures of the earth are not fulfilling, and only create the hunger for more. To those the Lord said: "Woe to you who are full! For you shall hunger". (Luke 6:25); if you are deceived into forever seeking the things and pleasures of the world, you will never ever be content in this life.
"Therefore, do not be anxious, saying, `What shall we eat?' or `What shall we drink?' or `What shall we wear?' 32 For the Gentiles seek all these things; and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well. 34 "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Let the day's own trouble be sufficient for the day." (Matt 6:31-35)
"Let your character or moral disposition be free from love of money [including greed, avarice, lust, and craving for earthly possessions] and be satisfied with your present for He Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. Not, not, not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down." (Heb 13:5)
Can we just remain silent spectators?
We cannot close our eyes to the happenings around us and remain silent spectators. It is our Christian responsibility that we discuss the extremely important issue of corruption and fight against it tooth and nail. Despite corruption being something that is deeply entrenched in the system and that sometimes seems inevitable, we need to keep on and improve our efforts to tackle this problem.
It is well known that economic growth in our State and Country has been greatly hindered by corruption. Corruption can be thought of as fast growing termites, which can dig deep and undermine the system of government. However, if we have the desire and commitment to continue with the fight, and if we choose effective methods of improving systems and reforming attitudes, we can substantially reduce corruption over time.
We feel the problem of corruption within our system of government is a large and multifaceted one that is outside of the control of any one body. We think it is necessary to make this point clear to everyone since it has important implications for how we are to fight corruption.
Only by working together can we expect a range of improvements in our administration. We cannot expect the job to be done by a single person or committee or agency, or by a single system of accounting or auditing.
Secondly, we believe that as well as using a range of tools for improvement, we have to appeal to the people at all levels of government administration, and in all agencies of the public service and private sector, to improve their own attitudes, and do their own part each day to make the system work more honestly.
And thirdly, we believe it is vital in present circumstances that we have several bodies with a watchdog function, and a public voice – both in the Parliament, in the form of the Public Accounts Committee and/or in the form of the Ombudsman Commission.
Of the many different types of corruption, our greatest concern is the leakage or misuse of scarce public funds. This has limited the effective flow of basic goods and services from the Government to the bulk of the population in the rural areas of our state and country.
We need to go back to the root causes of this. Why is there a misallocation and leakage of scarce resources in the public sector?
Firstly, there is the problem in the chain of delivery of basic goods and services. There are difficulties in determining who is responsible for each part of the process and what the guiding principles are that combine to make that particular task happen. Many people do not know exactly what their roles and responsibilities are and there is a lack of accountability. As a result, much less is received at the end of the chain, although the funds provided at the beginning were enough.
Another major problem can arise from firms obtaining illegal favours from government agencies, such as obtaining contracts that have not been won on their merits, and then providing much less in goods or services than the value of the contract should buy.
This is where proper process in the management of public funds and contracts can help. Officials should be open about what they are doing in their jobs, they should accept the need to keep to the rules, they should produce reports so that other officials supervising their work can know what is happening, and they should accept being accountable for whether they do their jobs properly.
Although efforts are being made to promulgate stringent laws to eradicate corruption in our systems and also to improve in the public financial management, we are yet to succeed in making our society corrupt-free.
We need to sow the message of Christ in these sectors and among the urban and rural population. We also express our deep concern for the constant loss of moral values due to the widespread of false ideologies promoted in many cases by the leaders with a vested interest and by the onslaught of the mass media. We also lament the progressive breakdown of moral and spiritual values, which has led our leaders to promote a culture founded on selfishness, greed, exploitation, corruption, bribery, injustice etc.
II. Introduction of Lokpal Bill
The Lokpal bill seeks to establish an ombudsman (an agency) to check corruption at the national level. This will be an independent body that would investigate corruption cases and complete the investigation within a year.
The second year it envisages trial and completion of every case that comes up before it in two years time. The present proposed bill is the result of Anna Hazare's recent fast that began on 16th August.
The first attempt to table the bill was nearly 42 years ago by the same member who represent the civil society now in the drafting of the bill, Mr. Shanthi Bhushan. The bill after that has been introduced several times in the parliament but it got killed in the other House. The first Administrative Reform Commission (ARC) headed by former Prime Minister of India,
Mr. Moraji Desai recommended in 1966 the setting up of Lokpal.
The outbreak of several scams in our country in the recent past is a catalyst factor for the civil society to demand a Jan Lokpal Bill. This bill seeks to bring under its fold the Central Government, Supreme Court, Bureaucracy etc.
III. Corruption : A Crisis of our Nation's Character
Corruption is not only illegal it is also immoral, unjust and exploits the helplessness of people who are forced into bribing. The tremendous response of the people to Anna's appeal is an indication of how prevalent the problem is and that the people's awareness of the problem has grown.
We need an effective Lokpal to deter people from corruption as a first step towards a corruption free India". India is full of corruption. No work is done without so called bribery big or small. It is also because laws are made, which could be interpreted either way. Today, India is filled with scams and people in position make illegal money at the cost of poor and illiterate.
What we need is the education of our parliamentarians so that they can amend the Lokpal Bill to ensure its effectiveness in practical terms. That would ensure the responsiveness of our parliamentarians to the needs and aspirations of the people they represent.
IV. Church's view point
The Church welcomes the move of the government to tackle the menace of corruption. We, as a nation, have let slip the values of honesty and integrity. The cancerous spread of corruption in India's public and personal life is evident in all areas. Common Indians, especially women, dalits, tribals, poor and minority communities face the brunt of it with a deep sense of desperation.
It is tragic when people regard honesty, truth and integrity as negotiable values. We live in an immoral culture, which sometimes even infiltrates into our church institutions. This is sinful. Such evil acts are disgraceful and must be condemned.
The greater tragedy is that the highest seats of leadership in our political, administrative and educational arenas are the worst affected by corruption.
The crisis of corruption illustrates that deception, injustice and violence reign supreme when politics is not an arena of truth. Lies and falsehood are the refuge and shelter of the corrupt as they fear for their power, oppressing those whom they are meant to serve.
The extensive coverage of corruption scandals in high places over the years has kept the issue of corruption in the limelight. While those who hold leadership roles have a greater accountability and responsibility, corruption is a social problem that requires comprehensive social churning and cultural changes.
V. What should Church do?
1. We should make our own establishments corruption free, and for this we need to be more transparent and accountable.
2. We strongly appeal to all of you to effectively contribute in the ongoing fight against the corruption scourge in our country. The Catholic Church could contribute in eradicating the corruption virus in the country. This is because the Catholic Church is a key actor in promoting moral values and has always denounced acts of corruption.
3. We should establish a system that could play a major role in checking corruption within the Church administration and institutions. Those holding offices in the Church are to become transparent and made accountable.
4. We need to know that ethical and moral corruption comes from degradation of values, and undermining the dignity of life and respect for others. Hence, promotion of basic human, social and ethical values is a must.
5. We should have courage to fight against corruption, bribery, in any form and in all our dealings. The focus of the whole campaign is to bring about an awareness of the menace of corruption which is also a moral evil.
6. We should educate people to fight against corruption and encourage those who work towards rooting out corruption from all sectors of public life. There should be nothing more important to us than the welfare of our children and their future. One of the most basic goals we can set for ourselves as good citizens is to leave the world a better place for our children than it is for us now.
7. The strategy we follow should bring in a common understanding and greater harmony in the fight against corruption and define the roles of those who involve themselves in this crusade.
8. Last but not least, we need to pray to God to help us establish a just society based on integrity and transparency.
Conclusion
The movement against corruption must be viewed as a re-awakening of the moral consciousness of our nation, for we are created in the image and likeness of a Holy God. A nation depends on truth and truth depends on the struggle of the truthful people on behalf of truth. As Jesus said, "You
will know the truth and the truth will set you free," (John 8:32). It is we, the People of India and Members of the Church in Karnataka, will and can make India and our state corruption free only by becoming honest and courageous persons of of integrity. The present crisis is also a clarion call for the Church to introspect and repent. The Church by its witness to the truth needs to be a powerful influence in transforming our nation and state by promoting humility, honesty, integrity and loyalty to God and its policies. As the Bible teaches, "Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people" (Proverbs 14:34).
Let us introspect and unite in purpose, joining hands together to dialogue and work towards making India and the Church corruption free.
Most Rev. Dr. Bernard Moras
29th August, 2011 Archbishop of Bangalore & President
Karnataka Regional Catholic Bishops’ Council
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