Amen

A preacher went on and on with his sermon – he thought that he was doing a great job – and as part of a well-rehearsed dramatic pause, he asks, “So friends, what more do I need to say”. A confident voice shouts out from somewhere in the middle of the hall; “Amen”

I was reminded of this anecdote from my adolescence as I was reading Sister Jesme’s Amen – The Autobiography of a Nun. I am usually averse to writing reviews of books that I have not enjoyed. But Sister Jesme’s claim in her epilogue to the english version that; “People found the book unputdownable” provoked me into writing this with the hope that the good Sister gets to read this at some point of time.

What led me to the book in the first place was reviews by Paul Zacharia and M. G. Radhakrishnan. And as I was leafing through the book, and searching for the exposed dark underbelly of the church and a taboo- breaking story (blurb of the book also see this), I found the book unputdownable too. Because I was trying to locate fresh information and insights beyond what has been floating in the public realm (as gossip) in kerala for sometime.

In so far as the purpose of this book is as an anticipatory bail against possible villification by the Church apparatus and was written in the context of having been left with no other option, the book serves its purpose. But, it becomes problematic the moment the book aspires to be anything beyond that. And this critique needs to be read in that limited context.

Amen Book Cover

As distinct from and without prejudice to the Catholic faith, my references to the Church refers to this institution as one of the oldest surviving and efficient bureaucratic establishments – with all the limitations of an institution constructed, populated and managed by mortal human beings, including the usual red tape associated with any bureaucracy. And within its almost twenty centuries of history has mentored within it all shades of opinions from extreme conservatism to revolutionary thought and has weathered wars, dissent and ideological challenges. With all his faith in Christ and the Church intact, William of Baskervillehas beautifully captured this labyrinth within the realm of literature.

In this context, Sister Jesme’s narrative fails to raise above the bureaucratic squabbles that finally resulted in her final act of rebellion. In other words, while she continuously questions the ethical propriety of administrative and bureaucratic actions of  the Church and challenges its lack of transparency, she fails to use the opportunity to raise questions that would challenge hegemonic structures prevalent within the Church specifically and Catholic societies generally. This might be understanadable given that through her autobiography, she seems to be implicitly endorsing these hegemonic structures and values within the church.I will try to explain….

Sister Jesme claims that her advocacy of women’s equality and freedom… has always upset the convent authorities. and attributes prevalent patriarchy within the Church to the “western” influence brought in by St. Paul – as if “eastern” thought – whatever that category might be – was devoid of patriarchy. The extent of the championship of women’s freedom is betrayed when she proudly displays her reminder to her daughters that; “they are being sent only for the (film) festival. If they stray to any other place, they will be misusing their freedom, and this will invite curtailment of it“

Further, amongst her reasons for agreeing to be present at the first version of Nalini Jameela’s Autobiography, she invokes a Jesus who has been with tax collectors and harlots, and includes the facts that she teaches Bernard Shaw’s “Mrs. Warren’s Profession” without shame and that I. Gopinath co-authors the book!!!

Reading the book in the backdrop of the Delhi High Court Judgement on homosexuality and the coming together of conservative religious groups against de-criminalisation of diverse expressions of sexuality, Sister Jesme’s labelling of expressions of sexuality between inmates of the convent as the worng path that ends up in their own gender and as sexual abbherations were fairly irritating – and definitely points to endorsement of the conservative opinion from within the Church. Further, while dealing with questions of her own sexual experience, Sister Jesme seems to be more perturbed by the experiences themselves and not the more fundamental aspect of lack of consent!!!!

The Church of course has reacted predictably, crudely and unimaginatively – by dismissing Sister Jesme’s autobiography as confessions of a prostitute, it has splattered mud on its own face – subverting its own professed value system – and in one sense looks like an admission to the allegations of corruption, lack of transparency, sexual transgressions and the underlying administrative ineptitude.

While confessing much admiration for her courage and acknowledging the importance of her action, I must say that Sister Jesme’s journey through her mission was singularly boring. That is where one feels that Sister Jesme should not have stopped reading The Last Temptation of Christ in the 6th chapter. May be she should have explored more questions of christian tribulations (without necessarily agreeing with them) in the form of literature or otherwise!!

Nomine Patris, Filii, et Spiritus Sancti

Amen