CATHOLIC CHURCH AND THE LEGACY OF FEUDALISM

[First published in the August 2009 issue of Snehasandesham] 

Governance is a sociological construct. As populations grew from tribal communities to larger societies of nations, there evolved political systems of governance based on the needs of order and survival.  The monarchical rule has been dominant in ancient times; its vestiges remain as nostalgic tokens of a glorious past in many parts of Europe. The political system of governance in most countries of the world today is democratic, the rule of the people by the people for the people. During the passage of time there have been other forms of political systems as well: dictatorship, socialism, communism, fascism, Nazism etc. and the one we want to deal with in detail, namely feudalism (jan‍mittha sampradāayam). This was the political system prevalent in Europe during the Middle Ages. (From around the 9^th to the 13^th century.)

Feudalism was an economic, political, and social system based on land, loyalty and security. The main feature of this system was its hierarchical structure - serfs, vassals, overlords and king.  At the lowest level were the serfs, the uneducated peasants. They lived and worked on the land owned by the nobility. They could keep a little of the goods they produced while the rest went to their masters. In return, they were protected from marauders and other invaders by the vassals. Their fate was hard: no land, no education, no power, no voice! Vassals were next up the feudal social order. They were given the use of land (fiefdom) by their overlords as well as authority over their serfs. For this, they had to provide military service to their overlord. Above the vassals, the overlords (also known as lords of the manor) ruled the territory granted to them by the king in return for their loyalty to him. The system was grounded on loyalty and homage to one’s feudal master. Vassals never reported to their serfs. Lords of the manor were not accountable to the vassals and the king had absolute power over everyone. The concept of dialogue did not exist during this period. The feudal system worked so long as it was land based and the serfs remained uneducated and needed the protection of the vassals. However, with the growth of towns, which allowed the serfs to flee to these towns to become merchants or skilled laborers, this system was doomed to fail.

Throughout its existence, the Catholic Church has borrowed and adapted its organizational and governing structure from secular institutions starting with that of the Roman Empire, from the monarchies in later eras and from the social order and practices of feudalism. Although the feudal system died out long ago and the world has changed and become democratic, the Catholic Church has stubbornly refused to adapt to these changes and retains “a monarchical feudal system of governance”. Parallels of this system are easily found within the current Church structure. Pope (king in the feudal structure) grants benefices (dioceses) to his bishops. The latter in turn promise obedience, loyalty and homage to their sovereign master, the bishop of Rome. The bishops in turn grant benefices (parishes) to their priests who in turn promise obedience, loyalty and homage to the chief shepherd of the diocese. The priests look to the laity (serfs) as the uneducated little lambs. The laity “are to be led like a docile flock by their pastors” said Pope Pius X (1903-1914).

In theory, bishops and priests are not ambitious men. However, in practice, underneath the show of obedience and gratitude for the ecclesiastical appointments, the bishops aspire for powerful dioceses (fiefdoms) and the priests for plum parish assignments. For the ambitious priests and bishops, careful compliance of the party line is a must. Progressive sermons and actions, even when supported by the spirit of the bible and Council statements, should be avoided if they do not conform to the thoughts and policies of one’s current bishop and the pope. Feudal system’s insistence on obedience and loyalty remains deeply entrenched in the Catholic collective subconscious, more especially in that of older Catholics.

Another legacy of the feudal system is reflected in the way financial issues are dealt with. There is widespread abuse with the blurring of the distinction between the personal property of the bishop or priest with what belongs to the diocese or parish. There is a lot of arrogance in the way money belonging to the diocese is spent with little or no accountability. After the pedophilia scandals of the recent past, the next wave of scandals to hit the Catholic Church, according to some observers, will be fiscal in nature.

In return for the work done for the vassals, and for loyalty and obedience to them, the serfs were given protection from attackers. The Church, however, cannot offer any physical protection in that sense nor is there the need, but it does offer salvation through the sacraments. The clergy are the keepers of the sacraments. In return for loyalty and obedience and servitude and financial support, the vassal-pastor and the lord-bishop can dispense spiritual powers needed for achieving eternal life and save the ‘docile flock’ from the eternal fires of hell.  Although feudalism disappeared from Europe long ago, its protocols still linger - the bishops as princes of Church; kissing the ring on one’s knees; titles such as “Your Excellency”, “Your Grace”, “Your Eminence”; royal purple dress etc. – all presently seen as aspects of pseudo-nobility. African bishop Nestor Ngoy Katahwa of the Congo told his brother bishops at a 2001 Vatican conference on the episcopacy:

“With our title of ‘princes of the church’, we are led to cultivating the search for human honors and privileges, while the king, in reference to whom we are princes, finds his glorification on the cross . . . We are more at ease with the powerful and the rich than with the poor and the oppressed. And the fact that we maintain sole legislative, executive and judicial powers is a temptation for us to act like dictators, more so inasmuch as our mandate has no limitations.”

There are signs that times are changing. Youngsters today have begun to question the age-old belief system – heaven, hell and the life after death – that was used to blackmail the docile lambs from straying. With the spread of education, critical thinking is coming of age; with globalization, old value systems are changing, and secularism is coming to the fore; and I can feel the beginnings of the end of papal and clerical thought control; and the inevitable demise of feudalistic attitudes and actions. In its place let us hope for a democratic, transparent, all-inclusive and caring Catholic Church whose laity and hierarchy are brothers and sisters and not serfs and lords!