As introduction I said to Cardinal Suenens, "I know March 19th has a double significance in Your Eminence's life. One is the feast of the saint after whom you are named. Secondly, it is on a March 19th you were raised to the dignity of a Cardinal. Therefore I rejoice that I am able to visit you on this day. I wish to get Your Eminence's opinion on certain matters.

? Your Eminence had an important role to play in drawing up the draft documents for the II Vatican Council. How did you happen to get this special privilage?

* I met Pope John 23rd in March 1962 in Rome. On that occasion he said to me, as if unexpectedly: "I wish to put you in charge of drawing up a general draft document on matters to be discussed at the Council, and its proceedings." The Pope circulated the draft document that I drew up among all the Cardinals.

? Your Eminence is known as the "Holy Spirit" Cardinal among those who work for the Charismatic Renewal in India. What is your opinion about it?

* It is good to have a special interest in and knowledge about certain subjects.

? I should like to know more about the Holy Spirit....

* Those who believe that Jesus Christ is the Incarnation of the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, cannot think of the Church as dissociated from the Holy Spirit and the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Holy Spirit indicates God's gift of faith that constantly keeps burning within us. The Blessed Virgin Mary is the symbol of the attitude of surrender to faith that every individual should possess.

? What is the position of the Spirit in the Church?

* The Acts of the Apostles describes the beginnings of the Church as being connected with the Holy Spirit (cf 2:32-33). The Church has yet to reflect much on and and desire to attain the great "ideal" : "The Church-a-fellowship in the Holy Spirit" (cf 2 Cor 13:13).

? What exactly is meant by that?

* To consider the Church as a lifeless institution is something that modern youth cannot understand or accept. My experience is that it is easy for the youth to love the Church and participate in its activities, if the concept of an Institutionalised Church, gives place to the concept of the Church as a "Fellowship of Love". That is why a good number of young people are interested in the activities of the Renewal in the Holy Spirit. Those who think along conservative lines give importance to the law. Those who give primacy to the Holy Spirit try to settle matters through love. It is the Holy Spirit who gives the strength to reflect upon the Renewal without fear and accept in the proper manner (cf Phil 3:13).

? Will not the life of man become impossible if the principle of law and the principle of love do not agree but go their separate ways? Should not these two realities work in unison?

* The Church is hierarchial and also charismatic at the same time. The Church is not an entity in which the hierarchial aspect ignores the charismatic aspect totally, or the charismatic aspect treats the hierechy with utter arrogance. My opinion is that, while, on the other hand, the charismatic aspect gives due importance to the gifts given to each individual by the Holy Spirit, and the hierarchial aspect, on the other hand, treats it as totally unimportant, a correct perspective of the Church cannot be had (cf Eph 4:11-12; 1 Cor 12:4; Gal 5:22).

? It is not natural that disharmony exists between the charisms of individuals and the official Church? In the early days did not St Francis of Assisi and St John of the Cross have to undergo many difficulties

* A true Christian is one who lives in hope. That is why St Peter wrote that a Christian should be ready to answer those who ask questions about hope (cf 1 Pt 3:15). Hope means trusting in God and not in one's own calculations. Hope makes the impossible possible. Those who are led by the Holy Spirit and are full of hope, can view the new trends of thought that arise within the Church with an open mind. Hope strengthens us to accept the objections and obstacles that are brought against us, with calmness (Rom 8:28). That is why Pope John the 23rd prayed, "Work miracles again in this our age and give us a new Pentecost." Hope is a responsibility, not sluggishness; not merely a dream but the actualisation of a dream.

? Those who enter the Charismatic Renewal speak of their personal experience of the Holy Spirit. I wish to hear your account of it.

* I too have had some such experiences. I have described them in my book, "The Hidden Hands of God."

? What is your Eminence's opinion about the charisms given by the Holy Spirit

* St Paul speaks very clearly about the charisms given by the Holy Spirit in the first letter to the Corinthians (cf 12:4-11).

? Don't we read there about the gifts of healing and of tongues

* It is clear that many in the Church, who lived in St Paul's time, had these gifts. St Iraneus testifies that the gift of tongues was prevalent in the 2nd century. What I have to say from my experience is that, praying in tongues leads a believer to spiritual freedom and joy. It can happen, though rarely, that one miraculously prays in a language one has not studied. The reason is that we believe in the occurrence of miracles. However, I don't agree with those who insist that only those, who have the gift of tongues, possess the Holy Spirit.

? What about the gift of healing

* From the time of the Apostles of Christ until this day, we know there have been miracles and instances of healing in the lives of saints. According to the Oriental tradition, Christians consider the consecrated religious as those who have the spiritual knowledge and the grace to heal. It is possible to see the manifestation of the gift of healing and other charismatic gifts in the life of St John Vianney and St Don Bosco.

? What is the opinion of your Eminence regarding the position of consecrated religious in the Church

* The history of the Church teaches that Bishops like St Athnasius and St Basil depended on the Religious to effect spiritual renewal and to promote its growth in the Church.

? I am doing research in "A New Hermeneutical Paradigm for Sacramental Healing." What has Your Eminence to say about it

* God, Our Father heals us at every moment even without our knowledge through this universe. The sunlight that falls on a small plant heals it. The Holy Spirit renews and remakes eveything.

? Your Eminence was able to play an important role, by God's grace, at the Vatican Council. Those who study Church History know that many of your ideas have found a place in the Council Decrees. Is your Eminence totally happy about the post - Vatican Church

* (Silence...) The church is always on the path of renewal.

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