Church seeks apology from Indian Communist leader

“Church groups in southern Indian Kerala state have sought an apology from a top Communist party leader for allegedly denigrating the life of Catholic nuns.

The Pastoral Council of Irinjalakuda diocese in Kerala has passed a resolution, condemning the recent statements of M V Govindan, the state secretary of the ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist).

Govindan, at a public function in Kannur district, said the religious life of Catholic nuns has become a profession as nuns in England are protesting for better wages.

The Communist leader visited the United Kingdom recently and was sharing his experiences at the inauguration of a new civic house building.

 

Churches in England had been put up for sale as Christians no longer visit them, Govindan said. Churches “have turned into pubs as youngsters in England do not go to church,” he added.

But “Christians from different denominations who migrated to the UK from Kerala still keep going to churches and are looking for their independent churches there,” he said.

The pastoral council in its July 8 resolution asked Govindan to tender an unconditional apology and withdraw his statements.

The council asked the party leader not to worry about the Church and instead look into the drastic decline of the communist parties in India.

The left parties have lost power across the country due to its wrong policies, the council noted.

Kerala is the only state in India where an alliance of communist parties is still in power.

The council said such statements aimed to divert the people’s attention from the real issues and hide the failure to address them.

Archbishop Joseph Pamplany of Tellicherry in Kannur district on July 8 expressed dissatisfaction over the remarks of Govindan, saying, “His statement was needless and unwarranted”.

“The remark that he made about nuns was painful. I cannot understand why he had to say it. What he said about nuns was not true at all. It was illogical too,” Archbishop Pamplany told mediapersons.

The Church in Kerala is at loggerheads with the Communist government on many issues.

Recently, Catholics opposed a play that allegedly mocked the Church and portrayed convents and religious life in a misleading manner.

The play, Kakkukali, portrays the ordeal of a young girl who chooses to become a nun against the wishes of her father, a staunch supporter of the Communist party.

In March, the Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council urged the government to ban the controversial play.  But the government refused.

The All India Youth Federation, the youth wing of the Communist Party of India, supported the play.

“Such interventions [by the Church] will only be considered as an intrusion on the freedom of expression,” the federation asserted in a statement.

Though the Communist party did not ban the play, the team performing it announced its suspension due to mounting pressures.

Christians are the third largest religious community with 18.04 percent of some 33 million people in Kerala.

This article was published on ucanews.com