Two archbishops have chided some of Kerala’s Church leaders for appearing to soften their stand against Hindutva and warming to the BJP, which is desperate to gain a toehold in the southern state by leveraging a section of the Christian clergy.
Archbishop of Bhopal Leo Cornelio and Archbishop Thomas Menamparampil, the archbishop emeritus of Guwahati, aired their worries to Light Of Truth, the official English fortnightly published by the Ernakulam-Angamaly Archdiocese of the Syro-Malabar Church.
The immediate trigger for their comments seemed to be the meetings several Church leaders in Kerala had with state BJP functionaries during Easter, and with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Kochi last week.
“The Kerala bishops don’t understand the entire context of India. They are thinking in terms of only one state, as if Kerala is India,” Archbishop Cornelio said.
He was apparently alluding to the controversial statements that some among Kerala’s Christian clergy have made in recent months. Bishop Mar Joseph Kallarangatt of the influential Pala Diocese had in 2021 accused Muslims of “love jihad” and “narco jihad” — an alleged plot to lure non-Muslim women and men into marriage-cum-conversion and drug-taking, respectively.
“What is happening in north India is totally different from what might be happening in south India, but they are thinking only in terms of Kerala,” Archbishop Cornelio said.
“I am very surprised by this development. I would like to ask, should we be involved in politics at all? Especially the clergy? Should they not go more circumspectly about it, because, in whatever way, we are not supposed to be too much involved in politics?
“Some bishops are making comments without understanding, for example, what factors are in play in the price of rubber and so on.”
The Archbishop of the Thalassery Archdiocese of the Syro-Malabar Church, Joseph Pamplany, had offered a Lok Sabha seat to the BJP if its government in Delhi could increase the price of rubber to Rs 300 a kilo.
The Major Archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Church, Mar George Alencherry, had controversially said that Christians don’t feel insecure in India. However, Christian places of worship have faced Sangh parivar attacks in several states, including Karnataka.
Seven archbishops including Alencherry had met Modi during the Prime Minister’s visit to Kochi last week. Faced with criticism from the Christian clergy and community leaders, Alencherry had clarified that they had discussed issues concerning farmers and fisher folk, and reservation for the poor.
“When invited by party leaders they should only send their representatives. They should not go in person. I don’t think shunning them is an option. As a religious person I wouldn’t want to get involved in party politics,” Archbishop Cornelio said.
He called on the clergy to remain apolitical, saying they are duty-bound to defend constitutional values. “Openly expressing preference for one particular political party should be avoided,” he said.
Archbishop Menamparampil reminded those who he felt had been overzealous in responding to invitations from the BJP that the Prime Minister had not spoken a word about the custody death of Fr Stan Swamy, an 84-year-old Jesuit priest and tribal rights defender, in 2021.
“While Modiji has visited the Delhi Cathedral, he has not (spoken a) single word of sympathy about FrStan Swamy at any stage,” Archbishop Menamparampil said.
He added: “He (Modi) has, no doubt, promoted tribals to positions of honour, but not to decision-making roles.”
The archbishop, however, urged the Christian community to “explore ways of entering into dialogue with them (Hindu community) at life-related levels where people look to each other for cooperation”.
“Core Hindu values related to family traditions, social ethics, education of the young, sensitivity to religion, etc, have so much in common with Catholic beliefs, we have much to share,” he said.
