In contrast to the right wing views mostly upheld by the Syro Malabar Catholic Church in Kerala, the Ernakulam-Angamaly Archdiocese, which is under the former, has slammed the BJP and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) through its official mouthpiece, Sathyadeepam.
From citing the increase in fuel price to the arrest of 83-year-old Jesuit priest and tribal rights activist Stan Swamy in connection with the Bhima Koregaon-Elgar Parishad case, the editorial of the archdiocese's weekly magazine contains scathing criticism of the BJP. While the editorial has neither hailed the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) nor the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF), it reserves its vehement opposition for the BJP.
“The state and central leadership of the BJP, which visits the Church’s administrative province now and then, should be asked aloud why the Chirstians in Kandhamal are being delayed justice, why innocent Stan Swamy is still in prison and also why the contentious farms laws are not being scrapped,” the editorial states.
Stan Swamy was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in the Bhima Koregaon-Elgar Parishad case, and he has been accused of having links with the CPI(Maoist). The Kandhamal violence was an organised attack led allegedly by Hindu right wing groups against Christians of Kandhamal in Odisha in 2008-09.
The editorial also slammed the ‘Vijaya yatra’ by BJP Kerala chief K Surendran, asking whether the rally was to celebrate fuel prices crossing Rs 100 per litre. “The price of cooking gas (LPG cylinder) has increased by Rs 225 in the past three months. The recommendation of the Union government to cut ration beneficiaries number to 50% will be a major blow to Kerala, and this is another ‘vijaya gatha’ (success story),” the editorial remarked sarcastically.
This is not the first time that the Ernakulam-Angamaly Archdiocese has taken a differing stand from its apex Syro Malabar Church. Last January, the Syro Malabar Church’s synod (meeting of bishops of the church) had taken a pro-right wing stand, upholding the claims of the BJP and the RSS that ‘love jihad’ is real although there has been no evidence to support this conspiracy theory spun by Hindu groups. The Syro Malabar Church’s chief, Cardinal Mar George Alencherry, had even gone on to distribute circulars in all the churches, propagating the 'love jihad' conspiracy theory.
However, at the time, the Ernakulam-Angamaly Archdiocese through Sathyadeepam, slammed the synod for its take on ‘love jihad’, stating that it was targeting Islam. “At a time when the country is burning in the name of religious politics, it is common sense to not pour oil in the fire by belittling any religion,” said a column in Sathyadeepam. Many churches under the archdiocese had also stayed away from reading the circular issued by Cardinal Alencherry.
However, the archdiocese is on the same page as the Syro Malabar church when it comes to the demand that minority schemes be distributed based on population. This is on par with the demand earlier raised by Syro Malabar top officials when they met Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier this year. The church’s demand is that Christain students get only 20% of the scholarships and that they should get 41%.
The editorial further states that while Kerala used to approach elections politically, now religious and caste equations are what influence elections. What is lost in that are the ethics of elections, it added.
Though the editorial notes that the Catholic church has made it clear that it will not support any party upfront, it adds that the church is active in discussions with various factions and parties.