The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church has condemned the recommendation of the National Commission for Women (NCW) chairperson to stop the sacrament of confession.
In a statement here on Friday, Catholicos of the East and Malankara Metropolitan Baselius Mar Thoma Paulose II said the directive of NCW chief Rekha Sharma could only be viewed as an attempt to undo the citizen’s freedom of religious practice assured by the Constitution.
The Church was of the firm stand that culprits should be punished if the charge levelled by an individual against a few priests that they had misused the confessional secrets to sexually exploit her was proved. But denouncing the entire clergy for this was unfair, the Catholicos said.
Agencies add: The Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council (KCBC) has written to George Kurian, member secretary of the National Commission for Minorities, requesting him to raise before authorities the concerns of the Church.
Mr. Kurian is learnt to have forwarded the letter from KCBC chief Archbishop Susa Pakiam M. to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Rajnath Singh. “We strongly feel the recommendation is unwarranted and intended to tarnish the credibility of the Church. It is unfortunate that people in responsible positions make such statements which deeply wound the religious sentiments of the Christian community,” the bishop said in the letter.
In a statement in Kochi, the KCBC termed the recommendation shocking.
“The chairperson has ventured into something which is totally out of her prerogative, and without any consultation with the Christian Churches and communities, and without considering the moral, theological or psychological aspects of confession among the Christians,” it said.
In Thrissur, Church organisations have demanded that Ms. Sharma apologise to the Christian community.
Representatives of believers from Thrissur, Irinjalakuda, Palakkad, and Ramanathapuram dioceses alleged in a meeting here on Friday that the NCW chief was trying to generalise things on the basis of stray incidents.