The Catholic church was on damage control mode on Monday with the comments of Cardinal Varkey Vithayathil of Kerala, who was quoted as favouring the BJP over the Marxists, sparking a controversy.The powerful Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI) headquartered in New Delhi and the Archbishop's house in Mumbai are both going ahead with clarifications on the issue.
Cardinal Vithayathil's controversial remarks came at a ceremony recently to mark the publication of his biography, Straight from the Heart, in Kochi.
Catholic circles point out that the timing of the news reports, during the Lok Sabha elections, has led to concern among the clergy. Cardinal Vithayathil is president of CBCI.
Anthony Charanghat, the spokesperson of the Catholic Archbishop's house in Mumbai, said the quotes have been pulled out of context and do not reflect the thinking of the Church.
"The quotes show the Cardinal as favouring the BJP versus the Marxists, but this is not true. If you read the book which is in the form of questions and answers, it cearly shows the Cardinal is critical of the BJP in some places while he has praised the Marxists for their work in social uplift.''.
Charanghat, who is also the editor of the Catholic weekly, The Examiner, said he is issuing a clarification in his publication so that people are not confused by the reports and could see them in proper perspective.
The CBCI too is planning to issue a statement. CBCI spokesperson Babu Joseph said," The comments from the Cardinal were personal in nature and does not reflect the thinking of the Catholic church. We do not encourage comments about our preferences for individual political parties,'' he said.
"The Cardinal's comments might have stemmed from his concern at the Marxist- led Kerala government's interference in the running of Christian educational institutions. The Church has had differences with the state government over the issue of euthanasia,'' said Babu.
Abraham Mathai of the All India Christian Council pointed out, "The comments seem to have been made in the context of the problems the Church is having with the Marxist government in Kerala. It does not have any wider significance.''
Former CBCI secretary general, Bishop Percival Fernandes, said the comments were apparently made in a personal capacity.
Bishop Fernandes said it should be remembered that the Communist parties have spoken out in Parliment against the attacks on Christians and their institutions on several occasions. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Disclaimer
No responsibility or liability shall attach itself to either myself or to the blogspot ‘Clerical Whispers’ for any or all of the articles placed here.
The placing of an article hereupon does not necessarily imply that I agree or accept the contents of the article as being necessarily factual in theology, dogma or otherwise.
Sotto Voce
(Source: TOI)