Kerala Orthodox Churches Oppose NCW’s Demand to Abolish Confession

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Orthodox Churches across Kerala passed a resolution against the proposal to prohibit the practice of Confessions in Church, put forth by the chairperson of National Commission of Women. The latter had made the proposal in view of the fact that it can lead to the blackmailing of women.

Members of Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church said,

We protest the proposal of National Commission for Women to prohibit churches from practising the Sacrament of Holy Confession. This is against the spirit of ancient Indian culture which respects different faiths with tolerance. Request Centre to reject this.

A central agency also needs to conduct a proper investigation into the increasing incidents of rape and sexual assaults in churches of Kerala, NCW chairperson Rekha Sharma said.

"The priests pressure women into telling their secrets and we have one such case in front of us. There must be many more such cases and what we have right now is just the tip of the iceberg," she said.

The recommendations come in the backdrop of a rape case against four priests of Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church who have been accused of sexually exploiting a married woman belonging to their church.

The issue came to the fore after the victim's husband wrote to the church, alleging that the priests blackmailed and abused his wife, a school teacher.

The National Commission of Women has constituted an inquiry committee to look into alleged sexual assaults against women in churches, and has sent its findings to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Union Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi and the DGP of Kerala and Punjab.

The woman was socially harassed. She left her job after the incident as her photograph was circulated on social media. The two priests are at large and they need to be nabbed.

NCW chairperson Rekha Sharma

In another incident, a nun, in a complaint to the Kottayam district police chief last month, alleged that Jalandhar Bishop Franco Mulakkal raped her and had unnatural sex with her multiple times at a small town near Kottayam between 2014 and 2016.

What is Happening in Kerala, Priests Are Becoming Rape Accused: SC

'What is happening in Kerala, priests are becoming accused in rape cases', the Supreme Court wondered on Thursday as it asked the state police to file a status report on the investigation done against four clergymen accused of sexually abusing a married woman.

The top court also refused to stay the trial of another alleged rape case involving a priest from Kerala. The trial in the case is scheduled to start from 1 August.

"What is happening in Kerala, priests are becoming accused in rape cases," said a bench of Justices A K Sikri and Ashok Bhushan.

The bench directed the state police to file a status report on the probe done so far into the sexual abuse case, involving four priests attached to the Malankara Syrian Orthodox Church.

It asked the counsel for Kerala Police to file the status report within two weeks and posted the matter for 6 August.