BENGALURU: Akhila Karnataka Catholic Christian Kannada Sangha on Saturday staged a demonstration at Freedom Park, demanding that the Church hierarchy mandate Kannada proficiency for bishops appointed to the state. Their demands include regularisation of Kannada as the primary language for Mass and prayers in all Karnataka churches, establishment of a regional seminary (‘Gurumatha’), exclusive administrative control of St. Peter’s Pontifical Seminary by Karnataka-based bishops.
Noted litterateur and former Rajya Sabha member Dr L Hanumanthaiah said that religious heads coming from other states must undergo at least six months of functional Kannada training before assuming office. Addressing the gathering, Hanumanthaiah emphasised that the bond between the deity and the devotee should not be hindered by a linguistic barrier.
“There should be no division between the language of God and the language of the people. It is a fundamental truth in any religion that the dialogue between the creator and the seeker must happen in a language understood by both,” he said.
He clarified that the movement is not about challenging global church structures but about local representation. “We are not asking for Kannadigas to be appointed as bishops in Vatican City. We are demanding that those leading the churches in Bengaluru and across Karnataka be localites. Even the Supreme Court cannot oppose this demand,” he pointed out.
Recalling the contributions of Christian missionaries to the Kannada language, Hanumanthaiah cited Reverend Ferdinand Kittel, who authored the first major Kannada-English dictionary. He questioned why the current Church leadership is struggling to understand the importance of the local tongue when their predecessors pioneered education in regional languages.