THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala Catholic Bishops Council (KCBC) president Archbishop M Soosa Pakiam on Friday termed the National Women’s Commission’s call for abolishing Church confessions as an attempt to create religious enmity.
“There is prejudice behind it. The approach expresses resentment and hatred,’’ he said, terming the commission’s approach ‘weak and strange.’ The church has shot off a representation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi protesting the commission’s stand, he said. Confession is an integral part of Christian faith and life, and a practice that has been followed for centuries by the church, Soosa Pakiam pointed out.
“It helps to overcome and repent wrongdoing. We see it as a sacrament that helps to connect with God and experience his love,’’ he said. The commission has made blanket statements without waiting for the results of the investigation into the alleged misuse of confession in the Malankara Orthodox Church. This is tantamount to insulting the Christian church and a violation of the Constitutional right to freedom of religion, he said.
While wrongdoers should be punished, casting aspersions on the church on the basis of isolated wrongdoings is unacceptable, he said. "The commission has the freedom to make observations and arrive at conclusions after appropriate investigation and convey them to the authorities. But here, the commission has exceeded its mandate and demanded that women’s confession should be abolished after a superficial investigation. It is this arrogance that we question," he said.
The sanctity of the confession is such that the Church still teaches that a priest is bound to protect the secret of the confession with his life in the event of a conflict between the law of the country and loyalty to God, Soosa Pakiam said.
Complaints against priests have come to his notice also, he said in reply to a question. On whether he had informed the police he said he had not considered them grave enough. The Church has mechanisms in place to take corrective and punitive action in the event of lapses, he said.
Denial of freedom of belief: Prelate
Kottayam: The deep resentment in the Christian community over NCW chief Rekha Sharma’s call to do away with the holy sacrament of confession has now assumed a larger dimension with heads of various Christian denominations coming out against it.
Taking strong exception to Rekha’s demand, Catholicos Baselios Mar Thoma Paulose II, the Supreme Head of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church (MOSC), said the statement could be considered as a move to deny the freedom of belief of an individual, which is a breach of the Freedom of Religion enshrined in the Constitution. “Confession is a custom followed by Christian communities, irrespective of man and woman, for their penance and spiritual development.
If the allegation of misuse of confession secret, raised by an individual against some priests, is proved, the culprits should be punished. At the same time, innocent people should not be crucified, which has been the stand of the Church right from the beginning of the issue,” he said. “At the same time, it is not right to accuse the entire clergy in the name of this particular incident. We cannot accept the demand for banning a religious ritual, which provides solace to millions of people and has helped bring back several persons from the brink of suicide,” he said.
Catholic Association condemns NCW statement
The Syro-Malabar Catholic Association on Friday called for the dismissal of National Women’s Commission (NCW) chairperson Rekha Sharma, in the wake of her statement to ban the Sacrament of Confession. In a statement here, the association said the NCW’s recommendation to abolish confession was “condemnable” and “ill-motivated”.
Catholic Congress to observe protest day
The Catholic Congress, under the Archdiocese of Ernakulam-Angamaly, will observe a protest day on Sunday against NCW chairperson Rekha Sharma’s recommendation to abolish confession. Jaimon Thottupuram, its general secretary, said the NCW chief’s statement has hurt the sentiment of Christians, for whom the Sacrament of Penance plays a very important role.