KOCHI: The three-day annual conference of the Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council (KCBC) discussed various issues affecting the Church and society.
The train accident at Balasore in Odisha, the persecution of Christians in various parts of the country, the slanderous campaigns targeting Christian educational institutions, the man-animal conflict in several parts of the state, the Vizhinjam Port crisis and the reservation for the Dalit Christians were discussed at the conference.
According to the KCBC spokesperson, the members, while praying for the fast recovery of the injured and the souls of the deceased, urged the authorities to ensure that such train accidents don’t happen in the future. “Frequent accidents and incidents of arson attacks will shake the people’s confidence in the Railways,” said KCBC.
The Manipur conflict which saw the destruction of lives and properties of the Christian community was deplored by the council. It also expressed concern over the anti-Christian activities and persecutions taking place in various parts of the country. “The Union government needs to initiate steps to bring peace in Manipur,” said the council.
The conference also deplored the slanderous campaigns targeting Christian educational institutions. “KCBC said there is a clear agenda behind generating controversies in Christian institutions. However, these political organisations are remaining mum on similar incidents happening in other institutions, said the council. “If the government and religious organisations do not take caution, it would ultimately lead to communal polarisation,” said the council.
The conference called for steps to control the wildlife population in a bid to curb human-animal conflicts. It suggested compensating the victims of wildlife attacks. The KCBC also demanded an urgent resolution of the concerns regarding the buffer zone issue.
Regarding the Vizhinjam crisis, the council demanded the government assures that the proposed agreements are implemented. “Agreements regarding withdrawal of cases and rehabilitation have not been followed. Immediate steps should be taken to rehabilitate those living in the godowns,” said the council.
Another issue that the council highlighted was the reservation for Dalit Christians. “The state government should intervene to ensure a reservation for the Dalit Christians. Twelve states, including Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, passed a resolution and urged the Union government to provide reservation to those who converted to Christianity from the Scheduled Caste category,” said the council.