NEW DELHI: The BJP is baffled by the myriad denominations within the Indian Church in its quest to select delegates to attend the canonisation of Mother Teresa in the Vatican on September 4. The selection process is stuck because the BJP is finding it hard to understand the various denominations within the Church.
“The Indian Church is not a monolithic structure, as many of used to believe. It is as complicated as Hinduism,’’ said an official involved in the process. The list included Rajya Sabha deputy chairman P J Kurien, an MLA from Goa, and two MPs from the Northeast. But the late realisation that none of the delegation (except the Goan MLA) is a Catholic, has made the government rework the list.
“The initial list had some issues. We realised it as we got reminders from asking about the delegation,’’ said the official. He was alluding to the 2014 controversy over the official delegation sent to Vatican for the canonisation ceremony of Catholics Fr Kuriakose Elias Chavara and Sr Euphrasia Eluvathinkal.
The delegation—headed by Kurien, TDP MP P Raveendra Babu and Nagaland Peoples Front MP Neiphiu Rio—had stirred up a controversy as there wasn’t a single Catholics in it. While Kurien was a Marthomite, Raeendra Babu was a Hindu and Neiphiu, a three-time Nagaland chief minister, was a Protestant Christian.
The fact that none of the members in the delegation considered the Pope or the Vatican as the ultimate had made the Catholics fume.
It was the first time that an official Indian delegation went to the Vatican without a Catholic in it.
The Catholic Church had pointed out that that the previous 13-member delegation for the canonisation of Sr Alphonsa during the UPA government comprised entirely of Catholics. The fact that the then Kerala government headed by Oommen Chandy had sent Catholic ministers K C Joseph and P J Joseph as representatives also added to the woes of the BJP government.