Fr. Paul Thelakat is the former spokesperson of the Syro-Malabar Church and former chief editor of Christian journals ‘Sathyadeepam’ and Light of Truth. In an interview with The Hindu, the respected public figure and writer discussed issues ranging from the nature of the relationship between Christian and Muslim communities in Kerala, the question of ‘Love Jihad’, the CAA and the critical nature of the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.
Edited excerpts...
In view of a section of the Syro Malabar Church screening the propaganda film The Kerala Story with the aim of drumming up communal sentiments, some Christian scholars and public intellectuals including you have condemned the move, calling it an attempt to fan the flames of hatred and bigotry. Love jihad, some church leaders say, does exist although it’s been proven in courts that it doesn’t. Why is this section of the church going wrong? Is it happening knowingly?
The screening of the film The Kerala Story in Idukki diocese is an unfortunate event. Some in the church have succumbed to the propaganda against another section of the Indian community. Moreover, there is the absence of a moral power within the church which is a stopper of debates in the church. These Catholics simply forget what happened in Kandhamal and in Manipur. Those were not sporadic communal troubles but communal carnage orchestrated by vested interests with full support of the party in power. These Christians do not understand what is happening in the northern States, especially in the Hindi belt, to the Christian priests and nuns and their institutions. These things remind of the things that happened in Germany during the Nazi regime. There were 60,000 Lutheran Pastors in Germany of whom 60% supported the Nazis. Many church leaders thought of Hitler as the Messiah.
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