Women's panel shouldn't dictate: Kerala church body to PM Modi

Thiruvananthapuram: The National Commission of Women's controversial proposal for abolishing the practice of "confessions" in churches has sparked a huge uproar with the top Catholic Church body of the state writing to Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the "shocking" statement.

The Kerala Catholic Bishops Conference sent a memorandum to PM Modi over NCW's proposal to abolish the practice of confessions in church. Archbishop of Latin Archdiocese of Trivandrum, Soosai Pakiam, said, "NCW chairperson shouldn't dictate that you abolish this." 

Also Read: Scrap practice of confession in church: NCW on Kerala priest rape case

"We believe that the motive of the Commission is to spread tension and religious unrest among the minorities and to create division and polarisation among people for political gains," the Kerala Catholic Bishop's Conference wrote in the letter to the Prime Minister, adding "We strongly protest this unbecoming move from the part of a person in a responsible position of the Government."

Soosai Pakiam described the NCW chairperson Rekha Sharma's recommendation "irresponsible".

Rekha Sharma had led a probe team into the rape charge levelled by a woman against four priests of Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church.

The woman was allegedly forced into sex by a priest when she was a teenager in the 1990s. She confessed to a second priest, who allegedly blackmailed her into sex.

After inquiring into the incident, the NCW chief said, "There must be many more such cases what we have right now is just a tip of the iceberg" of priests pressuring women into telling their secrets and recommended abolishing the practice across the country.