Priest calls for mandatory HIV testing before marriage to ensure that they have not been abused

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A controversy has erupted over a remark by a priest and trustee of the Mar Thoma Church that members of the Church should be allowed to marry only after undergoing an HIV test. Dr K Thomas said at a Mar Thoma Church family gathering held in Thiruvananthapuram on August 30 that it should be ensured that a woman getting married has not been sexually abused.

‘I am telling you something confidential. I am not someone who reveals details of counselling sessions, but I am saying this only to substantiate what I am saying. Two aged 18 and 17½, entered into a relationship. Their parents did not know what to do and brought them to me. I asked the boy to wait outside and spoke to the 17½-year-old girl. When I asked her why she became so close to him, the Mar Thoma girl told me that they had been living like husband and wife for the past six months.

Don’t you read about this in the newspapers? The Karnataka government is now conducting HIV tests on all campuses there. I believe that all marriages taking place within the Mar Thoma Church should be conducted only after undergoing such tests. The parents sitting here should not take this the wrong way. When a girl is brought to the church as a bride, we should be able to assure ourselves that her body has not been abused. That is what this family gathering aims to achieve, he said.

Dr K Thomas stepped forward saying that his statements were with good intentions when it triggered a controversy. He said that he addressed the parents and not the youngsters. I do not want anyone in the Mar Thoma Church to be seen as someone who has gone astray. I have the freedom to say what I want within my own church, clarified K Thomas.