‘Tone of threat will not work; Church has the right to seek votes openly, not secretly’, criticizes Pala Bishop 

KOTTAYAM: Pala Bishop Mar Joseph Kallarangatt stepped forward responding indirectly to BJP leader P C George, who had raised criticism. Kallarangatt said that a tone of threat will not work here. He said that people in public life often cross the limits of decency while speaking about religious leaders. Such statements should not be made merely for applause or to create sensational channel language without culture.

‘It cannot be said that bishops and priests should remain neutral. People in public life say anything about religious leaders. Criticism should be in a respectful language. The Church has the right to seek votes openly, not secretly.

It has become common in this country for public figures to violate the boundaries of decency when speaking about religious leaders. Even without naming anyone, speaking in a way that hurts the sentiments of believers is a serious mistake, said Mar Joseph Kallarangatt.

‘Those who claim a long political tradition speaking and acting in ways unbecoming of their personality is a wrong approach. It is not possible in a democratic country to say that priests and bishops should always remain neutral and silent. However, being always neutral means being irrelevant.

To preserve the identity of the Church, we have the right to tell the truth to the people. Voting is not something that needs to be discussed secretly; the Church has the right to ask for votes openly and express its stand. There is no need to fear presenting the truth before the people,’ added the Pala Bishop.