The State Government must immediately implement the recommendations of the State Law Reforms Commission on the dispute existing in the Malankara Church, said Quest For Peace, a Church peace committee, which is making efforts to establish a consensus between the Malankara Church groups and end the series of litigations and wrangling.
Quest for Peace chairman and senior priest of the Jacobite Church Father Varghese Kallupara said the Law Reforms Commission recommendations could be a permanent solution to disputes among Church groups. He is of the view that legislation alone would put an end to the long-drawn conflict between the Orthodox and Jacobite factions.
The Supreme Court had ruled in July 2017 that there would be no parallel administration of the Malankara Church, and that all parishes would be under the control of the Orthodox faction.
He said the State Government had taken up the Commission’s proposal that cemeteries be shared by the Church groups to enable peaceful burials. Similar example can be followed by the Government on the larger issue of permanent peace, Father Kallupara added.
The recommendation of the Commission chaired by former Supreme Court judge K.T. Thomas is that the State conduct a referendum to determine the rights over various parishes and related institutions under the Malankara Church.
For the record, the Kerala Christian Cemeteries (Right to Burial of Corpse) 2020 Ordinance was enacted on the recommendation of the Commission following serious disputes over burial in Malankara Church cemeteries.
