With the government proposing a legislation to end the long-standing dispute between the two factions of the Malankara Church, long-term observers of the conflict have described the development as a way to reach a lasting peace. At the same time, those seeking reforms within the Church have called for a comprehensive Bill to bring all the Christian denominations under its purview.
The Bill is one of the urgent requirements to settle the dispute in the Malankara church, said advocate A. Jayashankar, who expressed hope that the government will show the political will to take the process through. He said that the Supreme Court’s verdict of 2017, in its core, relates to the administration of the churches and not to the ceremonies or worship.
The proposed legislation will help bring the dispute to an end, he said, and pointed out that the right to worship cannot be denied to any of the groups. He also referred to the recommendations of Justice K. T. Thomas Commission, which had looked into the issue. He said the recommendations of the Commission were valid and can form part of the proposed Bill.
Former MP Sebastian Paul said he has not read the draft of the Bill but felt it would help find peace within the Malankara Church. He said that the Supreme Court verdict refers to the church property and its administration while both factions will have the right to use the churches for worship and the cemeteries attached to these churches for burial.
Under these circumstances, while some quarters have expressed doubts about the proposed Bill being in keeping with the Supreme Court verdict, Mr. Paul said that it will be possible to bring about a Bill in line with the Supreme Court verdict.
Meanwhile, those seeking reforms within the Christian churches as a whole called the government move as being partial. George Joseph, chairman of Catholic Church Reformation Movement, said that only a comprehensive Bill would settle all the disputes and make the church hierarchy accountable. He said there are disputes not only within the Malankara Church but also in other churches, including the Syrian Catholic Church.
M. L. George of Catholic Layman’s Association said that the proposed bill only addresses the issues within a particular church. Instead, what is needed is the enactment of The Kerala Christian Church Properties and Institutions Trust Bill as proposed by the late justice V. R. Krishna Iyer.
