Metropolitan Archbishop Mar Joseph Pamplany of the Thalassery Archidiocese of the Syro-Malabar Church has cautioned against the “growing trend of love trap cases” targeting girls.
In the pastoral letter read out in churches under the archdiocese marking Easter on Sunday, the Archbishop said it was dangerous to see that more people with evil motives were perceiving women as targets at workplaces and educational institutions and while they were travelling. “There has been a rise in the number of girls being trapped in the guise of love. This comes against the backdrop of a section of the Church raising concerns about alleged ‘love jihad’ cases targeting Christian women,” he added.
The Archbishop also came down on the practice of dowry and sought equal rights for women in ancestral property. He claimed that the community was yet to fully understand the crux of the Supreme Court order clarifying that men and women have equal rights to their parents’ property. He also criticised the practice of lavish weddings by the bridegrooms’ families using dowry money.
