Catholic Church locks horns with LDF over wild gaur issue

As the groundswell of anger over the death of three persons by a raging wild gaur continues to rock the high-range settlements of Central Travancore, the issue on Sunday took a political turn with a war of words between the Catholic church and Forest Minister A.K. Saseendran.

The episode began to unfold in the morning when Mr. Saseendran, while addressing the media in the morning, criticised the Kerala Catholic Bishops Council (KCBC) – the apex body of the catholic Church in Kerala. Holding that a section was using the dead body of victims to bargain with the government, he urged the organisation to abstain from supporting such moves.

“The stance of the KCBC does not reflect its tradition. The organisation should uphold its tradition of maintaining peace and harmony,’’ the Minister said, alluding to the criticisms levelled by the church against the government on the issue.

Displeasure expressed

Enraged by the remark, the Catholic Church adopted a rather outspoken communication strategy to express its displeasure. While Mar Remigiose Inchananiyil, Bishop of the Thamarassery diocese, turned down a request by Mr. Saseendran for a meeting, the KCBC, in a statement, urged the Minister not to get impatient when the Church raises its concerns on general issues.

The statement, issued by the KCBC president Cardinal Mar Baselios Cleemis, also reminded the government of the need to have collective responsibility and the need for finding solutions through discussions.

“Whenever the Church brings such issues to the notice of the government, there are attempts to isolate the Church by accusing it of politicising the issues. What the Church wants is to have a permanent solution to such issues,’’ said the KCBC spokesperson.

Toned down

Sensing trouble, Mr. Saseendran soon moderated his position and explained that he never intended to threaten anyone but was just requesting. “I was only speaking out against the attempts to bargain with the dead body. The KCBC too has clarified that it does not support such movements. The stance of the government is that all protests should be free of violence,’’ he explained.

The development, meanwhile, appears to have served a shot in the arm for the United Democratic Front, which looks to surf this raging wave of of anger against the State government. As part of it, Senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala is slated to visit Kanamala on Monday and lead a protest march to the forest station here.

Caught in a bind, the Kerala Congress (M), a key ally of the LDF, has rushed to highlight the concerns of the Church as well as the settler farmers. In a statement, the party chairman Jose K. Mani has urged to implement the order issued by the Kottayam district collector to shoot down the animal instead of tranquillising it.