In the wake of a recent Syro-Malabar Media Commission report which claimed that Christian girls are targeted and killed in the name of 'love jihad' in Kerala, Kuriakose Mundadan, a Catholic priest belonging to the Ernakulam Angamaly Archdiocese, questioned the claim and the silence of Syro Malabar Church synod on the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
According to media reports, Mundadan in his column in the January 22 issue of Sathyadeepam, a church-run weekly, pointed out that it is only common sense to not make statements that belittle a particular community when the entire nation is facing a crisis due to politics of religion.
Noting that CAA would adversely affect the diversity and democracy of the country and that political parties and others took a clear stand on the same, he asked if the stance of the Catholic church was clear. "This question is important as there was no clear stand on the issue from the Catholice church in Kerala," Times of India quoted the article as saying.
"Unlike the Latin catholic Church in Kerala and Archbishop Soosa Pakiam, the statement by the Syro Malabar Church synod headed by KCBC president Cardinal George Alencherry was just advice to the central government," The New Indian Express quoted the article.
The synod claimed that there was a 'love jihad' focused on Christian girls, stating that over half of the 21 women who joined Islamic State hailed from the Christian community. "It is a matter of concern that 'love jihad' is increasing in Kerala, causing danger to the secular harmony and societal peace in Kerala," the report had claimed.
The priest pointed out the absence of evidence in these claims and asked in the article, "Has anyone taken the number of men and women who have converted to Christianity in the name of love?"
