Eight church leaders, including cardinal George Alencherry, major archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Church, are learnt to have been invited to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Kochi on Monday, the first day of the Prime Minister’s two-day visit to Kerala. The Syro-Malabar church has not confirmed the invitation.
Sources confirmed that Joseph Kalathiparambil, Archbishop of Varappuzha, Joseph Mor Gregorios, metropolitan trustee of the Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church, Kuriakose Mar Severios, Knanaya Syrian Church, Chingavanam, Catholicos Baselios Marthoma Mathews III of the Malankara Orthodox Church, and Metropolitan Archbishop Awgin Kuriakose of the Chaldean Syrian Church, Thrissur, received the invitation and will meet Mr. Modi along with the other invitees.
Among the others reported to have been invited are Mar Mathew Moolakkat, Knanaya Catholic Church, Kottayam, and Cardinal Mar Cleemis of the Syro-Malankara Church.
The report of the invitation to church leaders comes amid speculations that the BJP is trying to forge a strong alliance with the Christian community in Kerala in a bid to improve its electoral performance. The BJP has no MLA in the State Assembly or a member in Lok Sabha from Kerala. Reports that some of the church leaders are in favour of supporting the Central ruling party have evoked mixed response from the Christian community as a whole.
Opinions expressed by Cardinal Alencherry in a recent interview, which were portrayed as pro-Modi government, drew sharp criticism from church members. Together with the cardinal, Archbishop of Thalassery Joseph Pamplany too has come in for criticism for his trying to link Catholic Church support for the BJP to the price of natural rubber.
The reform-minded Joint Christian Council alleged that the floating of a new political party last week apparently to advocate Christian rights may have the blessings of the cardinal and Archbishop Pamplany. The party is symbolic of political bankruptcy, the council said.
