A recent statement of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church in Kerala that many young women from the community were being lured by Love Jihad has not gone down well with a large section of the community.
The statement that came amidst joint protests against Citizenship Act (CAA) also triggered suspicions whether the church leadership was showing allegiance towards the BJP.
A pastoral letter in this regard issued by the Syro-Malabar Church head Cardinal George Alencherry, which was meant for reading at the churches during the Sunday mass, was not even read at many churches.
Many priests have openly questioned the credibility of the observation on Love Jihad. Father Kuriakode Mundadan, a former secretary of the synod of Syro-Malabar Church, has written in a catholic news publication that there was no evidence for the allegation of Christian women being lured by Love Jihads, and it was very untimely to raise such an allegation targeting one community as the nation was witnessing anxiety over alleged attempts to make it a theocratic state. Another priest, father Jose Valiyakodathu, had also accused the church leadership for raising the Love Jihad allegation without any facts or figures.
The synod of Syro-Malabar Church head had made the observation of Love Jihad.
A statement issued by the Syro-Malabar Media Commission said that scores of Christian women in Kerala were being lured by Love Jihad and accused the police of not taking effective actions. It pointed out that out of the 21 people from Kerala were recruited to IS a couple of years ago, almost half were converted from the Christian community.
The statement had prompted the National Commission for Minorities to seek a report from Kerala Police even as Kerala State Police Chief Loknath Behera dismissed the allegation.
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