Catholic church in Kerala unhappy over government activities on Sundays

The Kerala Catholic Bishops Council said that educational institutions under the Church need not follow the government’s directive to function on Sunday

Displeased with the Kerala government over organising events on Sundays—day of sabbath for Christians—the Catholic Church has decided to defy the directive to educational institutions about organising an anti-narcotic awareness programme on Sunday, October 2.

The Kerala Catholic Bishops Council (KCBC) said in a statement that educational institutions under the Church need not follow the government’s directive to function on Sunday. It said that students, teachers and parents from the community needed to get involved in religious matters on that day.

Moreover, according to KCBC, a religious studies exam was also scheduled for this Sunday. Thus, anti-narcotic awareness programmes at educational institutions under the Church will be conducted on another day, the statement said.

KCBC officials said that their “displeasure over conducting government programmes” and other major events on Sundays was conveyed to the government. Activities such file clearance drives at government offices on Sundays were also not going down well with the community members.

In view of the alarming increase in substance abuse among students, the Kerala government decided to launch a major anti-narcotic campaign on Gandhi Jayanti, which falls on a Sunday this year.