Dead men tell no tales. But a deceased CPI-M member has sparked off a major row in Kerala between the party and the Church.
NEW DELHI: Dead men tell no tales. But a deceased CPI-M member has sparked off a major row in Kerala between the party and the Church. The debate is whether a communist can be a “believer” in God or not.
After CPI-M state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan called Bishop Paul Chittilappilly, who claimed party MLA Mathai Chacko received the last sacrament on death bed, a liar, the Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI) has threatened to take up the matter with the CPI-M politburo.
This has compelled party general secretary Prakash Karat to send politburo member S Ramachandra Pillai to Kerala to study the situation and report back to him. The latest Church-CPI-M spat comes close on the heels of the Marxist-led government’s alleged bid to control Church-run educational institutions in Kerala last year. The powerful Catholic Church runs roughly 40 per cent of educational/ health institutions in the state.
What irked the comrades was the claim of Chittilappilly, Bishop of the Thamarasseri diocese in northern Kerala, that Chacko was administered the last sacrament before he died of cancer a few months ago. The young MLA was in hospital for about 15 days before he breathed his last. The last sacrament is given to dying believers.
The Marxists, who are not supposed to believe in God, were furious at the Bishop’s claim and Vijayan hit back calling Chittilappilly a “liar” and proclaiming him a “wretched creature who is trying to help the Congress-led opposition”.
“CBCI takes strong objection to this kind of public display of uncivility. We hope the tension created by this kind of hostility towards the Church is defused. If the matter does not end here, we would be forced to take it up at a higher level,” said spokesman Father Babu Joseph. The Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Conference has demanded Vijayan’s apology.
But the CPI(M) brass has hit back, saying Chacko was a true communist and did not believe in God, Christianity or otherwise. Chacko’s wife also denied her husband having received the last sacrament, though she admitted a priest had come to the hospital. The bishops stuck to their guns, saying doctors and nurses were witness when the prayer was said. The Church also produced a document to buttress the point that Chacko was a believer and that his marriage was solemnised for a second time in a church.
Now, the comrades say Chacko’s signature in the Church marriage records may be forged. Church sources counter it is possible that being from a communist family, Chacko may not have signed the register himself and that some relatives may have signed it on his behalf.
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