THIRUVANANTHAPURAM (UCAN): Father Jacob Palackapilly, the deputy secretary-general of the Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council, in India, admonished priests to adhere to all government protocols and restrictions to join the efforts to contain the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2).
“We have already issued guidelines and alerted our priests against such violations as it would send wrong messages to the society,” he said reacting to the police arresting Father George Palamattam, of a parish church in Irinjalakkuda, along with 23 parishioners after they participated in a Eucharistic celebration on May 31. They were celebrating the first Holy Communion of three children, but disregarded a ban on gatherings and all public religious celebrations.
The violation was the latest in a series of such incidents in which Christians were accused of breaking lockdown rules and protocols meant to check the spread of Covid-19.
Father Palackapilly said that while many priests and nuns are risking their lives to help people in the pandemic, they should refrain from practices that violate government norms.
The parish priest, Father Palamattam, reportedly gave in to some parishioners who insisted on having a Mass for some visiting migrant relatives before they returned abroad
The second wave of Covid-19 began to hit Kerala hard in April and the government imposed a lockdown banning all gatherings and permitting fewer than 15 people for burials on May 8.
Daily new cases in the southern state peaked at more than 35,000 in mid-May and it continues to report some 20,000 new cases daily.
Police charged those arrested on May 31 under the Kerala Epidemic Disease Ordinance, 2020. They were later released on bail as the charges do not require them to be presented in court.
The parish priest, Father Palamattam, reportedly gave in to some parishioners who insisted on having a Mass for some visiting migrant relatives before they returned abroad.
Father Palackapilly said such incidents are isolated “but no doubt are scandals to the Christian community.”
Riju Kanjookaran, a Catholic leader based in Kerala, cautioned Catholics not to press priests to hold religious gatherings which violate government directives.
“People also should understand such gatherings could become fatal as many people are dying as the death rates are higher in the second wave,” Kanjookaran said on June 2.
In a similar incident, police registered a case on May 5 against Bishop Dharmaraj Rasalam of the Church of South India, along with close to 400 priests for violating restrictions and organising a retreat in a hill station.
The news of the April 13 to 17 retreat hit headlines after two priests who attended died from Covid-19 and several other participants were infected. Two more priests died later in the month.
The deaths followed a police probe which established the gathering violated Covid-19 protocols. A case was registered against the organisers.
In April 2020, Augustine Palayil and six others were arrested for conducting prayers defying Covid-19 protocols when they celebrated a Mass in Ernakulam district. Similarly, in March 2020, police arrested Father Pauly Padayatti for celebrating Mass with some 100 people, in the same district.
Police also arrested seven people, including two Catholic priests and three nuns, after they celebrated Sunday Mass, defying prohibitory orders in the Wayanad district.
