A Catholic Church Diocese from Kerala established religious courts to initiate proceedings against their priests. The strangest action of the Diocese of Thamarassery is to prosecute a priest who criticized the leadership. Controversial Christian priest Remigiose Inchananiyil, Syro-Malabar Catholic bishop of the Diocese of Thamarassery, issued the order to form a religious court.
Inchananiyil, in his early 60s, was born near Vettilappara, in Malappuram district. He has allegedly kept the eparchy of Thamarassery in his iron grip since early January 2010. It is believed that those priests who question the wrongdoings of the church are crushed mercilessly.
Thamarassery lies on the border between Kozhikode and Wayanad. Both Tamil Nadu and Karnataka are then accessible from Wayanad. The Christian land mafia has long had footprints in the region, but now Islamists, too, play a significant role in the area.
Earlier, a priest named Thomas (Aji) Puthiyaparambil (46) criticized the state’s Catholic Church leadership. Following this, the Diocese of Thamarassery took action against the priest. Puthiyaparambil incited the believers to riot against the bishop and questioned the decision of the Synod of the Syro-Malabar Church, charged the church.
Fr. Benny Mundanad is the presiding judge of this criminal trial court. Fr. James Kallingal and Fr. Anthony Varakil are Co-judges in this kangaroo court. Meanwhile, the accused priest responded to the incident.
Puthyaparampil said that a religious court is unheard of in Christian churches. He claimed he wanted to expose the corruption and decay within the church. He opposed the real estate transactions of the Church and bribery in various appointments. Puthyaparampil responded that the trial court was set up to oust him.
In July 2022, The Hindu reported that Inchananiyil suspended Puthiyaparambil. The church claimed Puthiyaparambil refused to take charge in a church designated to him, gave public speeches, and published scandalous social media posts. The report did not mention Puthiyaparambil’s version of the story.
By May 2023, Puthiyaparambil quit active parish duties, disgusted with what he says is the decay in his Catholic Church.
Fraudulent Real Estate Deals
Recent scandals involving the Syro-Malabar Church hierarchy, notably it’s head Cardinal George Alencherry, upset Puthiyapramabil. The cardinal faces legal proceedings after being accused of losing the archdiocese of Ernakulam-Angamaly several lakh rupees by selling Church property far less than market value.
“Moral turpitude and a lack of financial transparency are challenges for the church. Those bishops who are facing legal action are now openly participating in political alliances,” Puthiyaparambil alleged.
In August 2021, HinduPost reported how the Kerala High Court ordered that Syro-Malabar Catholic Church supremo Cardinal Mar George Alencherry and other senior church officials should face trial for massive misappropriation of funds and tax evasion in fraudulent real estate deals that were brought to light by members of the same church.
In April, Malayala Manorama, the local Vatican mouthpiece, reported that the ‘highest’ judicial authority in the Catholic Church had given a clean chit to Alencherry in the Ernakulam-Angamaly archdiocese land sale case. Strangely, the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura acquitted Cardinal Alencherry, claiming he did not benefit personally from the sale of properties.
Members of the church who revolted alleged that Alencherry’s cronies pocketed the money. Alencherry moved the Supreme Court requesting the quashing of cases related to the land sale, but the apex court had dismissed his plea.
Bishops Raping Nuns
The claims of sexual abuse cases against bishops and priests disgusted Puthiyapramabil equally. Bishops and priests, he claimed, “do not lead a humble life but follow a very luxurious lifestyle.” He expressed remorse over this. Did Franco Mulakkal, Keralite Catholic Bishop of the Jalandhar Diocese of the Roman Catholic Church, and the systematic oppression faced by the victims in the nun rape case affect Puthiyapramabil?
Catholic Church cronies proclaimed that Puthiyaparambil plans to leave their Christian outfit to join the Orthodox Church, where priests are allowed to marry. The priest denied the allegation and claimed that his choice was not hasty but rather the result of nearly two years of thought and consideration “after witnessing the moral and ethical degradation of the Syro-Malabar Church leadership.”
Remigiose Inchananiyil, Manipur & Secularism
Inchananiyil has been at the forefront of ‘protest marches’ over the Manipur violence. In July, Inchananiyil warned his cult followers in Kerala that if the Manipur violence was not condemned, the southern state could be the next target. His remarks came while supporting Congress MP M K Raghavan, who observed a hunger strike in Kozhikode to protest the ongoing ethnic violence in the northeastern state.
Bishop Inchananiyil said Raghavan’s protest was a symbol of secularism. “This protest offers brightness and hope,” he claimed. Incidentally, the same bishop only cries for the Christian communities. He should explain why the Meitei exodus continues while Kuki terrorists paralyze life in Manipur.
“If it is Manipur today, it could be Kerala tomorrow … the attacks in Manipur were scripted,” he added. “If we maintain silence and refuse to fight the communalism and attacks (in Manipur), then no one will be there to speak for us when we come under such an attack,” Bishop Inchananiyil warned on a Friday.
Many questioned whether Inchananiyil was trying to cover up for narco-terrorists. Could such statements incite violence in Kerala?
Vulnerable Western Ghats and Encroachments
Vast tracts of forest land in Wayanad have been usurped and encroached upon by greedy Christians and Islamists, causing great inconvenience to wildlife. Environmental disasters during the monsoons have risen rapidly in recent years. It is feared that the Western Ghats are flowing into the Arabian Sea.
In late 2022, Inchananiyil was the first to publicly oppose a satellite survey report of the environmentally sensitive Western Ghats. The bishop alleged a move to silently resettle the people of the hilly areas in the name of a buffer zone. He claimed that the buffer zone would not be allowed in his lifetime.
The next day, the Bishop announced at the Farmers’ Strike Declaration Convention that the farmers would fight unitedly if the right to live were denied. If needed, farmers who have watered the soil will also shed blood, he warned. Even after such blatant calls for violence, the communist regime failed to initiate action against Inchananiyil.
It was well documented that Islamists and the Church conducted Rahul Gandhi’s election campaign in Wayanad. Will the MP stand up for the affected Christian priest and oppose church-sponsored fascism?
