An intoxicated Christian priest and a few young men consuming alcohol and allegedly drugs were caught by locals and handed over to the police near Palluruthy in Kochi, Kerala. Since the situation soon deteriorated, police interfered and took the inebriated Christian Father and disciples into preventive custody. Fr. Augustine Nellickavely who runs the Latin Christian Fathima Matha Church, Palluruthy, and some allegedly known local goons were taken into protective custody.
Trouble began after the vicar failed to appear for Sunday Mass on Sunday. At 7:30 in the morning, the faithful reached the church, but the vicar said he was not feeling well and skipped the mass. He also refused to attend another ceremony in the same parish. The door of the residence allotted to him near the church also remained bolted from the inside.
His behavior raised doubts among the believers and some entered the building. Suspicious locals then found Nellickavely lying naked on the church floor drunk with three young men. They then informed the local police. Kannamali police reached the spot and shifted the vicar and the youth to the police station.
Locals also found shattered bottles of alcohol, cigarette, and prohibited tobacco product packets inside Nellickavely’s residence. Though police took them into custody following public protests, they did not file a case against the intoxicated priest. There are allegations that authorities shifted Nellickavely to a private hospital for ‘treatment’ and skipped mandatory medical drug/alcohol tests.
Church authorities delayed action by claiming their Bishop is on a foreign tour. Locals claimed constant drug and alcohol-fuelled late-night parties happened at this church ever since Nellickavely took charge. The priest attracted young locals, allegedly indulged in drugs and the music and homosexual revelries ran late into the night.
Videos showed an irate crowd of Christian believers verbally abusing the padre and openly alleging marijuana use. Though the footage of the incident is widely circulating on social media, mainstream media refused to run the story.
This particular Latin church has a history of controversies. Earlier the “rain dance controversy” was reported from the same chapel. Television images of scantily-clad youngsters dancing the night away on a small island owned by the Kochi Diocese created a storm among believers. But what shocked viewers the most was the sight of a priest—”sent to keep the party in check”—enjoying his drink. Back then, Christian(secular) politicians soon brushed the issue under the carpet.
