Circular from Syro-Malabar church read out during Sunday mass

During the holy mass on Sunday, Syro-Malabar Church read out a circular in connection with the alleged incidents of Christian girls in Kerala and other states being trapped in love and recruited by terror outfit IS. In the circular, the Cardinal expressed concern over the growing incidents of inter-religious love affairs with intentions endangering communal harmony and peace in society.

Kochi:A circular from the Syro-Malabar Church on the alleged incidents of Christian girls in Kerala and other states being trapped in love and recruited by terror outfit IS was read out in many of its churches during the holy mass on Sunday, sources said here.

In the circular, the church head Cardinal George Alencherry urged the priests and laity of the Syro-Malabar Church to take serious note of Christian girls getting trapped in love and being killed in Kerala and other states.

The term 'Love Jihad' was not used in the circular. The Bishops of the Church had faced flak from a section of priests and laity after the Synod of the Church last week issued a statement saying that Love Jihad is a reality.

The statement alleged that scores of Christian women from the southern state were being lured into the trap of Islamic State and used in terror activities.

In the circular read out in churches, the Cardinal expressed concern over the growing incidents of inter-religious love affairs with intentions endangering communal harmony and peace in society.

"It is a fact that such planned moves targeting Christian girls are happening," the circular said adding that Christian girls were even recruited by the Islamic State terror organisation.

The church said it should be an 'eye-opener' for all the priests and its followers. Through the circular, the Cardinal urged the law enforcement agencies not to approach it as a religious issue but demanded speedy action against the culprits involved in such activities, treating it as a terror issue or a law and order issue.

He also called for efforts to sensitise parents and children to the danger of 'Love Jihad'.

Sources said many of the churches under Ernakulam-Angamaly Archdiocese did not read out the circular, as most of the priests in the diocese had differences of opinion over the recent statement of the Synod of the Church on the issue 'Love Jihad'.

A priest of the Ernakulam-Angamaly Archdiocese had publicly come out against the statement, saying it was not the right time to say something about 'Love Jihad' when the nation is allegedly polarised along religious lines.

The DYFI, youth wing of Kerala's ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist), slammed the Syro-Malabar Church over the issue, urging it to produce evidence of 'Love Jihad' in the state.

The youth wing alleged that the propaganda unleashed by the church against 'Love Jihad' would only help the Hindu outfit RSS.

Another Hindu outfit, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) had welcomed the church statement and called for a united fight against 'Love Jihad' in Kerala society.