Thiruvananthapuram/Kochi/Kottayam: Good Friday sermons were used by priests to deliver their political message in Kerala. In Ernakulam, Syro-Malabar Church Archbishop George Alencherry criticised the court verdicts at the service at St. Thomas Mount.
Judiciary-Alencherry, a Catholic Cardinal, said some courts make unjust judgments. Some judges may issue such verdicts for media favour, popularity or to achieve some achievements in this world. Or maybe judicial activism. The Apex Court itself has clarified that there should be no judicial activism.
It is pertinent to note that the relief Alencherry was looking for from the Apex Court in the controversial land deal proceedings from the Kakkanad Magistrate's Court did not fructify. The Cardinal was asked to face the trial in the transfer and sale of properties of the Ernakulam-Angamaly Archdiocese. The Supreme Court which refused to quash the criminal case proceedings also passed strictures on the High Court Orders on certain aspects including the directions issued to the State to 'survey religious encroachments'.
Vizhinjam-In Thiruvanthapuram, Archbishop Thomas J. Neto of the Latin Archdiocese, criticised the State government for evicting the poor and voiceless in the guise of development. Neto also criticised the new economic policies as he blamed it to be making the poor poorer and the rich richer.
On Vizhinjam imbroglio, the Archbishop said the government was trying to suppress the people's movement. Fishermen have been forced to live in godowns. The government is trying to suppress the protests. He charged that the socially weaker section of the society are being displaced to facilitate the monopoly interests. Neto's criticism came as the public have been protesting against the construction of Vizhinjam Port, an Adani group venture.
Mughal history removal-In Kottayam, Changanassery Archdiocese auxiliary Bishop Thomas Tharayil criticised the central government. Tharayil's criticism was related to the omission of chapters on the Mughal dynasty history from the class 12 syllabus by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT). He accused that the history textbooks of being altered. People are being misled by exploitative forces. We are living in an era where a post-truth world order is being established through false propaganda, he charged.
