Report of
the Public Affairs Committee Meeting
Aug.17,17
A meeting of
the Public Affairs Committee meeting was held on Aug.17, 17 at Mt. St. Thomas
,Kakkanad from 10a.m-1pm .Nineteen members were present at the meeting .It was
inaugurated by the Major Archbishop.
Adv.Francis
Mangalath,Dr.Kurias Kumbalakushy ,Adv.Jogy Chirayil and Sri Sabu Jose gave short presentations on
different topics regarding the present socio-political situation of the
country. In his introductory observations, the Major Archbishop Mar George
Alencherry touched on the fast changing events in the country and pointed out
the need for the Church to be open to all the issues affecting the Church and
the country and to develop enough flexibility to respond to fast evolving
situations.
Adv.Francis
Mangalath gave a short overview of the political situation of the country and
pointed out the slow but firm tightening of the grip of the RSS on the social,
political and academic life of the country. He also observed that the country
is moving towards a fascist approach. Dr. Kurias Kumbalakuzhy observed that the
secular mind of the country is very strong and that people won’t tolerate the
abolition of this open secular spirit of the country. Adv. Jogy Chirayil
mentioned the existence of a strong anti-Christian bent on the part of some of the anchors of some TV channels even when they portray themselves as impartial. In the
social media too, there are people who exploit the media to give vent to their
virulent anti-Christian views. Sri Sabu Jose emphasized the need for the Church
to pay more attention to the marginalized sections of the society, especially
to the poor, the sick, the terminally
ill , transgenders and tribal
communities.
The participants
offered their observations and remedial measures in order that the Church may
function more effectively by responding effectively to the fast changing events
in the country. Sri P.C.Cyriac highlighted the need for the community to
develop new agriculture policies by moving away from the emphasis given to
rubber plantations and coconut farms. It was also pointed out by many
participants that the Church should stick to its core value systems and should
not be showing signs of wavering (Dr.Neena Joseph,Prof.Aniyankunju, Dr.Giji
Koottummel,Prof.Francis K.M.,Sri M.M.Antony and Mr K.V.Thomas also emphasized
this point ).
A few
expressed the need to take a firm
political stand(Sri E.Lazar,Sri Biju Parayannilam etc) with regard to the
issues facing the Church. Similarly it was pointed out that our institutions should
hold fast to our value systems and never should dilute them. Our people should
be made more aware of the values that we uphold. We should also develop a group
of people who are intellectually alert to respond to attacks against the Church
(Fr.M.Chandrankunnel,Sri V.V.Augustine,
Fr.Geo Kadavil, Fr.Scaria Urumpil) and should be capable of showing the hollowness of the arguments raised against
the Church.
Fr.George Madathiparampil
thanked all for their presence as well as for their active participation. He
also thanked the Cardinal for being present throughout the meeting, offering
clarifications and relevant observations.
