Leftist leaders try to mend fences with Church in Kerala

(March, 23,2011) Leaders of leftist parties in southern India’s Kerala State, have called on the heads of the Catholic Church to settle any possible differences ahead of the assembly State elections. State secretary of the Communist Party of India C. K. Chandrappan and state Revenue Minister K. P. Rajendran met Archbishop Mar Andrews Thazhath of Thrissur on Tuesday. Chandrppan later told newsmen that he had long-time relations with the archbishop and the meeting had no political intentions. He said his party was not against the “freedom of faith of individuals”.
In Kannur,Home Minister and senior member of the Marxist Communist Party of India, Kodiyeri Balakrishnan met Bishop Varghese Chakkalakkal. The prelate said the Church would not support or oppose any particular party or combination in elections, and members of the community were free to make their choice according to their conscience. Elections will be held in the state April 13. The communists had earlier strongly criticized the role of the clergy in influencing voters ahead of the local body polls last year in Kerala.
There were instances of Bishops issuing pastoral letters expressing concern over some of the policies of the Leftist government, which it feared ran contrary to the values for which the Church stood. However, the Left leaders had dismissed such misgivings, holding that the government’s policies were not loaded against any particular section.