Anti-Church CD: Kerala government washes hands

(March 12, 2009) The Kerala government says it never gave official clearance to an anti-Church short film CD that was distributed in schools in the state. Church leaders in Kerala have protested the CD, saying it portrays Church and Christian institutions in the state in bad light. The government has ordered an enquiry into the distribution of a short-film CD that portrays the church maligns Christian leaders in the Archdiocese of Thrissur. Kerala Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan said: “The government has no role in this incident. It is sad that the media has portrayed this incident as an anti-Church policy of the government. There is no truth in that.” He said Director of Public Instruction A. P. M. Mohammed Hanish has gathered evidence from various persons connected with the distribution of the CD containing a short film to be used as a teaching aid for Hindi lessons in class VII. Hanish is to submit a report to the chief minister on Thursday. The distribution of the CD at a cluster training meeting for teachers held at Kodakara village on February 28 became controversial when it was found that it contained two other short films in addition to ‘Save’ intended to be used as a teaching aid. Of the other two short films, one is said to show a Bishop in a poor light and the other, reportedly has explicit sexual content.