Church would not bow to pressure: KCBC

Thrissur (India), 28 May 2013: The Kerala Catholic Bishops' Council (KCBC), in India, has said that it would not bow to any 'undue pressure' from any quarter in the fields of education and health care. It said that the state’s development model, mainly in these sectors, is globally acclaimed.

“The Kerala model of development is acclaimed nationally and internationally mainly for achievements in health care and education in which the Church and tributary organizations have played pivotal roles,” said Archbishop Mar Andrews Thazhath of Thrissur. According to UCA News, the prelate, who is also the KCBC President, said that if anybody or any organizations wish it to withdraw from these sectors, “it would be very difficult to budge to them.”

He was speaking at the valedictory of the 40^th anniversary of Catholic Union Kerala Catholic Youth Movement in Thrissur. He said the faction feud in the ruling United Democratic Front had transgressed its tolerance limit and caused a stumbling block to governance. The archbishop described totally baseless the criticism that Church-run educational institutions have co-modified the education sector, saying it had not commercialized education.

He also flayed the tendency of communalizing every issue in in the state. "Everything in the state is given a communal hue. Groupism and communalism have raised their ugly heads in every situation. Race and religion are being taken into consideration for everything and the Church was totally against it," he said. Source: UCAN