Minorities’ panel against NCW’s suggestion to ban church confessions

NEWDELHI:The National Commission for Minorities (NCM) has opposed a recommendation made by the National Commission for Women (NCW) to ban the Christian practice of confessions, following two scandals in which priests allegedly blackmailed and raped women by using their confessions.

George Kurian, the minority commission’s vice-chairperson, who represents Christians on the panel, has written to the Prime Minister and the Union home minister, urging that no action be taken on the demand to proscribe confessions.

The women’s commission recommendation to ban Church confessions is part of its latest report, submitted to the home ministry. In it, the women’s panel cited a scandal in Kerala, where police have booked four priests of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church on July 2 on charges of raping and molesting a woman, by blackmailing her. The NCW also cited the case of the Bishop of Jalandhar, accused by a nun of raping her on several occasions, NCW chief Rekha Sharma told PTI. The nun had approached police on June 27.

“The women’s commission has made four recommendations as I understand. I have objected to and opposed only one, which is the recommendation to ban confessions,” said George Kurian, the vice-chairperson of the NCM.

Confessions are an integral part of the Christian faith, Kurian said.

“Banning them will directly violate the right to religion, a fundamental right of all citizens,” he said. In Christianity, confession before a priest is a sacramental act of admitting one’s sins.

The four recommendations of the women’s panel are a probe by a national agency into the Kerala case, abolishing confessions, time-bound filing of a chargesheet and aid to the victim.

Both the NCM and the NCW are statutory bodies. One safeguards minority rights, while the other is meant to protect women.

Kurian, who hails from Kerala, represents the Christian community in the minorities’ panel, which has six members, each representing the six religious minorities: Muslims, Christians, Parsis, Sikhs, Buddhists and Jains. He said in case priests were found guilty of any crime, “law should take its own course”.

THE RECOMMENDATIONS INCLUDE INVESTIGATION BY A NATIONAL AGENCY INTO THE KERALA CASE, BANNING CONFESSIONS, TIMEBOUND CHARGE SHEET, AND HELP PROVIDED TO THE VICTIM