
Irresponsible & misleading, Church slams CPM secy's remarks against Pamplany
In a statement, the Church said that the irresponsible and misleading remarks made by the CPM state secretary and others against archbishop Pamplany, the metropolitan of Thalassery and vicar of the major archbishop for the Ernakulam-Angamaly Archdiocese, were upsetting.
"The attempt by the CPM leaders to insult the bishop by raising out of context the issue regarding him thanking the Union home minister and the Prime Minister for the release of Catholic nuns imprisoned in Chhattisgarh is highly condemnable. Archbishop Pamplany merely reiterated the official stance of the Syro-Malabar Church, which expressed gratitude to the central and state govts, leaders of both the ruling and opposition parties, media and the public for their assistance in securing the nuns' release," the statement said.
However, a political party, for its own interests, unjustly attacked Pamplany with untimely statements through its various mechanisms. Subsequent reactions have shown that this was not just spontaneous statements.
"The Syro-Malabar Church does not have any special allegiance to any political party; its politics are based on its stance on issues. The Church is not hesitant to point out mistakes or acknowledge what is right.
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The statement added that no political outfits have space in the process of deciding whom or when to thank or criticise. However, the Church has always respected political movements and their eminent leaders as part of the democratic system.
The Church wishes that political leaders demonstrate the same democratic decorum in their statements and actions," it added.
Therefore, those involved should refrain from unjustly singling out and criticising archbishop Pamplany, and since enough has been said, this matter should be concluded promptly, the statement said.
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