Thrissur Archbishop Mar Andrews Thazhath and the auxiliary bishop Tony Neelankavil, who led a protest gathering in Thrissur organized by the Thrissur Archdiocese of the Syro-Malabar against the “unfair arrest” of the nuns in Chhattisgarh. | Photo Credit: Kk Najeeb
Members of the Christian community, led by Thrissur Archdiocese (Syro-Malabar), went to the streets against the alleged unlawful arrest and detain two nuns in Chhattisgarh on Tuesday.
The protest meeting held in front of the corporation office was inaugurated with Mar Andrews Thazhath, the Archbishop of Thrissur and the President of the Indian Catholic Bishops’ Conference (CBCI).
The Archbishop dealt with the assembly and said that agitation would continue until the sister Vandan Francis and the sister of Preathi Mary were released. “You can’t keep the Indian Institute as a hostage. Christians have all the rights to live and serve in India. The imprisonment of nuns for offering jobs to girls with the consent of their parents is national damage,” he said.
The sign of discrimination
The Archbishop called the arrest of the unconstitutional and clear sign of the growing discrimination of Christians. “Christians have contributed extremely to building nations, especially in education and social rise. Is it their crime?” He asked and added that such arrests reflected systemic bias against the community.
According to reports, both nuns arranged a job for three young women who were at a legal age with full knowledge and approval of their families. The girls were reportedly accompanied by the railway station for the male relatives and the nuns first met them. The girls belonged to the church in northern India (CNI), and there was no evidence of trading, coercion or forced religious transformation. Yet fees for trading people and religious transformations were filed. “There was no attempt to transform, no pressure. When the deposit seemed to be possible, they added conversion to the company to further capture nuns,” said the Archbishop. “This is an obvious abuse of laws against conversion that violates the constitution itself,” he added.
Archbishop Thazath also condemned the depiction of Christianity as a “foreign religion”. He recalled the assembly that Christianity has been part of Indian land for centuries. “India is home to many religions. Christianity has benefited not as an outsider, but as a religion that deeply woven into the spiritual structure of the nation.”
The auxiliary bishop Mar Tony was also involved in protest and emphasized the role of priests and nuns in the transformation of marginalized communities, especially in the undeveloped regions of northern India. “Unfortunately, those who bring light to the lives of the poor are often considered threats,” he said.
Prayer
At the beginning of the day, the Puthanpally (Virgin of Dolours Basilica) kept by the administrator service kept a ceremonial prayer service led by Archbishop Thazhath. This was followed by a massive march to the corporation office. Hundreds of priests, nuns and laymen from the parishes of the Archdiocese, held labels, and sang slogans requiring justice and express concerns about growing hostility towards Christians in the country.
Congress and Federation of Youth All India also protested against the unjust arrest of nuns.
Published – 29 July 2025 20:44
