Good Friday row: Church bodies back Justice Kurian Joseph

Chief Justice of India H L Dattu had called a conference of the judges on Good Friday.

Kochi:  The Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council (KCBC) supported Supreme Court judge Justice Kurian Joseph, who had opposed the decision of holding a conference of judges on Good Friday.

Chief Justice of India H L Dattu had called a conference of the judges on Good Friday.

The KCBC is a common platform of Catholic Bishops in Kerala. Justice Joseph is a member Syro-Malabar Church, which is one of the three Catholic denominations in Kerala.

“By writing to the Prime Minister against holding judges’ conference on Good Friday, Justice Kurian Joseph has upheld the impartiality of the judiciary and secularism. It is not true to construe that Justice Joseph did not participate in the meeting on the ground that he is a Christian faithful and due to his personal inconvenience,” Fr Varghese Kallikkattu, KCBC secretary, said.

“When it comes to religious issues, we cannot say that the central government and the Prime Minister were adopting impartial stand. It was unfortunate that minority communities are facing discrimination. When such an approach is adopted towards the Christians, others would get a feeling that Christian celebrations and rituals are insignificant. Such an approach is an insult to the Christians,” said Fr Kallikkattu.

Another Church body, the Kerala Region of Latin Catholic Council (KRLCC), said conducting a judges’ conference on Good Fridayinfringed upon the minority rights.

It said the Christian community was “deeply hurt by the act of those at the supreme echelons of the judiciary, ignoring the secular values enshrined in the Constitution.”

Source: Indian Express