Bangalore, May 26: As part of the efforts to mount pressure on Archbishop of Bangalore Dr Bernard Moras demanding action against some of the priests of the Archdiocese for their alleged illegal activities and also for attempting to ``derail the ongoing investigation into the murder of Fr K J Thomas,” the Federation of Karnataka Catholics and Christians Associations held a candle light vigil in front of the Archbishop’s residence in Bangalore on Sunday.

Significantly, a large number of parishioners of Our Lady of Fathima Church, Jalahalli, in Bangalore,  participated in the candle light vigil held under the aegis of FKCCA.

FKCCA President T J Abraham and several leaders of the Federation of Konkani Catholic Associations, who took the lead role in organizing the candle light vigil, demanded ``early action against the priests who have been indulging in Anti-Catholic activities in the Church.”

The anti-corruption activist, who has been most vocal in criticizing the activities of the anti-Catholic priests and has already submitted memoranda to the Archbishop as well as the President of Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI) His Eminence Valerian Cardinal Gracias demanding excommunication of the anti-Catholic priests, alleged that he had information regarding the priests collecting ``more than Rs 25 lakh for the purpose of turning the witnesses in the murder case to turn hostile.”

Abraham demanded ``early action against the priests, especially Fr Selvaraj (Chesara), Fr A Thomas and Fr Bartholomew, who was a Rape case accused in Kunigal while being posted as a priest there.”

The parishioners of Our Lady of Fathima Church at Jalahalli in Bangalore, who took part in the candle light vigil, took strong exception to the posting of Fr Bartholomew to their church and claimed that they did not ``feel safe when a rape accused and unholy priest” is being posted to their Church.

The following is the text of the Memorandum to the Archbishop:

Sub: Memorandum for Suspension & Excommunication of Anti-Catholic Priests from our church.

We, the Catholics of the Archdiocese of Bangalore, wish to express our deep sense of regret and distress at having to submit this representation on some of the burning issues pertaining to the Archdiocese of Bangalore, especially the “un-Christian” activities of some of our own consecrated priests, along with some lay persons and sincerely request that the points raised by us after serious thought and deliberations be given serious consideration and acted upon immediately in the interests of maintaining the Unity, Dignity and Sanctity of the Church, as also to instill the faith and confidence in our faithful.

 

We have already brought the issue to your notice for action vide memorandum dated 12/04/2014 and it is within our knowledge and belief that your good self the Archbishop of Bangalore has not acted against the mentioned priests in the said memorandum till date, hence we are compelled to hold this candle light vigil today to draw your attention to the issue, which deserves to be taken up at the earliest in the interest of the Catholic church in Bangalore and Karnataka.   

1)   The immediate cause for submitting this representation is the fallout of the investigations by the Bangalore City Police in the gruesome and most brutal murder of a highly scholarly, erudite, peace-loving, well-respected and mild priest like Rev Fr K J Thomas, the Rector of the St Peter’s Pontifical Seminary, Bangalore, on the midnight of March 31-April 1, 2013, within the precincts of the Seminary itself.

 

2)   The ghastly murder of Fr K J Thomas, by the assailants and the ransacking of his room and other rooms in the Seminary by the attackers, and the inability of the police to crack the case and track the suspected murderers had shocked and saddened not only us but all peace-loving citizens in the city.

 

3)   A large number of organizations had organized candle-light vigils and other forms of protests, offered prayers and Holy Eucharist for the successful completion of the investigation. Some of the family members of the deceased Fr K J Thomas had even approached the Karnataka High Court by moving a Writ Petition seeking entrustment of the investigation to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

 

4)   We strongly suspect that some priests and other powerful persons in the Archdiocese and possibly in other Dioceses are either directly or indirectly involved in the ghastly murder of a highly respected and well-loved person like Fr K J Thomas, either to gain control of the Seminary or even gobble up of valuable property granted to the Archdiocese for establishing the Seminary, especially in view of the hard reality that an acre of land in the area is worth around Rs 5 to 10 crore and that the Seminary has several acres of underutilized land, even though portions of the land granted by the erstwhile Maharaja of Mysore had been alienated in favour of other religious congregation and even for the establishment of a high school for Girls.

 

5)   It was in these circumstances and almost a full year after the murder of Fr K J Thomas, the Karnataka Director General of Police and Bangalore City Police Commissioner and other top police officers announced at a widely publicized news conference on March 21, 2014, the arrest of three persons , including 2 priests – Fr William Patrick, Parish Priest of the Kengeri Church, and Fr Elias Daniel, belonging to the Order of Discalced Carmelites (OCD) - and a lay-person Peter, for the murder of Fr K J Thomas. The DGP, City Police Commissioner as well as the Joint Police Commissioner of Bangalore, who addressed the press, had disclosed that the investigation was ``incomplete” and a more startling revelation was that ``several more persons are likely to be arrested soon.”

 

6)   Though almost after a full year, the police claimed to have cracked the murder case and achieved a major breakthrough by arresting 3 persons, including 2 priests, with this the faithful as well as the clergy and religious brothers and sisters could heave a sigh of partial relief, with the assurance from the police that ``the investigation would be completed soon and more arrests would be made in the due course.”   But, we have been deeply pained, shocked and angered by the action of some of our own priests and laypersons, who had addressed a widely publicized news conference at the Bangalore Press Club on March 22, 2014, and made their outlandish and evidently unfounded claims in public, that the 3 arrested persons were ``totally innocent” and that they had been ``falsely implicated and even framed.” These priests went to the extent of claiming and blaming without producing any shred of evidence, that your grace, our beloved Archbishop of Bangalore, Most Rev Dr Bernard Moras, State Home Minister Hon’ble Sri K J George, and the former DCP Victor D’Souza, who had retired from service on February 28, 2014 of ``hatching a conspiracy” to pin the blame for the murder of Fr K J Thomas on the 3 ``innocent persons” to fix them.

 

7)   It is these priests, whose ring leaders are: Fr.Chalkere Chowrappa Selvaraj (Chasara), Parish Priest of St Joseph’s Church in Chamarajpet,   Fr A Thomas,  Parish Priest of Kristha Karunalaya Church Jaraganahalli, Kanakapura Road and also the Principal/trustee of Christ School, Marianapalya Road, Kaglipura, privately owned and run by his own Carmel Seva Sangam Trust, Mariapura and Fr S Bartholomew, Parish Priest of Parish Priest of Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Tumkur,  and Fathiraj (A Father of real children) who are main trouble-makers in the Archdiocese of Bangalore, for their own selfish reasons and ulterior motives of gaining positions for themselves or their supporters, including some of the silent and behind-the-scene kingpins, who are angling for key Ecclesiastical positions in the Archdiocese, who have been spearheading the Anti-Catholic trouble in our diocese. 

 

8)   In this connection, the above-mentioned priests and many others such as Fr.Arulappa L.,Manager & Correspondent St. Aloysius Educational Institutions, Sarvajna Nagara, (very unfortunately) Fr.Antappa-Archbishop's House, Fr.J. Sandyagu-Administrator:St Mary's Minor Basilica Church Shivajinagar, Bengaluru, Fr.Francis Xavier J-also from St.Mary’s Basillica, Fr. Balaraj J-Parish Priest, St. Pius X Church, St. Thomas Town Post, Fr. Balraj R-Parish Priest, St. Joseph's Church, Channapatna, Ramanagar Dist. Fr. Peter C-Asst. Administrator, Legal, Rent and Property, Archbishop's House, # 75, Millers Road and Fr. James Prabhu-Parish Priest, Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, Mariapura, Thattuguppe Post, who are part of the so-called self-style Kannada Catholicara Yajakara Balaga (Association of Kannada Catholic Priests), have been causing trouble in the Archdiocese since the last several years and 2 of the three arrested persons – Fr William Patrick, who is the Secretary of this Balaga or Association, and Fr Elias Daniel, key activist, with Fr A Thomas as the President and Fr Chalkere Chowrappa Selvaraj (Chasara),  who are behind the so-called agitation, pretending that it is meant for gaining primacy for the Kannada language in the liturgical celebrations, only to misguide people and shamelessly causing violent protests and law and order problems in several churches, including the Christ the King Church, Yeshwanthpur, which is adjoining the St Peter’s Pontifical Seminary, by going to the extent of pouring acid on the then Parish Priest, Fr Lawrence Noronha, obstructing Holy Eucharist at St John the Baptist Church, Vijayanagar, and physically assaulting and attacking  Fr.C.Jacob, a Kannadiga priest, while celebrating  the “Holy Mass” in Kannada, in the St.Mary’s Church at Hegde Nagar and several other churches over the past several years, especially and intentionally during the Holy Week Liturgical celebrations preceding Easter or Christmas celebrations. Will anyone fighting for the cause of Kannadigas attack Kannadiga Priests while celebrating a Mass in Kannada?

 

9)   These priests are also supported by some priests from outside the Bangalore Arch diocese, such as priests from Bellary and Mysore too. The details of these priests are being gathered to be furnished to your good self and the Karnataka State Police department also for appropriate action.

 

10)  We have authentic and credible information obtained from various sources regarding the so-called widespread fund collections carried out by these priests through several fraudulent means and organizations, which according to our reliable information, runs into several crores of rupees to finance and sustain their sectarian and selfish agenda.

 

11)  These people are creating an impression that the whole episode is against the Anti-Kannadiga attitude of the church authorities and aimed at fighting actions/moves that are intended to suppress the demands of Kannada speaking Catholics in Karnataka.    This is absolutely false and fabricated,  only to misguide and fool the Kannada speaking Catholics’ in Karnataka and make Catholics in Karnataka feel frustrated and disgusted with the Catholic Church itself.   We have reliably learnt that it is a conspiracy to intentionally create an unhealthy atmosphere in the Catholic Church, AND to also to divert the attention away from the actual issue only to save the culprits in the murder case.

 

12)  We also have documentary evidences of police complaints regarding the some of the shameful & unlawful activities, violent incidents and other illegal activities involving most of these priests in different police stations, which would be furnished in due course.

 

We humbly hope and have no objection in these Catholic priests, if they want to form any associations for their private/personal purposes, do so after they first voluntarily relinquish their priesthood (give up the holy dress/attire they are wearing) before behaving in a manner unbecoming of any Catholic Priest.

 

In view of all these points and facts that we have mentioned above, we strongly feel that the arrested priests as well as their main supporters, especially the ring leaders and the others whose names are mentioned above, must be Excommunicated from the Catholic Church, under the provisions of the Canon Law forthwith, as they are guilty of willfully violating and deliberately flouting their solemn religious vows of obedience and loyalty to the Ecclesial superiors.

 

In addition to the points and facts mentioned above, some of the above-mentioned priests are guilty of violating the Sixth and Ninth Commandments that forbid killing or bearing false witness, which are consequently sufficient grounds for their automatic excommunication.

We assure you that we shall be furnishing more details about the activities and additional grounds in support of our demands, for seeking the Excommunication of the Priests, at the earliest.”