THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, India (UCAN) -- The Church in Kerala state, southern India, is in turmoil after a communist leader uttered "indecent" comments against a Catholic bishop.

The Kerala Catholic Bishop's Council (KCBC) and heads of all three Catholic rites in the state have demanded communist leader Pinarayi Vijayan apologize for hurling "condemnable" words at Bishop Paul Chittilappilly of Thamarassery.

While addressing a meeting on Oct. 13, Vijayan reportedly described the bishop as a "despicable" man who spreads "lies" about Mathai Chacko, a Catholic-born communist leader who died last year.

On Sept. 8, Bishop Chittilappilly told a rally his diocese organized to protest "anti-Christian" moves by the state government that Chacko received the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick before dying. The prelate said he had instructed a priest to anoint Chacko in a hospital in Kochi, 2,965 kilometers south of New Delhi. Chacko, who lived in a parish of Thamarassery diocese, north of Kochi, died of leukemia on Oct. 13, 2006.

At a public meeting to mark Chacko's first death anniversary, Vijayan, state secretary for the Communist Party of India (Marxist), criticized the bishop for leading a "misinformation campaign" that disgraced Chacko.

Media interpreted those comments in Kerala's Malayalam language as branding the bishop a drunkard who has problems remembering his words. Vijayan also called the bishop a nikrishta (despicable) person who works as an "agent" of the opposition Congress party. Communists head the state government.

Vijayan asserted that Chacko remained a committed communist until death, and "we will not allow attempts to disgrace him in public."

A statement issued by the KCBC says Vijayan's "condemnable" remarks hurt Catholics in the state. Bishop George Punnakottil of Kothamangalam, KCBC's president, told UCA News on Oct. 14 that Vijayan was trying to "tarnish" Church leaders and its image. The statement warns that the Church takes "seriously" the attack on its institutions by communists and their allied organizations, and the KCBC will organize protests if the attacks continue.

The Church and communists in Kerala have been at odds since the communist-led coalition government took power in July 2006. Church people say government policies try to curtail minority rights and take over Christian institutions.

Vijayan told UCA News he has always respected Church leaders and merely criticized an attempt to tarnish Chacko's image. He alleged that opposition parties have used a "section of the Church" to attack the government.

Cardinal Varkey Vithayathil, major archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Church, told UCA News Vijayan's comments were "uncivilized and objectionable."

Major Archbishop Cleemis Mar Baselios of the Syro-Malankara Church, the other Oriental Catholic rite based in Kerala, and Archbishop Daniel Acharuparambil of Verapoly, who heads the Latin-rite Church in Kerala, voiced similar sentiments. The three rites make up the Indian Catholic Church.

Bishop Chittilappilly recalled that when he visited Chacko in the hospital, prayed for him and gave him a rosary, Chacko did not object. The bishop told UCA News: "I asked his relatives if he would like to receive the sacraments. They told me they would inform me if needed. A relative later telephoned me when Chacko became critical, so I requested Father Jose Kottayil," a Kochi-based priest, to administer the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick.

Father Kottayil told UCA News that when he administered the sacrament three weeks before Chacko died, the critically ill man was "unconscious" in the intensive care unit. Only a doctor and a nurse witnessed the rite, he said.

Chacko's widow Mary told UCA News the controversy has "pained" her. She said the bishop visited Chacko and prayed, and when the prelate offered the rosary, Chacko "asked me to receive it." Chacko slipped into a coma soon after and she insists he never received the Anointing of the Sick.

Chacko's elder brother, Thomas, told UCA News he has sent a legal notice to Bishop Chittilappilly for defaming his late brother.

Like others, Alex Paul, a Catholic friend of Chacko, says the Church and the communists are "wasting energy" on a trivial matter. The mutual condemnations "amount to nonsense," Paul told UCA News. "First, the bishop should not have disclosed even if Chacko had received the sacrament," he said. "Second, Vijayan should not have commented on the bishop in an uncivilized way."

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