THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, India (UCAN) -- Bishops in communist-ruled Kerala state have asked Catholics to fight atheism and materialism, particularly during Lent, but communists say the message is politically motivated.

The recent joint pastoral letter of the Kerala Catholic Bishops' Council was read out in some parishes on Feb. 10. Without naming the communist-led coalition that rules the southern state, the letter asks people to fight moves by "atheists" to misinterpret Church teachings.

The letter addressed to "priests, nuns and the faithful in Christ" is to be read and discussed in parishes of all 29 Kerala dioceses during Lent, the council's spokesperson, Father Stephen Alathara, told UCA News. Lent began on Ash Wednesday, which fell on Feb. 6 this year, and ends before Easter Sunday, which falls on March 23.

The Church has been at loggerheads with the communist-led coalition that came to power in 2006, charging the government's attempts to renew education and administrative policies are aimed at stifling the Church and controlling its institutions.

On the other hand, communist leaders including Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan have told public meetings that the Church's fears are baseless. They also say their party, like the Church, works for human rights, social equality and the people's welfare.

According to Father Alathara, the Kerala Catholic Bishops' Council decided at its last meeting, in early January, to issue the pastoral letter "to sensitize the Catholics about the challenges and realities that threaten" the Church.

The council consists of bishops belonging to the three rites in the Indian Catholic Church -- Latin, Syro-Malabar and Syro-Malankara. The latter two are Oriental Churches based in Kerala.

All three rites have asked their parishes "to initiate discussion on the topic at the parish level," Father Alathara said. The joint pastoral letter, in the local Malayalam language, makes clear the need to isolate people who work for a "paradise" without God. It identified three major challenges facing the Church in Kerala: atheism, consumerism and fanaticism.

The letter says some forces are trying to push God aside by promoting atheistic and materialistic agendas among the people, and Christians must fight these forces.

Capital-oriented globalization, markets without checks and ugly consumerism offer no consolation to the poor but only aggravate their suffering, the letter continues, maintaining that such tendencies denigrate human values and a values-based society. Christians are called to act according to the demands of their faith in such situations, the letter explains.

Communist leaders say the criticisms against them are unwarranted. The bishops' "anticommunist tirade is politically motivated," asserted P. Shanawas, a communist youth leader. It aims to regain eroding Christian support for the opposition Congress party, he charged.

Although Christians form only 19 percent of Kerala's 31.8 million people, their votes are decisive in certain electoral pockets.

"Bishops are free to comment on their choice. But criticism against the party and the government are unwarranted and baseless," Shanawas told UCA News. If the bishops were "sincere" they would join the party to fight fanatics who threaten religious freedom in India, he said.

Prakash Karat, general secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), which leads the ruling coalition in the state, said the Kerala bishops should "review their stand against the party."

"We are the only people who are protecting the interests of the (religious) minorities," Karat said during the opening of the party's state conference on Feb. 11 in Kottayam, a Christian stronghold.

However, Syro-Malabar Church spokesperson Father Paul Thelakkat told UCA News the bishops' letter was "very timely and relevant," dealing with three major challenges Catholics are facing.

It addresses the lack of values in society, which "affects all Christians and Marxists who have lost (their) love for the poor and austerity of life, and become a market-driven people entangled in corruption," he said.

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