Confraternity members of Infant Jesus Church in Kochi, Kerala, get ready for a Good Friday procession on April 19. Some Kerala Christians have moved court for a new system to manage church property. (Photo: Christopher Joseph/ucanews)
Four Christians in India's Kerala state have petitioned the state's High Court to ensure transparent and participatory management of assets of all Christian denominations.
The petition claimed India's major religions, such as Hinduism, Islam and Sikhism, have separate and legally recognized bodies to manage their properties. But Christians have no such organization and cleric-led groups manage their assets."All citizens in the country are afforded equal protection by laws irrespective of religion, caste, creed or place of birth, but Christians have been discriminated," said the petition. It wanted the court to find a solution to end the discrimination.The court accepted the petition on Nov. 12 and sent it for the opinion of the state government, now run by a communist-led alliance of leftist parties."We have approached the court after our efforts failed to have a participatory system to manage Christian wealth," said Santhosh Thomas, the first petitioner and a leading lawyer. For the past two decades, a forum of Christian groups in Kerala has been demanding a state law to administer the properties and institutions of the Christian community, ensuring the participation of all stakeholders.Currently, each denomination independently manages its assets and institutions. Most denominations, including Catholics, have diocese-level systems to own and operate their assets. But lay leaders have been complaining about clerical misuse.While Muslims have the Waqf Board to manage their assets, Hindus and Sikhs have government-approved administrative boards to manage their temple assets.Thomas said laypeople worked hard to help the Church accumulate wealth but "they have no say whatsoever in the management of it." The petition said other religions have "effective control regarding administration and spending of money to avoid squandering of public money."