Half a million Indian Catholics sign living conditions petition

By Joseph Tulloch

Around half a million Catholics in the south-western Indian state of Kerala have signed a petition calling for government action on living conditions.

The petition, reported on by UCA News, was organised by Catholic Congress, a Catholic lay association affiliated with Kerala’s Syro-Malabar Catholic Church.

Everyday struggles

The organisers of the petition, which is entitled "Survival Journey", want Kerala's state government – currently under the control of the majority-communist Left Democratic Front – to address issues which, they say, are making life difficult for ordinary people.

These include a failure to pay government pensions on time, provide adequate financial support to farmers, prevent wild animal attacks, and ensure adequate employment within the state.

“We handed a list of demands to improve the lives of the people, signed by half a million Catholics, to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan,” Biju Parayannilam, President of Catholic Congress, told UCA News.

“He was very concerned and assured to consider our demands.”

Catholic leaders, however, have voiced concerns, noting that, on the topic of wild animal attacks, the situation has gone “from bad to worse” since assurances were made by the state government.

The St Thomas Christians

Kerala, a thin strip of land on India’s south-west coast, has been home to a significant population of Christians since ancient times: the churches there trace their origins back to St Thomas the Apostle.

Today, Christians make up around 20% percent of the local population, which is majority Hindu. Many belong to the Syro-Malabar Church, a sui-juris Eastern Church in communion with Rome.

In recent elections, the Syro-Malabar Church’s Synod of Bishops appointed Raphael Thattil, formerly Bishop of Shamshabad, as its new head.