A seminar related to issues and problems faced by churches is to be conducted at Kottayam on February 24 and it will be headed by Bishop Franco Mulakkal who will be conducting classes for the priests. The seminar is being organised by several church associations from Kerala for the priests of various dioceses. 

Speaking to TNM, the coordinator of the seminar Justin said that the seminar will be conducted against the backdrop of the issues faced by Christian institutions in the state. “The seminar is related to church issues, activities amidst others. We are holding a discussion together with Bishop Franco for one day. It is being organised by a group of organisations in Kerala.”

The seminar and discussions are going to be held at Kalathippadi Christian Retreat Centre of Kottayam, and is exclusively for priests — diocesan priests and religious priests, and not for general priests, missionaries or Christian believers, according to organisers. 

“The purpose of the seminar is simple — the church is going through a hard time, and it is facing many issues, including religious terrorism, communist activities, Islamic movements’ attacks, and the church is facing many problems even from the Kerala government. Against this backdrop, the meeting is being held to discuss how to handle all these issues,” Justin said. 

In addition, he said, “Christian youth in Kerala are facing job issues and there is no scope for them in the state. This aspect will also be discussed in the meeting.”

Franco Mulakkal, who is the Jalandhar diocese bishop, was recently acquitted in the rape case of a nun from Kerala. For more than three years, the nun from the Missionaries of Jesus convent in Kottayam’s Kuravilangad had been fighting a legal case against the bishop, accusing him of raping her 13 times between 2014 and 2016.