Kannur: Thalassery Archbishop Mar Joseph Pamplany on Sunday tried to douse the fire after his comments comparing political martyrs and apostles came in for sharp criticism.
While addressing the KCYM youth day celebration in Kannur on Saturday, the archbishop said most of the political martyrs are those who were killed for creating an unnecessary ruckus with people or those who slipped to their death from bridges while being chased by the police. He went on to say that apostolates were not like political martyrs.
His statement triggered a huge controversy as Kannur probably has the highest number of political martyrs.
Facing stiff opposition for his comments, Mar Pamplany said creating a controversy over his speech was unnecessary. He told Manorama News that the Church always respected martyrs.
Jayarajan hits out
The archbishop's delayed retraction came after he faced flak from political leaders including CPM's P Jayarajan who said the priest should not have insulted martyrs. “Recently many people were martyred in a riot in Manipur. People who belong to the Christian community sacrificed their lives in the riot and became martyrs. Even Chrisitan outfits have been claiming that the BJP government's anti-public policies resulted in the death of the people,” he added.
Jayarajan also expressed disappointment over the bishop's remark and noted that he has a habit of making such sensitive and controversial comments.
“While addressing a gathering, Archbishop Pamplany had declared that BJP will get a seat in Kerala if the centre increases rubber price to Rs 300 per kg. But Christians have unanimously denounced his remarks. So, I don't think we need to bother about the new statement too. People with critical thinking skills will definitely reject this statement too,” he said.
CPM leader E P Jayarajan questioned the archbishop for his comments. “Gandhiji was not martyred after falling from a bridge. Communalists like Godse killed Gandhiji when he was heading to attend a prayer meeting at Delhi's Birla Mandir on January 30, 1948,” he said.
