'We are nobody’s vote bank’: Latin Church to form panels to decide stance as polls near

Kochi: The Kerala Region Latin Catholic Council (KRLCC), the apex body of Latin Catholics in the state, has decided to form Political Affairs Committees (PACs) at the local level ahead of the upcoming local body elections. The decision was taken at the three-day 45th general assembly of the KRLCC held at Alpha Pastoral Centre, Edakochi.

The council has decided to chalk out a clear political stand to be adopted for the local body polls later this year and the assembly elections due next year. KRLCC leaders said that the church would be taking a local-specific issue-based stance in the local body elections, while also considering the virtues of the candidates.

“No political party should consider the Latin church as its fixed vote bank,” Bishop Dr Sebastian Thekkathecheril, a Vice President of KRLCC, told the media after the general assembly on Sunday. The Latin Catholics in Kerala are traditionally considered to align with the Congress.

The socio-political resolution passed by the general assembly has criticised the central and state governments for their “policies and projects that alienate fisherfolk and coastal people from the seas and their shores”. The church has decided to work in cooperation with other coastal communities in the wake of the repeated neglect faced by the coastal population from the authorities.

The Latin council has criticised the CPM-led state government on different issues, including the delay in resolving the land dispute at Munambam. Asked about the BJP promising a solution to the Munambam land dispute through the Waqf Amendment Act 2025, the church council said that “the hope was not over yet, but it was moving away.” The resolution passed by the council has placed the blame on the state government for not taking further action on the Justice C N Ramachandran Nair Commission report. The state government appointed the commission to study the land dispute between the residents of Munambam and the Waqf Board.

The church commission has also criticised the state government for not resolving the dangerous conditions at Muthalapozhi harbour mouth, allegedly caused by the development of the Vizhinjam international port.

The council also condemned the state government’s alleged attempts to invade the religious minorities’ right to run educational institutions and the liquor policy, which increases the availability of alcohol. “The government should reconsider the liquor policy, which makes liquor available in public places, including metro stations,” the council said.