Kerala: Church Bodies And Clergy Fight Govt Attempt To Regulate Churches, Avoid Transparency Debate

A draft bill that proposes to bring transparency in the administration of churches in Kerala, particularly related to land and other financial dealings, seems to be heading to meet the fate of a similar draft prepared in 2009.

On 27 February this year, the Law Reforms Commission of Kerala put up on its website a draft of Kerala Church (Properties and Institutions) Bill, 2019, seeking comments and suggestions from stakeholders.

The Law Reforms Commission of Kerala, an autonomous body, came up with the draft on its own. According to Justice K T Thomas, who retired as Supreme Court Judge and heads the five-member panel, a law was required to regulate church properties and funds. Justice Thomas made it clear that the Kerala Government had no role in drafting the Bill and added that the objective was to bring in transparency in administration of church assets and properties.

The draft Bill has led to a hue and cry being raised by a section of Christians in the State, though another section demands implementation of such a law. The Joint Christian Council (JCC), a body of progressive Christian organisations, has demanded a more stringent law based on the shelved 2009 Bill.

Speaking at a rally in Thrissur on 2 March, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said his government had no plans to introduce the Bill in the State Assembly. The Kerala Chief Minister saw this as a conspiracy of “rumours being spread” to alienate his ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) from the Christians. His opponents allege that Vijayan made the statement after being assured of the community’s support to his party in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections.

In 2009, too, when a draft bill was put up by the commission, then headed by eminent judge Justice V R Krishna Iyer, it was the LDF that was in power.

What is the Kerala Church (Properties and Institutions) Bill, 2019? Why has it raised the hackles of many in the Christian community?

One of the reasons why the Law Reforms Commission of Kerala came up with the draft was a scandal that broke out last year in the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church in the State.

Cardinal George Alencherry of the church was alleged to have approved the sale of a land in Ernakulam-Angamaly archdiocese at a value much lower than the market price. Justice Thomas has also referred to this as a reason for the draft bill.

While upholding the rights of churches, including Jehovah Witness, to own properties, the proposed Bill says that each church will make regulations for its governance that includes rules for parishes within its purview. It gives churches the right to rent out their properties too.

These churches should keep accounts of all their properties and funds, including expenses, and all accounts would be subject to an audit by a qualified chartered accountant or a team of such chartered accountants. The chartered accountants will be selected by the respective churches.

The chartered accountant or the team of chartered accountants should prepare an audit report and file it with an office or an authorised officer to be appointed by the State Government. The audit report should also be presented before a selected committee of representatives of the church either at its annual general meeting or a special one convened for the purpose.

The important feature of the bill is that the State government will set up a church tribunal that can either be manned by a single person or three members. If the tribunal has only one member, then he/she should necessarily have been a district judge. In case the tribunal has more than one member, the presiding officer should have held a district judge post, while the others should be ones who can qualify to be appointed as district judge or who would have held a secretary post to the government.

The tribunal can take up any complaint filed by any member of a church on dispute relating to land or properties or funds if he/she is unhappy with the way the initial complaint is handled by the church. Any undecided complaint can also be taken by the tribunal, whose decision shall be final.

This is only a milder version of the The Kerala Christian Church Properties and Institutions Trust Bill, 2009 prepared by the Law Reforms Commission under Justice V R Krishna Iyer.

The 2009 Bill proposed a three-tier administration of church properties through trusts - at parish, diocese and state levels. A problem then was that the bill was seen as interfering with the religious affairs of the church.

The draft bill then did not have any proposal for a tribunal. Instead, it suggested the appointment of a church commissioner, who would be of the rank of a secretary to the government. It also called for preparation of budget for churches.

The St John The Baptist Church at Kumarakom in Kottayam district - part of the Malankara Jacobite Syrian Church - has suggested incorporation of some clauses from the 2009 Bill. It has also sent a memorandum to Kerala Chief Minister in this regard.

The Joint Council of Church feels that the draft Bill only wants to audit records of every financial transaction by the church and suggests the setting up of a tribunal to look at various disputes.

The council’s general secretary George Joseph told media last week that the current rules governing churches, especially Catholic ones, were framed by the church authorities themselves. He said members of parish committees should also have a role in church administration since there is lack of accountability in current regulations.

Opposing the bill are the Kerala Catholic Bishops Conference, the Inter Church Council and Kerala Catholic Youth Movement. The Inter Church Council is headed by Alencherry, who allegedly committed irregularities in land sale leading to the draft bill, and it has come up with various demands for Christians in Kerala, including free hand in running educational institutions and reservation for Dalit Christians.

The Kerala Catholic Youth Movement has announced protests in 32 dioceses. As for the Kerala Catholic Bishops Conference, it is the one that went all out to protect Bishop Franco Mulakkal of the Jalandhar Roman Catholic diocese when a nun alleged that he had sexually assaulted her at a convent near Kottayam multiple times.

The LDF is already caught in the controversy over trying to force entry of women at Sabarimala Ayyappa temple following a Supreme Court ruling that allowed women of all ages to worship there. The ruling was against the current practice of not allowing women of reproductive age inside the temple.

With such a controversy dogging the Vijayan government, the State wouldn’t want to court another controversy while preparing for the Lok Sabha elections due soon.

The LDF Government never fails to assert its rights to interfere in the affairs of Hindu temples through the Devaswom Board headed by members of the Communist Party of India-Marxist, who are sworn atheists. But when it comes to the minority religions, which make up nearly 45 per cent of the electorate in Kerala, the government doesn’t hesitate to bend over backwards to appease them.

In such a situation, it is safe to assume that the draft bill to regulate churches in Kerala will be put in the cold storage for now.