Abolish Practice of Confession in Churches; It Leads to Blackmailing of Women: NCW
The NCW has argued that the practice of confession in churches leads to the blackmailing of women, hence, should be abolished.
New Delhi, July 27: In the backdrop of a rape case against priests in Kerala, the National Commission of Women (NCW) has recommended the government to put an end to the practice of confessions in churches. The NCW has argued that the practice of confession in churches leads to the blackmailing of women, hence, should be abolished.
“The priests pressure women into telling their secrets and we have one such case in front of us, there must be many more such cases and what we have right now is just a tip of the iceberg,” NCW chairperson Rekha Sharma said. She further demanded a thorough investigation by a central agency into the increasing incidents of rape and sexual assaults in churches of Kerala.
Churches in Kerala came under criticism after a rape case was registered against five priests of Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church who have been accused of sexually exploiting a married woman who had come to confess. According to the complaint by victim's husband, the priest blackmailed and abused his wife.
In another incident, a nun, in a complaint to the Kottayam district police chief last month, alleged that Jalandhar Bishop Franco Mulakkal raped her and had unnatural sex with her multiple times at a small town near Kottayam between 2014 and 2016.
The NCW has constituted an inquiry committee to look into alleged sexual assaults against women in churches, and has sent its findings to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Union Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi and the DGP of Kerala and Punjab.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 27, 2018 08:18 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).