Thrissur archdiocese warns against ‘attempts to malign Church’ amid nurses’ agitation

The Thrissur archdiocese on Sunday accused “vested interests” of attempting to tarnish the image of the Catholic Church and its institutions by using the ongoing nurses’ agitation as a pretext, and warned that the Church would resist what it described as a concerted campaign against its hospitals and leadership.

Addressing a protest meeting organised by the archdiocese at the Thrissur Town Hall on Sunday, Kanjirappally Bishop Mar Jose Pulickal said the Catholic Church recognised the “destructive forces” working behind the agitation to weaken the Church by placing nurses at the forefront of the campaign.

He alleged that attempts were being made to create unrest at the Jubilee Mission Medical College and Research Institute and Amala Institute of Medical Sciences, two of the State’s leading medical college hospitals, to protect the interests of “commercial players” in the health-care sector. The Church would remain united in defending its institutions against such attempts, he said.

Tracing the Church’s long tradition of health care, Bishop Pulickal said Christians had been engaged in caring for the sick since the first century, long before governments entered organised health care. He asserted that the Church would not allow its health-care institutions in Thrissur to be destabilised.

‘Forces of evil’

Thrissur Auxiliary Bishop Mar Tony Neelankavil, who presided over the meeting, said the managements of Jubilee and Amala hospitals had treated the protesting nurses with compassion from the very beginning. He alleged that the “script” for the agitation was being written elsewhere and vowed that the archdiocese would use all available means to counter what it termed “forces of evil” targeting the Church.

He appealed to the faithful to remain vigilant against those who, he alleged, were insulting the archdiocese and its archbishop and attempting to mislead the community. The Church’s charitable and health-care activities would continue uninterrupted, he added.

Rajeev Kochuparambil, global president of the Catholic Congress, said the participation of around 10,000 faithful from various parishes in the archdiocese reflected the community’s anguish over what it viewed as attacks on its dignity.

Jubilee hospital director Fr. Renny Mundankurian, Amala hospital director Fr. Julius Arackal and pastoral council secretary Joshy Vadakkan were among those who addressed the gathering.