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100 priests test Covid-19 positive, 2 die after church event in Kerala’s Munnar
Church insiders said all norms were flouted during the event held from April 13 to 17 and more than 350 priests and others participated in the annual retreat organised by the CSI Christ Church in Munnar. They said some young priests had questioned the timing of the meet but they were threatened with disciplinary action by church authorities.
The Kerala police have started probing a religious retreat conducted in Munnar in Idukki district last month that flouted Covid-19 norms which reportedly led to the death of two priests last week and 100-odd participants testing positive for the infection.
Among the infected is Church of South India (CSI) Bishop Father Dharmaraj Rasalam. Two priests who attended the retreat Father Bijumon (52) and Rev Shine B Raj (43) died last week after contracting Covid-19. When contacted the CSI authorities refused to comment but reformist groups in the church confirmed it.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has termed the incident “unfortunate” and said he had directed district authorities to conduction an investigation. “When the situation is grave such an event should not have taken place,” he said.
There are reports in the local media that more than 40 priests are undergoing treatment at the CSI Medical College Hospital in Karakoram near the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border. When contacted hospital authorities refused to comment. Hectic efforts are on to hush up the incident.
“Permission was not sought from district authorities for the event. We are inquiring into the incident which was conducted discreetly. We will take strict action against the resort and organisers of the event,” said Idukki district collector H Dinesh.
Church insiders said all norms were flouted during the event held from April 13 to 17 and more than 350 priests and others participated in the annual retreat organised by the CSI Christ Church in Munnar. They said some young priests had questioned the timing of the meet but they were threatened with disciplinary action by church authorities.
“The retreat was held without permission. Even if permission was there, more than 50 people are not allowed in the present pandemic situation. But all norms were flouted. We alerted some top officials about this but no action was taken,” said a member of the Joint Christian Council, a reformist group, Jacob Mathew.
A spokesperson of the church later denied these reports saying it was an attempt to malign the church involved in many humanitarian and charity activities during the pandemic. But he admitted two priests died recently due to Covid-19 but insisted that their deaths were nothing to do with the annual conference.
