The Hindu : Front Page : Church leaders to put up joint fight

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Friday, Jul 07, 2006

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Church leaders to put up joint fight

Staff Reporter

They say professional colleges Act an attempt to take away minority rights

CHANGANASSERY: The heads of various Christian congregations who met here on Thursday under the aegis of the Inter Church Council for Education have decided to put up a joint fight against the provisions of the Kerala Professional Colleges (Prohibition of Capitation Fee, Regulation of Admission, Fixation of non-Exploitative Fee and other Measures to Ensure Equity and Excellence in Professional Education) Act, which according to them has taken away the Constitutional rights accorded to the minorities.

In a release, Council joint secretary Fr. Philip Nelpuraparambil said the Act was yet another attempt to take away minority rights. Minority rights are a basic component of democracy. They provide for securing the religious, moral and cultural identity of the minorities under majority rule. The rights also provide for starting and running educational institutions for the purpose. Special safeguards are provided in the Constitution to protect the rights from attempts on the part of successive Governments to usurp them, he said. The institutions run by the community not only catered to the needs of the Christian community alone, but also people from other communities. It is this cooperation that is the basis of communal harmony, it said.

Bishop Thomas Samuel, head of the Madhya Kerala diocese of the Church of South India, told The Hindu that the meeting had decided to take legal recourse to their grievances and also send a team of senior Church leaders to New Delhi to meet the President, the Prime Minister and Ministerial authorities concerned to impress upon them the gravity of the situation. It was also decided to launch an awareness campaign among the members of the community on the importance of the issue. As part of the campaign, pastoral letters will be read out during the Sunday prayers, he said. Those who participated in Thursday's meeting included Philipose Mar Chrysostum Mar Thoma Metropolitan, Council chairman Archbishop Mar Joseph Powathil, Orthodox Church synod secretary Thomas Mar Athanasius, CSI Madhya Kerala diocese head Bishop Thomas Samuel, Archbishop Isaac Mar Clemis of Syro-Malankara Church, and Bishops Geevarghese Mar Coorilos, Paulose Mar Milithios, Paulose Mar Pakomios, Stanly Roman, Andrews Thazhath and Joseph Perumthottam.

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