Despite facing criticism from different groups over the screening of the controversial film "The Kerala Story" within church premises, a division of the Kerala Catholic Bishop Council reaffirmed its decision on Tuesday to conduct awareness programmes aimed at addressing societal issues and protecting young people from potential negative influences.
Sudipto Sen-directed "The Kerala Story", which hit theatres last year, tells the story of a group of women from Kerala who were forced to convert to Islam and join terror outfit ISIS.
Without referring to the film, the Commission for Social Harmony and Vigilance, under the KCBC, came out with a statement, saying that terrorism and betrayals in the name of romantic relationships are reality of the time, and the Church used to give cautionary directives accepting this fact.
KCBC is the highest authority within the Catholic Church in the state.
The conspicuous moves by some vested interests, taking advantage of the loopholes and benefits of the law, have been exposed through that, the Commission said.
The justification of the Commission, under the apex church body, came a day after the screening of the controversial Bollywood film by the Idukki Diocese had triggered a widespread row in Kerala.
On Monday, the Idukki Diocese offered an explanation that the movie was exhibited to the teenagers as part of an intensive training programme to "create awareness about love relationships and their consequences and dangers."
The movie screened by public broadcaster Doordarshan last week, has drawn sharp reactions cutting across politics in Kerala since its release.
In a Facebook post, the Commission accused the authorities of doing nothing, even though it was pointed out several times about the girls being cheated and misusing the Special Marriage Act.
It also criticised the media for allegedly covering up facts in this regard.
"Under such circumstances when administrations continue to ignore such issues and the media conceal the facts, the Church comes up with awareness for the faithful. There is no need for anyone to get annoyed or misunderstand," the Commission added.
The church leadership and the dioceses would definitely go ahead with constant awareness drives against social evils to prevent youngsters from falling into any trap.
The reaction of the KCBC's Commission for Social Harmony and Vigilance comes amidst opposition of various political leaders, including Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to the screening of the controversial film by Idukki Diocese.
Addressing a press conference at Chavara in Kollam today, Vijayan alleged that the film was part of the RSS agenda to humiliate the state.
He said a "blatant lie" was being peddled and presented as a film to tarnish the image of the state.
Vijayan also alleged that the movie was made with a clear "political intention." Propagation of misinformation may also be a deliberate agenda, he said, without directly mentioning its screening by the church.
The Idukki Diocese had screened the movie last week for the children belonging to the Catholic community studying in classes 10, 11, and 12, and asked them to discuss the film and write a review about it.
After the Idukki diocese, the Kerala Catholic Youth Movement (KCYM) units associated with the Thalassery archdiocese and the Thamarassery diocese of the Syro-Malabar Church announced today that they would screen the movie.
The KCYM units of the two north Kerala dioceses said in separate Facebook posts that the film 'The Kerala Story' was not banned and congratulated the Idukki diocese for exhibiting it for its children studying in Classes 10, 11, and 12.
"The movie will be exhibited in all units of the KCYM in Thamarassery diocese," the organisation said in a Facebook post.
Amid criticism from the Congress and the CPI(M) against the national broadcaster Doordarshan for screening the Bollywood movie, the KCYM unit of the Thalassery archdiocese sought to know why they were scared.
"Dear politicians, why are you scared? Whom are you trying to appease?" asked the KCYM unit of Thalassery archdiocese, apparently taking a dig at the Congress and the CPI(M).
It also congratulated the Idukki diocese for screening the movie and announced that the film would be screened at various parts of the archdiocese.
Meanwhile, CPI (M) state secretary M V Govindan alleged that the movie was "anti-Muslim and "anti-communist".
However, he said the party was not of the view to ban it.
Congress leaders V D Satheesan and A K Antony said the movie was a trap laid by the Sangh Parivar and cautioned against falling into it while the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), a key partner in opposition UDF, said the church should screen the video of the ongoing violence in Manipur instead of The Kerala Story.
However, senior BJP leader Prakash Javadekar said the movie has a censor certificate and anyone can watch it.
