Fr. Ponnaiah is accused of outraging the religious sentiments of Hindus, who oppose the Christian claim that Christ is the only god and all other gods are false.
Newsroom (10/01/2022 1:06 PM, Gaudium Press) The High Court of Tamil Nadu state in southern India has ordered a Catholic priest to stand trial for allegedly hurting the religious sentiments of Hindus, and criticised Christian missionaries who claim that Jesus Christ is the one true God.
The court said that “offensive speech” by Fr. George Ponnaiah, vicar of Kuzhithurai Diocese, “encourages crimes” under various clauses of the Indian penal code. However, charges of him violating the provisions of the Epidemic Diseases Act by breaching lockdown rules due to Covid-19 were dropped.
Fr. Ponnaiah is accused of outraging the religious sentiments of Hindus, promoting enmity between different groups on the basis of religion and doing acts detrimental to the maintenance of harmony.
The presbyter allegedly committed the offence during a public gathering, at Arumanai, a village in Kanyakumari district, on July 18, 2021. The meeting was a protest against the continued closure of churches in the district due to the pandemic.
The video of the speech, which went viral, contained statements against various religious communities, government leaders and the pro-Hindu party.
Hindu groups reported to the police demanding immediate arrest of the priest. He was arrested on July 24 and a local court which remanded him in judicial custody and later released on bail.
Fr Ponnaiah has apologized, saying his intention was not to offend anyone. However, the police upheld the charges.
The Judge justified that those who are against conversion to Christianity do not consider Jesus a false god or a foreign god. In fact, they are fighting the claim that He is the only God and that all other gods and goddesses are false.
With ucanews information.
