Police have charged nine Catholic priests and a lay leader with unlawful assembly in southern India’s communist-ruled Kerala state, after the accused joined a protest seeking safety for people threatened by coastal erosion. “This is totally a false case and we cannot be silenced with it,” said Joseph Jude, vice-president of Kerala Region Latin Catholic Council. The lay leader was among those accused, along with the priests, of obstructing public movement through their unlawful assembly. He said the issue is of urgent concern as several thousand people, including fisher folks, mostly Catholics in the area, will be rendered homeless. “The state government, instead of ensuring the safety of the people, is trying to silence those who raise their voice for a public cause,” Jude told UCA News on June 23. Some 5,000 people, mostly Catholics, including over 150 priests of the Latin diocese of Kochi and Allappuzha, joined in the public rally in the coastal town of Chellanam in Ernakulam district on June 20. They allege the state government failed to protect around 500 homes from possible submergence in the Arabian Sea due to coastal erosion. Some families have already relocated to safer areas as the monsoon is intensifying. The sea wall in the area, spanning over 17 kilometres, was washed away in 2017 during Cyclone Ockhi.
“The government promised to rebuild it immediately, but completed work on only seven kilometres in 2023 and later discontinued the work,” a protest leader said. Sherry J. Thomas, president of the Kerala Latin Catholic Association, condemned the police action against the priests and the lay leader.
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