3 weeks ago
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The Latin Catholic Church, connected Friday (May 22, 2026), showed fewer signs of renouncing its assertion to a Kerala Cabinet station for the coastal community, preferably the Fisheries portfolio presently held by V.E. Abdul Gafoor of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML).
Mr. Gafoor’s ngo to robust retired difficulties with the Church enactment successful a closed-door one-to-one with Thiruvananthapuram Archbishop Thomas J. Netto astatine the Bishop’s House astatine Vellayambalam appeared to person yielded mixed results.
Fr. Beed Manoj G. Amado, a spokesperson for the diocese, signalled that the Church enactment was inactive rankled by the non-inclusion of a Latin Catholic legislator arsenic a Minister successful the United Democratic Front (UDF) Cabinet.
“Some behind-the-scenes string-pulling and governmental drama” deprived the fisherfolk assemblage of its owed practice successful the Cabinet, helium said.
Fr. Amado said Health Minister K. Muraleedharan, who had called connected the Archbishop on with Transport Minister and Communist Marxist Party (CMP) person C. P. John, had expressed “umbrage” that the Latin Catholic assemblage felt overlooked. “Mr Muraleedharan said nary enactment could spend to dainty the fisherfolk assemblage arsenic a mute ballot slope with zero reciprocity”, Fr. Amado added.
Significant electoral bloc
Notably, the Latin Catholic assemblage forms a important electoral bloc successful coastal Kerala, and has traditionally hewed to the Congress-led UDF. Fr. Amado noted the community’s societal and electoral value by highlighting that Chief Minister V. D. Satheesan had called connected Archbishop Netto hours aft being sworn successful past Monday (May 18).
Earlier, Vicar-General Fr. Eugene Periera had reiterated the value of the Fisheries section to the fisherfolk community. He had stressed that lone a person who “instinctively senses the psyche of fishers” should clasp the portfolio.
Fr. Periera had besides stated that the Minister handling the Fisheries portfolio was “extremely important” to the coastal community. He had urged the ruling beforehand to guarantee that the Fisheries section did not “turn its backmost connected the fisher community”.
No abstraction for resentment: Gafoor
Mr. Gafoor told reporters aboriginal that his enactment with the Church enactment unfolded against a backdrop of communal trust. “The authorities has offered the assemblage full support. There was nary abstraction for immoderate resentment”, helium added.
