A Catholic bishop has reportedly regretted attending a marriage between a Catholic woman and a Muslim man inside a church.
“I attended the mixed marriage because of my close association with the bride’s family. However, I regret attending it,” says a letter from Emeritus Bishop Mathew Vaniakizhakkel of Satna.
The 74-year-old Vincentian prelate also regretted for creating confusion among the faithful with his presence at the mixed marriage, reports cnewslive.com, a Malayalam online paper.
The November 15 report also said the bishop’s “exemplary step” of regret has brought “great relief” to the traditional faithful in the archdiocese. Bishops normally do not attend mixed marriages, the report adds.
The report also says the marriage was conducted at the Kadavanthra parish church in Kochi under the Ernakulam-Angamaly archdiocese.
Only in special cases, the Church allows a Catholic to marry a member of another faith, who does not want to be baptized. However, such marriages are not considered sacrament even if conducted inside a church, the website explains. Only marriages between two Catholics are treated as sacrament.
The Church laws also stipulate that mixed marriages should be simple without gaiety if held inside a church.
Meanwhile, a group of progressive Catholics has welcomed the bishop’s gesture to attend a mixed marriage.
Shaiju Antony, convener of Archdiocesan Movement of Transparency, has supported the solemnization of the inter-religious marriage saying, “it is the right of a faithful.”
The Catholic lay leader, however, pointed out that many dioceses deny the provision to the faithful and added that such discrimination should not exist since mixed marriage is a universally accepted practice in the Catholic Church.
Antony also dismissed the allegation that the family of the girl had given 10 million rupees to the church to solemnize the marriage.
He released an audio conversation in Malayalam that he had with the bride’s father who said he had donated 10,000 rupees to the parish willingly, that too, after the marriage was solemnized.
Antony also said some vested interests were trying to create confusion against the Church among people spreading false allegations through social media platforms .
Bishop Vaniakizhakkel was appointed the second prelate of Satna in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh on December 23, 1999, and was ordained bishop on April 12, 2000.
He stepped down from his post on August 27, 2014, citing health reasons. He now leads a retired life in a Vincentian house in Kerala. Matters India
