The Syro-Malabar Church has condemned what it called “unfounded and false” assertions about landed property owned by the Catholic Church in India, calling such insinuations as part of efforts to create religious divide and make political capital.
The report that appeared in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) mouthpiece Organiser had been widely circulated in a section of the media to create a false impression and mislead people. To some extent, such efforts had succeeded too, said Father Antony Vadakkekara, official spokesman of the Syro-Malabar Church, in a YouTube message on Wednesday (April 9, 2025).
It is alleged that the Catholic Church is in possession of 17.29 crore acres of land or around 7 lakh sq. km. The spread of Waqf land is only 9.4 lakh acres. The false argument has been blown out of proportion as if they are based on facts. Those spreading the argument claimed that the data was collected from the Government of India website on land information. But even that claim was false, Father Vadakkekara said.
The attempt is to make the Catholic Church go on the defensive and to unleash strong criticism of the Church and its activities. But the allegations have created a false impression and confusion among people about an entity that serves lakhs of people daily without any discrimination.
There are 174 Catholic dioceses and more than 200 religious orders that own properties. But these properties are not owned in common under a single title but administered by different dioceses and religious houses who act independently. It is, therefore, not right to claim that the Catholic Church owns the property as a whole under one administration, Father Vadakkekara said.
The land that belongs to various Catholic institutions was either granted to the Church by the authorities or governments who appreciated the work done by the Church or donated by well-wishers and believers or bought according to the laws of the land as allowed under the Constitution of India, said Father Vadakkekara, adding that such properties were not out of bounds to anybody.
The Catholic Church runs 40,000 schools, 400 colleges, six universities, five medical colleges, and 240 paramedical training centres. Around 85,000 patients are under treatment in Catholic institutions, and five lakh sick and abandoned people find solace in institutions run by the Church, he added.
The official spokesman asserted that such false allegations did not frighten the Catholic Church, which would continue its mission.
Published – April 10, 2025 12:07 am IST
