Thiruvananthapuram: It has been a wretched week for the Catholic Church in Kerala, with one priest being arrested over allegations of impregnating a 16-year-old student, and another’s rant against women’s dress styles going viral and attracting brickbats from all around.

Earlier in the week, television cameras followed Robin Vadakkumcherry, as police arrested the priest and took him on the investigation trail, three weeks after a schoolgirl he is accused of abusing gave birth to a baby boy in Kannur district.

By midweek, what was trending was a television sermon on Shalom TV by another priest, not identified by the television channel, in which the priest goes overboard in criticising women’s dressing styles.

Many have taken to social media to criticise the priest’s misogynistic comments.

“When I go for retreats in some churches, particularly at the time of giving Holy Mass, when I see some girls I don’t feel like giving Holy Mass or even let them be in church. The reason isn’t anything else — they are dressed either in jeans, or pants; shirt or banian [vest].

“And they’ll have a mobile phone and towel in their hand. They would not even have combed their hair, letting it fly wild. And they come and stand as if to show off to someone. I really don’t know why that thing has come to church,” the priest says in the video.

“My question to the women sitting here is this: Has the Catholic Church given you permission to wear the jeans and pants and shirts and banians of boys? Forget that. Does the Holy Bible give you permission for that?

“What does the scripture talk about this? The book of Deuteronomy says men should not wear women’s clothes or women wear men’s clothes, and that if they do so they are detested by God. If someone is detested by God and come to church and pray, will they get grace?” asks the priest.

The video aired on a Christian channel and uploaded on YouTube nearly 11 months ago recently surfaced. The priest, asked about the video on Wednesday, said, “I have not uploaded it and the video has been edited with vested interest,” as reported by NDTV.

In the video, he goes on to argue that men are tempted into sin because of women’s dressing. “There are men who come out of a convention and tell me that despite their self-control, when they see these semi-naked women, they are forced to commit sin. If your dressing entices grandfathers and youths, you are sinning. And what does the scripture say about this? For those who give temptation, it would be better to be thrown into the sea with a millstone around their necks.

Later, he also comments about the traditional Indian dress. “You had a great dress in the form of churidar. But Satan has done three alterations to it. First the shawl was discarded, then the length was reduced and now the bottom is being tightened.

“If you wear such dresses and give temptation to senior men and youth, my dear daughters you will get curses instead of blessings. And then you come and say my marriage is not happening, I am not clearing interviews, or there is always some trouble in my family. And what is the reason? Because of the dress you wear,” the priest said.

He also quotes an incident in which a young man told him that he indulged in incest and impregnated his own sister because she wore shorts and a vest at home. “If this generation of girls give temptation to their own fathers and brothers, is there any point in them coming to church?” asks the priest.

The video which attracted nearly 100,000 views in less than two days, drew sharp comments against the priest. “I’ll be worried if my priest starts noticing my churidar’s length, fit, neck pattern etc” said one. “Blind bats like him bring a bad name to Christianity” said another, while another person said the priest was the Church’s own Osama Bin Laden.

One commentator replied to the priest’s arguments, quoting from the Bible itself, from the book of Matthew: But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.