Thiruvananthapuram: Newly-ordained cardinal from Kerala, George Alencherry who is yet to return from Rome after his ordination, has sparked a controversy in his home state with a statement to the media in Italy on the issue of two Italian guards who are in police custody in Kerala. The duo is accused of murdering two fishermen off Kerala’s Kollam coast in the Arabian Sea. The cardinal was quoted as stating that the government should not “precipitate action” against the two Italians held in the case.

The statement has led to shock in Kerala, where emotions have already been running high after media reports said the Italian crew of the ship refused initially to co-operate with Kerala police, and other reports saying that the guards were taken to a guest house after the arrest and fed pizzas.

Media reports from Rome quoted the cardinal as saying, “I am and will remain in close contact with the Catholic ministers of Kerala and I hope that they will help to pacify the situation.” He was also quoted as saying that minister KV Thomas, also a catholic from Kerala, would co-ordinate with the state government. The statement not only caught the Church in Kerala on a slippery wicket, but also put the Congress-led United Democratic Front government in a corner. Chief minister Oommen Chandy had to clarify his government’s position after the report from Rome created a row in the state.

“No direction has been given to my government in the case pertaining to the Italian guards”, Chandy told newspersons here today, answering questions about the cardinal’s reported comment that he had directed a minister to co-ordinate with the government. Chandy said neither he nor any of his ministers had been contacted by the cardinal or anyone else in this connection.

He said the state government was working under the provisions of the law of the land in the matter, and that the government’s stand was that the culprits should surrender and face the law. He said the state and federal governments had the same viewpoint on the matter. Chandy said the state government was considering giving employment to the wife of one of the victims, Valentine Jelestine, in the state fisheries department.
Opposition leader VS Achuthanandan said if the cardinal’s comments from Rome were true, they were out of place. He said the statements appeared to be that of someone speaking from the side of the aggressors, and not from the side of the victims.

As the cardinal’s statement drew wide criticism, the Catholic Church spokesman, Paul Thelekkat clarified that the cardinal’s comments in Rome was misquoted by the media. Thelekkat said the death of the two fishermen was indeed very sad, and what the cardinal meant was that this was an issue between two nations and ought to be solved through deliberations.

Meanwhile, the Kerala High Court ruled that the ship could leave the Kochi port after providing Rs 2.5 million in bank guarantee, provided the investigators did not object to the move. Dora, the wife of Jelestine who was killed in the firing from the Italian ship, had appealed to the Kerala High Court not to permit the ship to leave the Kochi port before compensation is paid to the family. She had appealed for a compensation of Rs 10 million. The Italian officials have also approached the court seeking to quash the first information report in the case, arguing that the accused ought to be tried in Italy.