Thiruvananthapuram: In an act that warmed the cockles of many a heart, a Catholic priest and one of his parishioners patched up in a manner that is often preached but rarely practised.
The incident happened in Mala near Thrissur, Kerala’s cultural capital where a laity member who had an altercation with the priest opted to seek the priest’s forgiveness in public, and the priest responded by washing his feet and kissing them in front of the church congregation.
It all began last Thursday when the priest, Naveen Vincent Ukken, took a group of elders from the church to Kodungalloor on an outing, a practise that has been undertaken for some years, occasionally. On their return journey, the group got caught in traffic and was delayed.
One of those who were waiting to collect their parents got infuriated by the delay and got into a heated argument with the priest when the group returned.
“He caught me by the neck and pushed me”, Ukken told Gulf News.
The church general committee that met later ruled that the offending parishioner ought to apologise to the priest in public.
When the man — in his 40s — turned up to do so on Sunday in front of the whole congregation, the priest declared that his very act of obeying the committee’s ruling was highly appreciable. Ukken then told the church members that he was of the opinion that the man did not need to tender any apology, and that if they supported his view they could rise and applaud the man.
When the entire congregation did so, Ukken went on to wash the man’s feet and kissed them, bringing to a happy end what had started out as an ugly altercation.
“I did not want him to make a public apology. If he had to do that, it would be so hurtful and it would be tough for him to be living in the locality”, Ukken told Gulf News.
On social media, thousands applauded Ukken for his forgiving act, but there were others who thought differently.
“Christ advised that charity should be done in secret, but in this case the man has been humiliated in public”, wrote one commentator.
Another person identifying himself as Nayana Kumar wrote: “This is a cheap show. The priest could have solved the problem when it happened instead of getting the church committee to give a verdict and shaming the man in public. Even if the man had to apologise, the apology could have been taken in private. In my view, the man who agreed to apologise in public is greater than the priest.”
A third person wrote: “Is the church committee a court to give out such edicts?”
However, several others appreciated the priest’s decision to not impose the church committee’s resolution on the offender tendering a public apology.
