Church blames 'consumerism' and 'temptations of body' after Catholic priest 'rapes 15-year-old girl'
Man from Kerala in India, arrested
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The Catholic Church has sparked outrage in India after it blamed "consumerism" and bodily "temptations" for the alleged rape of a 15-year-old girl.
Priest Mathew Vadakkacheril, from Kerala in India, was accused of raping the child and later arrested.
The girl was allegedly raped several times and became pregnant, according to India Today. The child has since been delivered at a private hospital and since taken to an orphanage, reportedly without the mother's consent.
Yet it is the response to the incident among the Christian community in India that is now making headlines.
A Christian weekly magazine, which is backed by a Catholic Sabha or association, blamed the alleged victim for the event and said Mr Vadakkacheril may have momentarily “forgotten his position”.
“Daughter, why did you forget who a priest is?" read an extract in the Sunday Shalom, according to an India Today translation. "He has a human body and has temptations. He may have forgotten his position for a few seconds, my child who has taken the Holy Communion, why didn't you stop or correct him?"
Father Paul Thelekat from the Bishops’ Council, also commented on the incident and blamed consumerism for the rape.
"Consumerism is indeed a situation affecting everyone in the world and priests are also in the world. It is in celibacy and in virginity the crisis become apparent first, then it will become a crisis of fidelity in marriage with extra-marital and premarital sex,” he told The News Minute.
“Women are presented as commodity both in media and in advertisements and all commodities are marketed with girls and women, where [the] human body is dehumanise[d]."