In what can be seen as an audacious statement, Catholic priest Fr. Paul Thelakkatt openly questioned why “tons of gold” in temples are not used for public service while defending Christian institutions over foreign funding scrutiny.
The remarks, made in response to the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) bill introduced in the Lok Sabha, surfaced in a video clip shared by Mathrubhumi and have since drawn strong reactions.
In the video, Thelakkatt is seen responding to discussions around the FCRA bill introduced in the Lok Sabha, particularly references to religious institutions and their assets. During his remarks, he drew a comparison between church activities and temple wealth, stating: “The Christian Church is not hoarding all its money there, here, I do not want to criticise you but how many tons of gold are being stored in big temples? All this should be used for human service.”
He defended the role of Christian institutions in India, saying:
“Are Christians using it? Are Christians serving the people? The accusation against Christians in this country is that NGOs with foreign accounts are committing some kind of anti-national crime in India.”
Addressing concerns over foreign funding, he said: “As far as Christians are concerned, they are a minority community in India. Naturally, they will receive foreign funds. These funds come through government channels, and there are government regulations, they are ready to comply with all of that.”
Highlighting the contributions of Christian-run institutions, he added: “They run schools, thousands of schools. There are colleges, hospitals, orphanages. Who is running all this? Aren’t they Indians? Isn’t all this being done for Indians? For whom else are they doing all this?”
He further alleged that such activities were being mischaracterised, stating: “But all this is being portrayed as if they are committing some great betrayal or anti-national crime. That is the real problem here.”
Referring to provisions under the FCRA framework, Thelakkatt said: “Now, without going into all the legal technicalities, there is a provision – if this is not renewed, if proper accounts are not shown, then all institutions connected with it can be taken over by government authorities.”
Questioning the intent behind the law’s enforcement, he asked:
“Why is there such a harsh move to suppress these institutions and NGOs? What wrongdoing have they actually committed?”
He also made a broader ideological claim, stating, “This is turning into a forced imposition of a Hindutva ideology that Christians should not be allowed to carry out these services in India.”
Calling the approach “negative” and “inhuman,” he says, “It is a negative, inhuman, and anti-human approach – pushing religions aside in the name of religion and suppressing religious institutions that the government is now trying to implement through this law.”
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