Loni: Arguing that ‘confession exploits women’ National Commission for Women (NCW) chairperson, Rekha Sharma demanded to scrap the religious practice of confession. She alleged that the priests misuse the custom to exploit women.
However the church in Kerala has strongly criticised NCW chairman for her allegations. Trivandrum Archbishop Cardinal Baselios Cleemis said nobody can question the constitutional rights of minorities and tamper with their religious customs.
Claiming that rights of minorities guaranteed by the Constitution and nobody has the right to question and tamper with their customs, Cardinal Cleemis said, “You can’t generalise things citing some incidents. If there is a crime, the law of the land should deal with it. You can’t blame religious customs citing this.”
NCW chairperson, who was in Kerala last week to meet the victims of alleged sexual assaults by priests, said many told her that confession was often misused by some priests to exploit believers, especially women. She submitted a 25-page report to the Union home ministry, in which she recommended steps to scrap the custom of confession.