Thiruvananthapuram: The Catholic Church has maintained a studied silence on the Kerala Congress (M) decision to desert the UDF. The Church, especially the Syro-Malabar Church, was considered as the driving force behind most of the political decisions taken by the party in the past. The Church, which had made clear its political decision in the recent past, remained tight-lipped on Kerala Congress (M) chairman K.M. Mani’s latest moves though the archbishops of Kanjirapally and Pala are said to have direct influence on Mr Mani.
The Catholic Church had been a strong vote base for the UDF as it had fundamental differences with the Communists parties. At one point of time, the Church leadership had been even issuing diktats to the faithful not to vote for the atheist parties. However, though the hostility had come down as the Left parties made constant efforts to reach out to the faithful, the community leaders have refused to accept their view on faith.
Though the Left has managed to make inroads into various Christian communities, including the Latin Church, it has failed to influence the Syro-Malabar Church, with the community largely remaining loyal to the UDF. However, the agitation against the Gadgil committee report had brought a section within the Syro-Malabar Church close to the LDF in the recent past.
