Kerala Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan on Wednesday intervened in the row between his party and the Catholic Church over the ‘last sacrament’ administered to the late CPI(M) MLA Mathai Chacko, saying efforts were on to create an impression that the deceased Marxist leader was a religious believer in his last days. Chacko, who died on October 13, 2006, represented Thirvamabady constituency in the Assembly.Defending the stance taken by his arch rival in the party, CPI(M) state Secretary Pinarayi Vijayan, Achuthanandan said the claim by Bishop Paul Chittilappilly of the Thamarassery diocese that Chacko had consciously received the last sacrament was not acceptable as he was a person who had served society adhering to the Marxist ideals. Last Sacrament is the last one of the seven sacred ceremonies in the life of a Christian.“It was unfortunate that an effort was being made to create an impression that Chacko was a believer before he died battling cancer. He was in fact a thorough materialist and a committed Communist,” Achuthanandan said.He said there was a time when the Church was at a loggerheads with the Communists, many of whom were denied a decent burial by the church.But over the years, there had been a radical shift in each other’s perception. This was especially true during the pontificate of John Paul II who revised and repented for the punishment meted out by the Church to medieval Italian scientist Galileo Galilei, he said. “The reconciliation between the Church and the Communists was based on the perception that the former served society on the basis of spiritual ideals while the latter stood for the service of society based on the materialistic approach,” Achuthanandan said.But it appeared that a section of the clergy was now trying to kick up a row by seizing on Chacko’s life to take forward their struggle against the educational policies of the LDF Government. “This is quite unfortunate and one could only hope that the Church would correct its approach,” he said. A controversy has erupted after Bishop Chittilappilly had claimed that Chacko had been administered the last sacrament while he was on his death bed in Kochi an year ago.Meanwhile, Mathews Mar Evanios Metropolitan, Bishop of Kandanad diocese, said “such comments should have been avoided”. Speaking to reporters here on Wednesday, he said that the Church should look after the affairs of churches, in the same way Government should look after the affairs of Government and political parties their own matters.
