Basil Fernando

[Ed. Note: The following letter was sent to Rev. Fr. Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, superior general of the Jesuit order in Rome, regarding the physical assault against Jesuit Fr. Pallath J. Joseph in the Indian state of Kerala, the filing of false criminal charges against him, a slanderous article in an Indian tabloid about him and the denial of his right to a livelihood.]

This open letter is to raise some concerns from a moral and human rights point of view regarding all of the episodes related to the case of Fr. Pallath J. Joseph of which you are aware. While it is not our intention to interfere with the affairs of your order, there are matters of public interest about which many people, including our commission, is quite concerned. They are as follows:

(1) The physical assault of Fr. Pallath J. Joseph by two members of your order, together with several other hired thugs;

(2) The throwing of the body of Fr. Pallath over the wall of the Jesuit's premises and onto the road while he was in an unconscious or semiconscious state;

(3) Slandering Fr. Pallath by some members of your order using a gutter magazine called Crime Star;

(4) The filing of fabricated criminal complaints against Fr. Pallath with the view to have him arrested as a way to prevent him from entering a Jesuit house;

(5) The failure of the Jesuit superiors to respect an agreement entered into between Fr. Pallath and the Jesuits in Kerala through the mediation of the bishop of Calicut; and

(6) The failure to provide for the livelihood of Fr. Pallath after 33 years of service.

The details about these matters are repeated here (though it is quite clear you are aware of these) due to the fact you have not taken any action on these matters.

(1) Physical Assault on Fr. Pallath J. Joseph by Two Members of Your Order, Together with Several Other Hired Thugs

A picture of the place where the assault took place is attached. It must be a familiar sight to you. The details of the assault, provided by Fr. Pallath, are as follows:

"At around 10:45 a.m. [on Oct. 16, 2000], about 15 thugs came to my door with the Jesuit fathers and advocate T. A. Joseph who was giving instructions. Frs. Joseph Kelleppilly and Abraham Pallivathukal got into my room and shouted at me to clear out from the room using abusive language. Fr. Pallivathukal also did the same, and they started throwing away my belongings, my clothes, books, newspapers, etc. Meanwhile, the advocate ordered the thugs to get hold of me and throw me out. They pounced on me, lifted and threw me out of the room. On getting up, I tried to get into the room to protect myself and to phone up. Thereupon Fr. Kelleppilly hit my face and pushed me, and I fell down on the courtyard. Fr. Vadakkel also said some abusive words. While the thugs were tackling me under the leadership of Fr. Kelleppilly and Fr. Abraham, the others went up to the provincial's conference room for the Samskriti general body meeting.

"In the courtyard, I tried to dodge the thugs and resisted a little bit. They once again pounced on me and hit me. At this point, I went into a daze."Details of the assault given by another Jesuit from Karathur, Fr. Shaji George, in a letter to his superior on Oct. 19, 2000, are as follows:

"As I was in the provincial's conference room on Oct. 16 around 10:30 a.m. attending the general body meeting of Sanskrutti, I heard the sound of a quarrel - beating, shouting and screaming - and then saw a person being carried out of our parlour room below the conference room by a group of people guided by Fr. Abraham Pallivathukkal and Fr. Joseph Kelleppilly. I also noticed that some of the participants of the meeting attending to the same trouble and some of them going in and out of the meeting. Immediately after the meeting, I made sure that the person being carried out was Fr. P. J. Joseph.

"The advocate of Fr. P. J. Joseph has included me among the witnesses in his court case, but I have a problem here: as a witness, when I say what I have heard and seen, it will be against my superiors; and if I don't give witness to this truth, I'll have a serious problem with my conscience. Therefore, please instruct me in this matter, today itself, so that I can act accordingly."

(2) Throwing the Body of Fr. Pallath over the Wall of Jesuit Premises and onto the Road while He Was in an Unconscious or Semiconscious State

The picture of the place where he was thrown is also attached. Reference to this incident by Fr. Pallath is as follows:

"When I woke up, I was lying on the road outside by the gate, and people were standing around me. Viswan Malaparamba and John Samuel were among them. They first took me to the main roadside to an STD telephone booth. From there, they rang up my friends. Before they arrived, Viswan arranged for a taxi. As I was getting into the taxi, a Kairali TV crew came and also the Asia Net TV. I was taken to the Medical College Hospital and was there for five days."

In the letter quoted above, Fr. Shaji George, S.J., also refers to witnessing Fr. Pallath being carried out by a number of people.

(3) Slander of Fr. Pallath by Some Members of Your Order Using a Gutter Magazine Called Crime Star

The cover page of this gutter magazine is attached. It is a magazine that carries a nude picture of a young girl on the cover. The web site about Fr. Pallath excluded exhibition of this magazine due to the nature of this magazine. Fr. Pallath's account of this episode follows:

"In January 2001, the father provincial got published a passionately pro-Jesuit and anti-me anonymous article in Kerala's worst gutter magazine called Crime Star. The article contains not only alleged citations from two letters allegedly addressed to me but also precise information kept in the Curia to which others have no access, including my bio-data."

That the members of a religious order (in this case the provincial superior) can stoop to such practices must be a matter of serious concern.

(4) Filing of Fabricated Criminal Complaints against Fr. Pallath with the View to Get Him Arrested as a Way to Prevent Him from Entering a Jesuit House

The details are outlined below.

The 'Theft Cases'

THE CAMERA

"Missio Aachen had given Samskriti about seven lakhs rupees (700,000 rupees or US,572) to buy a digital video camera for the promotion of traditional wisdom and technology. As Samskriti at that time did not have a Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) number to receive foreign money, this money was routed, as usual, through the Kerala Jesuit Society, the parent organization of Samskriti. Consequently, the bills and vouchers were made in the name of the Kerala Jesuit Society, the legal holder. When the project was presented to Missio Aachen, it was understood that the camera would be used in a network with laymen initiatives. Accordingly, the camera was given to a layman to use who is an expert in handling the camera with definite terms and conditions written in a stamp paper. It was done during the time of my transfer from Samskriti. These things were discussed and settled in the presence of the provincial, the consultors and the present director on Jan. 30, 2000. After my dismissal on April 28, 2000, in order to embarrass me, they filed a case saying that I dishonestly kept the camera in my custody without the knowledge and consent of the present director and that this is an offence punishable under the Indian penal code. Rev. Fr. Jose Thaiparambil, S.J., the treasurer, filed the case before the inspector general of police, Kozhikode, Crime. No. 337/2000 under Sections 406, 464, 471 r/w Section 34 of the Indian penal code."

THE TELEPHONE

"After installing a new phone, I signed the document as the director of Samskriti for transferring a phone of Samskriti to another place. According to the constitution of Samskriti, the director has the power to do it. The provincial also allowed me to make decisions on matters that arise below 50,000 rupees (US,327). My successor, the Rev. Fr. E. J. Thomas, S.J., on the father provincial's behest filed a case before the same police officer (Crime No. 337/2000 under Sections 406, 464, 471 r/w Section 34 of the Indian penal code). Under these sections, I can be punished with three years of imprisonment or fined or both. Under Section 406, the case is also non-bailable. These cases were reported in the local newspapers as theft cases."

(5) The Failure of the Jesuit Superiors to Respect an Agreement Entered into between Fr. Pallath and the Jesuits in Kerala with the Mediation of the Bishop of Calicut

The details of this agreement are as follows:

"Following the forceful eviction from my room, I undertook a hunger strike to regain entry to my room. At this stage, the bishop of Calicut intervened and settled the matter amicably with an agreement on Oct. 28, 2000.

"On the part of the Jesuit authorities, the main agreements were (1) the Jesuit provincial arranges incardination [the transfer of a priest from one diocese to another] for me either in Calicut or Kannur dioceses where I worked 25 out of my 33 years as a religious in order to facilitate my present work; (2) to find me accommodation either in a Jesuit house or in a semi-Jesuit house in the Malabar region; (3) to give maintenance until my appeal cases in the ecclesiastical as well as the civil courts are heard; and (4) to withdraw the false police cases they have filed against me. They did not implement any of the agreements. Even today I am living on the charity of my religious friends."

(6) Failure to Provide for the Livelihood of Fr. Pallath after 33 Years of Service

Whatever be the "justification" of the dismissal, it is the primary duty of any employer, be it a business, government or religious order, to provide for a person who has served a long period of time, which in this case is 33 years. This basic human obligation was ignored and continues to be ignored.

A Strange Reply from the Jesuit Order

When all of these matters were brought to the notice of the Jesuit superiors in the Vatican through letters by several people, a reply was received from Fr. Gregory Naik, the secretary for the South Asia assistancy in Rome, which reads as follows:

"The superior general of the Society of Jesus, in response to a similar query from a news agency in September 2000, stated the following:

"Let me assure you that Fr. Pallath Joseph has been legitimately dismissed from the Society of Jesus for actions and patterns of behaviour incompatible with the Jesuit constitutions. The reasons for his dismissal have been communicated to him in writing. You surely do not expect Jesuit superiors to discuss with the press the personal conduct of Fr. Joseph because he has the right to have his privacy respected, even if he chooses to go public."

Our Request to You

We urge you to make an open inquiry into the incidents narrated above. We further urge you to take action against all culprits of your order who are found to be responsible after such an inquiry and to take appropriate action to correct the wrongs done to Fr. Pallath J. Joseph. We consider this a moral duty on your part.