Sir — This refers to the editorial, “Mea maxima culpa!” (March 8). Kerala Police deserves accolades for showing alacrity in thwarting the attempt of the pedophile cleric who, after having fathered a minor student, wanted to leave the country to some offshore destination. Such heinous and loathsome cases have been recurring in Kerala.
A cleric, who is supposed to act as a bond between a devotee and god, is not expected to have such perverted mind as to have physical relations with a minor girl student and father her a baby too. It reminds me of a Hindi song picturised in a church which says, “Do not think that god is unaware of your (mis)deeds, even if the crime is committed in hundreds of veils, it is not hidden from him.”
It is even more despicable that, instead of handing over the rapist cleric to the police, many esteemed personalities in the church tried to hush up the matter by promising allurements. The advocate fraternity is requested not to come forward to help such molesters at any stage, from lower to higher courts. The most stringent punishment is what such accused deserve on conviction.