Catholic Church has skeptic arrested for explaining miracle

[sketerpot]

Or, at least, they got an arrest warrant. No news on whether or not they've arrested him. India has some remarkably wacky laws for stuff like this, which the Church is apparently all too happy to use.

4 July 2012.This morning, officers of the Delhi Police reached Sanal Edamaruku’s house to arrest him. They came upon directions of a Delhi court to execute an arrest warrant issued by a Mumbai Metropolitan Magistrate Court (second highest Criminal Court). If Sanal had been at home, he would be in jail now....

The officers were informed that Sanal is presently out of Delhi and traveling. They insisted on details of his whereabouts, addresses and contact numbers. Some hours later, they came again to press for information, to no avail.

What will happen next?

With this dramatic turn of events, Sanal Edamaruku’s persecution has reached a dangerous new level. Exposing the “miracle” of the water-dripping crucifix at the Velankanni church in Mumbai as a plumber’s problem, he incurred Catholic fury beyond all trademark forgiveness. Highly alarming is the fact that the Catholic side has managed to secure considerable support from Indian government agencies. The Catholic Church is representing only a small minority of believers in India. But it is backed by a powerful worldwide apparatus, driven by great ambitions to conquer India and make up for its losses in the western world. I don’t want the Dark Ages to come to India! Sanal says in the controversial TV program, drawing the battle lines

In the ongoing conflict, Sanal has the evidence-based factual truth on his side - regarding capillary action as well as regarding church history. Moreover, he enjoys the full support of the Indian Constitution that explicitly obliges all citizens to develop “scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform”. And then, of course, there is the right to Freedom of Expression (Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.) on his side of the balance tray.

The revengeful local Catholic leaders, on the other side, have the tacit support of another heavy weight: the powerful Catholic Church. The Pope is keeping mum, ignoring thousands of contemporaries from various parts of the world who are calling upon the Vatican via an Online Petition of the Rationalist Association (UK) to take a stand in this case. But his Mumbai representative, Bishop Agnelo Gracias (whom Sanal encountered in the TV-9 program), does all the talking. Unstinting in his public praise for Sanal’s prosecutors, Gracias “rejoices” about their courage!

It is obvious that the Catholic Church is trying to pull the strings to silence its most vocal and courageous opponent in India. If there is one person who could cross their ambitious plans, it is Sanal Edamaruku. So there is much at stake, for both sides. How far will they be able to go? That cannot be foreseen. We have to be prepared for the worst.

What was his crime? He figured out that the water "miraculously" dripping from a crucifix statue was, in fact, sewage water that had leaked from a nearby restroom. He then advised people not to drink it.

This is the same guy who, a few years ago, laughed off a death-by-sorcery ritual on nationwide live television. He has definitely got style.

[Ralin]

I googled it and apparently he's currently in Finland.

It's funny. You get used to the idea that the Catholic Church is actually relatively sane and liberal on a lot of subjects, at least compared to other Christians. Then they do things like this and you remember that yeah, they'd be thrilled to institute theocracies if they could.

[General Zod]

I googled it and apparently he's currently in Finland.

It's funny. You get used to the idea that the Catholic Church is actually relatively sane and liberal on a lot of subjects, at least compared to other Christians. Then they do things like this and you remember that yeah, they'd be thrilled to institute theocracies if they could.

They only pretend to be that way in countries where they can't get away with this kind of bullshit.

[DarkArk]

They only pretend to be that way in countries where they can't get away with this kind of bullshit.

Depends on which Catholics really. Jesuits are pretty damn sane, often being scientists and all. Other more conservative parts of the Church definitely less so.

That said this is clearly crazy.

[Nieztchean Uber-Amoeba]

Can you maybe find a less-biased article? A polemic exhorting all free-thinking folk against a Papist conspiracy controlling Indian law enforcement is interesting but not compelling.

[madd0ct0r]

The BHA supports Sanal Edamaruku, President of the Indian Rationalist Association, who risks arrest over blasphemy accusation
Sanal Edamaruku, President of the Indian Rationalist Association and the Rationalist International, has been accused of blasphemy by the Catholic Church in India, and is facing the risk of arrest and court proceedings. Sanal, who has spent much of his career exposing so-called ‘miracles’, investigated the case of a ‘bleeding statue’ outside a Mumbai church in March this year, revealing on a television programme that the ‘blood’ apparently dripping from the statue was in fact sewage leaking from a nearby drain. The Catholic Church then started legal proceedings against him under India’s blasphemy laws, which could result in his imminent arrest. The British Humanist Association (BHA) supports Sanal Edamaruku and condemns the attempt to prosecute and silence him.

Sanal took part in a television programme on 10 March in which he investigated the crucifix in front of the Church of Our Lady of Velankanni, located in the Vile Parle area of Mumbai, which appeared to be producing droplets of water from the feet of the figure of Jesus. The Catholic Church hailed this phenomenon as a miracle, and some believers started to collect and drink the water in the belief that it had special properties. However, Sanal revealed that the water or ‘blood’ which was apparently being produced by the statue was in fact sewage which was leaking from a nearby drainage system. The Catholic Church then made a complaint against Sanal of ‘deliberately hurting religious feelings’, which exists under Section 295A of India’s Penal Code, and can carry severe penalties.

Sanal then applied for ‘anticipatory bail’ to ensure that he would not have to remain in prison if arrested, but the court has turned down this request. Although no formal arrest warrant has been issued, he could now be arrested at any time, and he has started to receive calls from the police in Mumbai asking him to report to the police station. His lawyers are advising him to leave the country for a while.

Pavan Dhaliwal, the BHA Head of Public Affairs, commented that ‘it is outrageous that the Catholic Church is attempting to use an oppressive and outdated law to silence Sanal Edamaruku. Blasphemy laws should have no place in a democratic society. We call on the Catholic Church in India to withdraw their complaint against Sanal, and to cease all legal proceedings against him immediately. We also call upon the Indian Government to abolish Section 295A of the Indian penal code, to ensure that no more blasphemy prosecutions can take place in the future.’

http://www.humanism.org.uk/news/view/1045

[mr friendly guy]

I googled it and apparently he's currently in Finland.

It's funny. You get used to the idea that the Catholic Church is actually relatively sane and liberal on a lot of subjects, at least compared to other Christians. Then they do things like this and you remember that yeah, they'd be thrilled to institute theocracies if they could.

Considering the Church still advocates exorcism in some rare circumstances, it might be a reflection on how insane other Christians are rather than how sane the Catholics are. Its all relative of course.

[Guardsman Bass]

This type of thing has happened before in India, because the country has some restrictive laws about "insulting" religious and/or ethnic groups. For example, India's government was recently riding Google and Facebook's ass about having content available that is considered to be insulting or blasphemous against particular faiths in India (link). My guess is that the local branch of the Catholic Church complained to the Indian police, who then tried to go after this guy.

[UnderAGreySky]

Guardman Bass is right, there is a lot of shit that happens in India under the auspices of "you insulted my religion", many times mobs get away with a lot. It is unlikely that this guy would ever have been convicted in Indian courts - it would have been laughed out - but the damage would have been done. I'm glad he has not faced violence.

That said, there is a small but vibrant tradition and history of rationalism in India (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Kovoor ) which I hope keeps burning. There are quite a few atheists and agnostics in India who remain quiet about their lack of belief as sometimes lack of belief is viewed to be even worse than believing in a different god.

[Themightytom]

Telling a person of faith is always going to be an insult to the person, are there criteria for what constitutes insulting and did Sanal break them? If it's sewage, it's sewage, but was that a plausible explanation intended for mockery, or his theory.

It looks like the Church is more pissed that he accused them of making money off it
http://sanaledamaruku.blogspot.com/

In a letter to The Examiner, a Catholic Newsletter, the bishop said he did not believe the water to be a miracle. “But to make that an occasion to hurl false allegations against the Christian community and its leaders is quite another matter,” Bishop Agnelo wrote.