Catholics slam India rights body over confession ban bid

NEW DELHI: Catholic leaders in India Friday slammed the national women’s rights watchdog for seeking to ban church confessions after two priests were arrested for allegedly raping and blackmailing a woman over 20 years. Two more priests are being investigated in the scandal that has rocked the Syrian Orthodox church in the southern state of Kerala since the 34-year-old woman reported her cycle of abuse earlier this month. The woman told police that the priests at the church used her confessions to blackmail her into having sex with them. India’s National Commission for Women Thursday called on the government to scrap confessions in all churches, saying they were being used to blackmail vulnerable women. The recommendation was made in a report to the government on sexual abuse in the church. The Kerala Catholic Bishops Council said the demand had hurt the religious sentiments of India’s Christian minority.