KERALA, INDIA, March 27, 2009: Catholic churchgoers in Kerala receive, in addition to the communion, an appeal on their political choices.
The Kerala Catholic Bishops Council has issued a pastoral letter to be read out in Catholic churches, urging parishioners to vote for those who uphold secularism and fight terrorism, according to a report in the Indian Express paper. The church is also keen that people vote for politicians who will fight against euthanasia and abortion, a direct response to the Marxist-ruled stateճ law reforms commission.br /br /Keralaճ Cardinal Varkey Vithayathil, head of the Catholic Bishops Conference of India, an association of Catholic bishops, went one step further, reportedly calling the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party the Ҭesser evilӠto the stateճ Marxists./phr /