Papal Documents Record Evidence of the Caste System

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.. Papal Documents Record Evidence of the Caste System

Source: http://www.dalitchristians.com/Html/HistoricEvidence.htm

 

TAMIL NADU, INDIA, January 10, 2003: Evidence that the caste system and it

perpetuation has been prevalent within the Catholic church in India, has

been discovered in various papal documents. Following conversion to

Christianity from Hinduism, the Dalits (so called untouchables) were kept

separate from the Brahmins in the congregation. In 1623, missionaries

requested that the Bull (decree) of Pope Gregory XV allow Brahmins to

maintain certain caste practices such as the sacred thread, sandals and

ablutions. The pope agreed, providing the converts showed charity towards

Dalits. In 1779, the Propagation of Faith wrote, "The separation in the

church and at the entrance of the church, also the distinction of cemeteries

may actually be tolerated for fear of greater evil." As late as 1985 a court

verdict upheld the 80-year-old practice of separate graveyards for Dalit

Christians of Trichy, Tamil Nadu.

 

 

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