Mercy Senthil Kumar, the daughter-in-law of senior DMK leader and minister I Periyasamy, stoked a controversy recently by demanding a law requiring the sanction of Vatican Pope to arrest Christian pastors and sisters across the world.
DMK Minister Periyasamy’s daughter in law Mercy Senthil Kumar calls for a Law to ensure “Pastors be arrested for any crimes only after due sanction by Vatican”. Chief Minister #MKStalin should tutor her basics that India will be governed only by the Indian & not the Vatican Laws.
— SG Suryah (@SuryahSG) July 29, 2021
According to a report by the Commune, Mercy Senthil Kumar attended a condolence event held in the memory of Naxal sympathiser, and Elgar Parishad-Bhima Koregaon violence accused Stanislaus Lourduswamy, popularly known as Stan Swamy, at Dindigul.
Speaking at the event, Mercy Senthil Kumar claimed that she was at the event to give a voice to the death of Pastor Stan Lourduswamy, who, according to her, had dedicated his entire life to the service of people.
“Everyone is speaking out about Pastor Stan Swamy’s death. I’m here to add my voice to yours. We are all bound by our family circles, and we can only volunteer in our spare time. But what respect do we give to priests and sisters who dedicate their entire lives to service? A priest (Stan Swamy) has died. Today, 200 people gathered here to support Stan Swamy, and another priest and a sister will be struggling somewhere else tomorrow,” said Mercy as she paid her tributes to Naxal sympathiser Stan Lourduswamy.
Stan Lourduswamy, commonly known as Stan Swamy, was an undertrial prisoner in the Elgar-Parishad Bhima Koregaon violence case and died last week at a Mumbai private hospital due to an age-related illness. The 84-year-old Stan Swamy, an Indian Roman Catholic Jesuit priest, had been involved in anarchic activities for quite some time. However, his anti-India activities came to the fore after his role in the Elgar Parishad in 2018 surfaced during the investigation.
The video of her speech has gone viral on the internet now.
Continuing her speech, Mercy claimed that it was Christian fathers and sisters who brought education and rationality to India and that the majority of India’s educational institutions are in the hands of priests and sisters. She suggested that these Christian priests should be allowed to teach politics and law across the country.
“We should teach about sainthood in the colleges with Christians. This is because living the life of a saint is very difficult. We should see Christians pastors and sisters as heroes and heroines,” said Mercy Senthil Kumar, who is also the wife of DMK MLA Senthil Kumar.
Taking it a step further, Mercy suggested that a law should be introduced in the country that would require the Vatican’s Pope’s permission to imprison any pastors or nuns serving people worldwide.
The shocking speech by an influential DMK sympathiser asking for a law to ensure sanction by the Vatican to act against Christian clergy comes just a week after another prominent DMK supporter had stoked a similar controversy during a tribute event in the memory of Naxal Stan Swamy.
A prominent Catholic priest named Father George Ponnaiah from the Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu, a known supporter of DMK had recently indulged in hate speech activity against Hindus.
Hate speech against Hindus by DMK supporter Father Ponnaiah
During the public meeting at Arumanai, Father George Ponnaiah had said, “It does not matter how many temples you renovate and consecrate. No Hindu, no devotee of Mandaikattu Amman, is going to vote for you. If you won, then it is the alms we Christians and Muslims have thrown to you. You won not because of your talents.”
While speaking about the role of the Church in ensuring DMK’s victory, he added, “Bishops just signalled with their eyes and our workers including the Pentecostal movement workers went and canvassed for you (DMK and Congress).”
Father Ponnaiah had also insulted Bharat Mata by claiming that she is dirty and can cause scabies. During his public address, he had mocked BJP candidate MR Gandhi for not wearing footwear out of respect for Mother Earth (Bhumadevi/Bharat Mata).
“But we wear shoes. Why? Because the impurities of Bharat Mata should not contaminate us. The Tamil Nadu government has given us free footwear. This bhumadevi is dangerous, you could catch scabies from it,” the pastor brazened it out. Besides vulgar rhetorics and open polarisation, Father Ponnaiah had also made despicable remarks about PM Modi and Amit Shah.
The videos of his hate speech had gone viral on the internet, stoking massive uproar against the Christian priest. Following protests, the Christian priest was arrested by Tamil Nadu police.
