Spotlight on Charismatic Retreat Centres in Kerala

Kochi, Jun 10 (UNI) Praised by thousands as centres of ''spiritual healing'' and derided by others as ''dens of brainwashing'', the 'Charismatic' retreat centres in Kerala are under the spotlight with the apex body of Catholic bishops deciding to depute a commission to probe their working.

Backed by the Church, the retreat centres have been steadily growing in popularity over the past three decades, even attracting a large number of non-Christians and non-Keralites for their professed healing powers.

Thousands vouch that they have undergone ''deep spiritual transformation after experiencing the divine spirit'' or have been cured of serious ailments at these retreats.

On the other hand, a large number of people, including Christians, deride these retreats as nothing but ''centres of brainwashing, induced by a collective frenzy''.

The most prominent of these retreats, The Divine Retreat Centre at Muringoor in Thrissur district, is said to be the largest in Asia.

The Centre, which claims that at least 10,000 people attend the ''retreats'' conducted by it every week, has been under a cloud after the Kerala high court ordered a police investigation into its functioning following the receipt of an anonymous letter, alleging grevious malpractices.

The Kerala police, after a nearly six-month-long investigation, registered a case against the centre's Director, Father George Panackkal, and nine others last month on charges of forceful confinement, causing hurt by poison, cheating and destroying evidence.

The police also said that more than 900 deaths had taken place at the centre between 1991 and 2006 and in many cases the bodies were disposed of without informing the police.

The Kerala Catholic Bishops Conference (KCBC), at a meeting here last week, decided that its 'Charismatic Commission', headed by Mar Thomas Chakiath, the Auxiliary Bishop of the Ernakulam-Angamaly Diocese of the Syro-Malabar Church, would assess the functioning of the retreat centres.

Talking to UNI, Bishop Thomas Chakiath said the commission was likely to take about six months' time to complete its assessment of about 30 retreat centres run by the different constitutents of the Catholic Church all over Kerala.

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