The team of GoaChronicle.com and IndianExpose.com through its research arm ProtectCore have conducted a study over the last 3 months on the nature of crimes committed by religious leaders – Nuns, Priests, Pastors, Bishop and Archbishop – from the Christian community in India and those of Indian origin living abroad.

The focus was on crimes between 2014 till 2019 (January).

These crimes have been registered with police authorities across different states in India. Some of these cases have been reported in media.

We have categorised the crimes into broadly four categories Assault, Fraud, Sexual, Assault and Murder.

Our study highlighted that there were a 97 cases registered against clergy of Christian faith in India and a shocking 7 by clergy of India origin outside the country in United States of America and United Kingdom.

Of the crimes committed, the study revealed that 80 per cent of the crimes committed by the clergy were of sexual abuse.

Seven cases of murder were registered against the clergy.

There were ten cases of fraud and four cases of physical assault that was reported with the authorities.

In the study Kerala is the state with the most reported cases of crimes in India at 28 cases against the clergy.

Tamil Nadu is the second state to have 24 cases reported against clergy.

Andhra Pradesh has 15 cases reported against clergy.

This is followed by Maharashtra with 4 cases of crimes reported against clergy

Telangana, Jharkhand and Karnataka account for 3 cases each reported on crimes against the clergy.

Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, West Bengal, Meghalaya and Assam Account for 2 cases each reported on crimes of the clergy

Bihar, Nagaland, Uttar Pradesh, Manipur, Jammu & Kashmir and Uttarakhand

Internationally, clergy of Indian-origin has one case reported in UK and seven cases reported in USA.

Over the last four and half years, senior Christian leaders like Archbishop Anil Couto and Archbishop Thomas Macwan sounded the bugle of Christians, Constitution, Democracy and Secularism being in danger in India.

The pertinent question, however, is from whom in India – the government, the fundamentalists or the sexual predators within the Christian clergy itself.

In the next part of the #TheChristianDevils we will highlight the cases under sexual abuse in details.