The Catholic Church has always supported and co-operated with the democratically elected government of the day through its various institutions. And, like any other civil society association or organisation, Catholics claim and reserve the right: to speak out against environmental degradation and any form of injustice, especially against the poor and the marginalised; and to proclaim and promote its core Christian values.

Recently, a few videos have been doing the rounds creating an impression that the Catholic Church is favouring a particular political party. This is not true. The Church avoids partisanship, i.e., favouring one political party over another. Catholics are never told which party to vote for – they are free to vote for the party of their choice. However, all that the Church does is to encourage and remind its faithful of their duty and responsibility to vote.

Bp. Dominic Savio Fernandes
Auxiliary Bishop of Bombay