Important notice: To continue serving our valued readers during the postal disruption, complete unrestricted access to the digital edition is available at no extra cost. This will ensure uninterrupted digital access to your copies. Click here to view the digital edition, or learn more.
COCHIN, India -- An Indian court sentenced former sacristan Johny Vattaparamban, 54, to life imprisonment for the 2018 murder of the rector of popular St. Thomas Shrine at Malayattoor, in southern Kerala state.
The court also imposed a fine of $1,321 on Vattaparamban, convicted of stabbing Father Xavier Thelakkat March 1, 2018, as he descended from the hilltop shrine, about 35 miles north of Cochin.
Father Thelakkat was stabbed after he refused to reinstate the sacristan, whom he had suspended for "misconduct," including alcoholism at the shrine premise.
In 2004, the Vatican conferred international status to the shrine on the hill where St. Thomas the Apostle was said to have prayed.
Unlike many media companies, The Catholic Register has never charged readers for access to the news and information on our website. We want to keep our award-winning journalism as widely available as possible. But we need your help.
For more than 125 years, The Register has been a trusted source of faith-based journalism. By making even a small donation you help ensure our future as an important voice in the Catholic Church. If you support the mission of Catholic journalism, please donate today. Thank you.
DONATE