By Matters India Reporter

Mala, Jan 29, 2020: A Catholic priest in Kerala has set an example of forgiveness when he washed the feet of a parishioner and kissed them in front of Sunday congregation.

The parishioner on January 23 had an altercation with Father Naveen Vincent Ukken, parish priest of St Mary’s Assumption Church of Thumbassery under Irinjalakuda diocese. The parish committee then asked the man, who is not identified, to apologize to the priest in front of all parishioners on the following Sunday.

On January 26, the two patched up in a manner that warmed the cockles of many hearts.

When the man turned up to do apologize the priest invited him to the front of the church and bent down to wash the surprised man’s feet and to kiss them, as a stunned congregation watched.

Father Ukken then told the congregation that the man’s very act of obeying the committee’s ruling was highly appreciable. The priest said there was no need for the man to apologize and asked the parishioners to stand up if they agreed with him. The whole congregation stood up and applauded, with some weeping.

Father Ukken later said he did not want the man to make the public apology. “If he had done that, it would have hurt him so much that it would have been tough for him to live in the locality,” explained the priest who is being transferred to another parish – St Jude Church in Munipara — by the end of January

It all began when the priest took a group of elders from the church on an outing to Kodungalloor, the place St Thomas the Apostle is believed to have landed in 52 AD. It was part of the parish’s farewell programs for the priest.

On their return journey, the group got caught in traffic and was delayed.

The delay infuriated the parishioner, who was waiting to collect his parents. When the group arrived he started a heated argument with the priest. The man caught the priest by the neck and pushed him that sent shock waves among the parishioners.

The pastoral council later ruled that the offending parishioner ought to apologize to the priest in public.

On social media, thousands have applauded the priest for his forgiving act. Several appreciated the priest’s decision to not impose the church committee’s resolution on the offender.