Divine Retreat Centre, Muringoor belongs to the Vincentian Congregation and has always been functioning according to the direction and guidance of the Church authorities. We, the priests of the Retreat Centre, are fully committed to the motto of St. Vincent de Paul, our Patron of the Vincentian Congregation - "The Spirit of The Lord is on me, because He has anointed me to preach the good news to the poor." (Luke 4:18) Divine Retreat Centre has always kept its doors open to welcome and to care for the poor and the marginalized of our society irrespective of race, caste or religion. Currently, we are looking after 100 AIDS patients, 450 mentally challenged, 250 people with acute problems of addictions, 50 terminally ill patients, 200 elderly men and women abandoned by their families, 300 orphaned children and

many financially broken men, women and youth (a large portion of our volunteer base who come from very poor and difficult backgrounds) - together, 3000 of "the least of the brethren of Jesus" are housed in and cared for, here, at Divine Retreat Centre.

We have always been aware that because of our commitment to preach the Gospel of Christ, certain communal forces have been working against us. It is precisely because of the bold stand we have taken in our retreats against all forms of social injustice, corruption, alcoholism, drug addiction, and exploitation against the poor, that there are many dark, anti-social forces working against us. All we have taught and practiced since Divine Retreat Centre opened in 1989 is the commandment of Jesus - "Love one another just as I love you." (John 15:12)

The functioning of the Divine Retreat Centre has been very transparent to the ecclesiastical and civil authorities as well as to the general public from the very beginning. We have nothing to hide here! It is precisely with this attitude that we accepted with an open mind the Enquiry ordered by the Honourable High Court of Kerala on 25 March 2006. Yet, after a vigorous investigation of thirteen months, the police investigation team could not even produce a single FIR (First Information Report) against us to the court. The Retreat Centre was constantly under the surveillance of the police. Many people working for the Retreat Centre were called in for questioning. For how long could we continue to work under the pressures of the police enquiry? With no end in sight, we, the Vincentian priests, felt that there should be a time limit for this unwarranted police interference in the daily functioning of the Retreat Centre.

Rev. Fr. George Panackal V.C., Director - Divine Retreat Centre submitted a petition to the Supreme Court of India on 30 March 2007 with the belief that if there are no objective evidences against the Retreat Centre, the Order of the High Court should be given a stay. The Supreme Court of India admitted our petition on 30 March 2007. As a result, the Police Investigation Team and the Kerala Government were served notices stating that they should file a response in four weeks. As soon as the Police Investigation Team received the notice, they had an FIR registered against Divine Retreat Centre in a great hurry - without respect to the truth or facts.

I would like to point out a few of the glaring faults that stand out in the allegations highlighted in the FIR that was filed against Divine Retreat Centre on 30 April 2007. Firstly, the FIR contained very vague and general allegations. One case registered in particular is about the death of a sick person, Neena Kumari. Let me state clearly that we are happy to be accused of being involved in her death - Yes, we have cared for this woman person till her last breath! The Police are accusing us of having caused her death. Indeed, persecutions and sufferings are the rights and privileges of the disciples of Jesus! However, we would like to make one thing very clear. The post-mortem report of the said dead person states in no uncertain terms that she had died of a defective heart valve. This official report is with the Police as well as with us. Yet, the Investigating Police team seems to think that there is something unusual in the death.

The dark, anti-social communal forces that wanted to malign Divine Retreat Centre had already brought an allegation against Rev. Fr. Mathew Thadathil V.C., one of our priests who is serving here with exemplary commitment and personal holiness. They brought about this allegation using a lady who is serving a term for a theft case in the Calicut jail. She alleged that Fr. Mathew Thadathil had sexually molested and raped her and as a result she became pregnant. As per the direction of the High Court, the Police Team conducted a thorough investigation, even taking recourse to a DNA test, and came to the conclusion that all the allegations were TOTALLY false. Despite this fact, it is a matter of great concern to us that there is no effort on the part of the Police to highlight the truth of Fr. Mathew Thadathil's proven innocence and to bring to light the evil forces that gave rise to such atrocious and baseless allegations.

When these people failed in their previous anonymous attempts, they have come forward with another allegation to malign Divine Retreat Centre. We know that many people are shocked by the recent media reports that 974 people have died in the Retreat Centre in 'shady circumstances'. In our AIDS Home alone, we have cared for more than 1000 people in the last 10 years. Most of them who came here were in the last stages of their illness and had a natural and holy death in our care. In our Home for the Terminally Ill and in the Home for the Aged, some of our elderly residents have been called to their eternal rest. Moreover, an average of 200,000 people come annually to Divine Retreat Centre for our retreats every year. Among them, there are a lot of sick people who are abandoned by medical science and are in their last stages of life due to incurable diseases like cancer, cirrhosis of the liver, AIDS and so forth. In fact, some of them come here with the specific intention of dying a peaceful death. It is the natural death of these persons that the media has reported. Divine Retreat Centre has registered the full details of all these 974 deaths with the Melur Panchayat Office. Their complete details and addresses are kept at the office of Divine Retreat Centre as well. The fact that we have been able to take care of these abandoned and pained individuals and be of some assistance to them in the moments of their death is a matter of great joy for us. If we are crucified for this loving care that we provided, we would take it not as death but as a resurrection! Indeed, for us, the deaths of these 974 people are not something shocking or painful but a matter of priestly satisfaction - that when they were abandoned by their own, we could reach out to them to give them the comfort of the Word of God and the grace of the Holy Sacraments.

We want to remind the media that they have the moral and ethical responsibility to expose the dark, anti-social powers that continuously try to destroy the humanitarian institutions which are the sole refuge of the abandoned, the homeless and the marginalized in society - it is institutions like ours that encourage the culture of fraternal service in our society. Our call to the media is to do an honest soul-searching and to see if they have adopted a mature, objective and unbiased attitude towards Divine Retreat Centre. The Church and the society are deeply hurt by the untoward action of the police officers and the irresponsible attitude of the media. Sensationalism on prime-time television news, radio and newspapers without verifying the truth or reporting the true facts has caused irreparable harm and pain to innocent parties and to the works of Divine Retreat Centre. There has been a very calculated move on the part of the communal forces to shut down this House of Prayer by continuously raising false allegations and instigating communal tensions. We hope and pray that the truth will succeed and that we will get the opportunity soon to prove that all the allegations are false.

We request the prayers of all our friends and benefactors who have shown us immense love and unwavering support - that we may stand firm with the Lord to face these false allegations with the courage of the martyrs of the early church!

"Let us be concerned for one another, to help one another to show love and to do good." (Hebrews 10:24)