Fr Dominic Kalathil
Please read the letter from the concerned family wrote to the Knanaya community.
Our beloved brother passed on February 18, 2017. The series of events that surrounded his services has
caused our family great sadness.
My parents informed the Kaikarran at our home on the Saturday of his passing that they wanted to wait
for my sister and I to arrive to &nalize any plans.
Upon my belief, Father Domenic was told of his passing by the Kaikarran as he was in India. When Father
Domenic arrived in Florida, he came to our home.
Ini+ally, we had inquired about having Biju’s services at the Sacred Heart Church. The kaikarran
informed us that he did not believe that Fr. Domenic would preside over funeral services at Sacred Heart
Church because of Fr. Domenic’s ques+onable rela+onship with the church.
When he did arrive at our home, Fr. Domenic proceeded to raise his voice and tell my father that he
would not preside over my brother’s services if it was to take place at Na+vity Catholic Church. He yelled
at my father and asked him why my father did not call him in India. Keep in mind, we were under a
great deal of stress and unimaginable sadness during this +me. He abrasively con+nued by telling my
father, who just lost his only son, that if it was a wedding , Na+vity Church would be &ne because it was a
beau+ful church.
I was taught the physical place does not make up a church, it is the people who pray who make up the
church.
As a young girls a4ending Catholic school, we were taught that priests are our teachers . They are true
examples of our Catholic faith and servants of God. They are teachers who will display utmost humility,
kindness and sensi+vity.
Father Domenic displayed none of these quali+es. In fact, he had us ques+oning whether or not he
really was a Catholic priest.
Father Domenic con&rmed that he would not preside over the funeral services set for February 23. We
asked him to preside over a mass at Sacred Heart Church on February 21. This, he graciously agreed to
perform. At the conclusion of the mass, Father and the other men closed the curtain behind the altar.
At this point, Father Domenic and the men started laughing hysterically while our family was crying and
mourning the loss of Biju. The sanc+ty and decorum of the church was lost to them. There was no
sensi+vity to the situa+on. How embarrassing and infuria+ng that this Catholic priest thought it was
appropriate to laugh at a memorial mass.
When mass was concluded, My father approached Father Domenic to ask him if we could use the
umbrella and cross for my brother’s services. This priest, so called servant of God, crudely told our
father in front of us “why should we help you if you do not have a rela+onship with us?’ We desperately
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| Late Biju Lukose Pattaraprambil |
wanted to respond but held our tongues out of respect for our father. Father Domenic walked away
from him.
Father Domenic did not express any condolences or display any sympathy for the loss of our brother. He
merely displayed behavior of that of an angry man with a bruised ego.
He was &nally asked to perform the &nal prayer (opees) at 8:00 p.m the next day for Biju’s wake. He did
not show up at 8:00 p.m. He did not call. In fact, one of our friends had to contact him. He &nally
arrived at 8:30 p.m. He did the &nal prayer and le=.
We stayed with my parents for two weeks a=er our brother passed. Not once did he contact our
parents or our family to see how we were or if we needed anything.
We are disturbed by his conduct . It goes against everything we were taught about true meaning of
being Catholic. His crass, self serving behavior was more indica+ve of a corrupt poli+cian than servant of
God meant to show us, his parishoners, how to display sympathy and sel>ess love for others.
His note indica+ng that he forgives us is not only misdirected but insincere . He has no right to forgive
us. He really should beg God for forgiveness.
The goal in wri+ng in this note was to make aware of our horrifying experience in hopes that it will not
happen to another family. We would like the persons responsible for such conduct to be held
accountable their ac+ons.
Thank you,
Jubie Lukose Sukhu
Leena Lukose Paul
Pattaraparambil Family
