Supreme Court drops all charges against Asia's largest 'Retreat Centre'

For over two years, Divine Retreat Centre in Kerala, Muringoor, often known as the Asia’s largest retreat center, was under police scrutiny and probe.

However, last month, the Division bench of the Supreme Court consisting of Justices S.H. Kapadia and B. Sudershan Reddy, quashed all allegations against the Centre after the police team verification called the charges baseless.

In 2006, an anonymous letter sent to the High Court of Kerala accused the Divine Retreat Center of sexual abuse, violation of foreign exchange regulations, and suggesting that "unnatural deaths" had occurred at the centre.

The director of the Divine Retreat Centre, Fr. Augustine Valooran, has said that the several–years–long police investigation amounted to nothing more than ongoing "harassment" that interfered with the center’s spiritual and charitable work.

"We, at Divine Retreat Centre, the world's largest Catholic Retreat Centre located in Kerala, India, had welcomed the investigation and have been giving it our full cooperation," he said in a recent statement. "However, we had no inkling of what was to come. The police team began to harass us and disturb the smooth functioning of the daily services of our retreats."

"We were especially shocked by the humiliating manner in which the police raids were carried out in the Centre on 30 September and 01 October 2006. What pained us the most was the way the sick were subjected to torturous harassment. Even the AIDS patients and the mentally challenged were not spared! We were deeply grieved at this cruelty."

According to Romi Chacko, Counsel for the retreat, “The Supreme Court asserted, no investigation can be ordered by the high court based on an anonymous letter and that investigation is the field of police and court can’t interfere in it.”

Welcoming the verdict, centre’s director George Panakkal, a catholic priest, said: “It is proved that all the allegations against the centre were false.”

The Kerala Catholic Bishops' Conference stated, in its press release, that the Supreme Court verdict is the triumph of truth and justice.

The Bishops further pointed out that it is folly to imagine that lies and false allegations would succeed for long. The verdict has helped to bring to light the true facts about the great humanitarian service carried out by the Retreat Centre bringing great peace of mind and spiritual consolation to millions especially the sick and the suffering.

The Divine Retreat Centre, where retreats in six languages, including English, are simultaneously conducted in six 6 different auditoriums, is an offshoot of the Potta ministry.

The retreats are conducted every week of the year with an average of 10,000 people per week and up to 20,000 during the summer holidays. Over 300,000 non–Christians and millions of Christians have attended these on–going weeklong retreats since last seven years and have converted to Christianity.