Jesuit priest, who championed the cause of minorities, passes away

Thiruvananthapuram – Human rights and social activist, Jesuit Father Dominic George, who had worked relentlessly for the welfare of the minority communities in India, passed away in Kochi, May 3. He was 75.

Fr. George was in the forefront of the fishermen’s struggle in Kerala during 1984–85 and took up their cause at the national and international level. This led to the beginning of the controversial ideology of Liberation Theology within the Catholic Church.

Fr. George was ordained a priest in the Order of Society of Jesus in England in 1964 and did his Masters in Theology at the University of Oxford. He also took an MBA degree from the Manchester University and during this period, he served as a newsreader in the Vatican Radio.

He also served as the first Dean of Studies at Xavier Labour Relations Institute (XLRI) Jamshedpur, and was the founder director of the Socio–religious Centre and Beach Blossom Project at Kozhikode. He later served as the director of the Jesuit–run Indian Social Institute at Bangalore, which he turned into a centre for the uplift of the Dalit and marginalized communities.

Later in his life, Fr. George turned his attention towards empowering women and children in the fisheries sector in his capacity as the director of the women’s initiative network Society in Ernakulam and Alappuzha districts in Kerala state.