Indian priest in New Zealand alleges racial harassment

Mangalore Today News Network

July 11, 2017: News reports say that a Catholic priest from India working in northern New Zealand is suing the Church over claims of racial harassment and exploitation.

Father Alex Kapiarumala came to work in Bay of Plenty, a large bight in the northern coast of New Zealand’s North Island, nine years ago.  He said he quickly became ostracized by certain colleagues, as well as deceived, exploited and stereotyped for his Indian heritage.

Kapiarumala said false accusations and defamatory statements were made about him and circulated widely.

Those accusations were investigated by the Church hierarchy in 2014, and he was subsequently banned from practicing at all 44 churches within the Hamilton Diocese.

Kapiarumala’s lawyer Craig Tuck on July 10 said he’d filed a defamation claim in the High Court in Hamilton, after failed attempts at mediation with the New Zealand Catholic Bishops’ Conference, effectively the Catholic Church in New Zealand.

“Just about everything possible has been tried, to resolve this out of the courts.  “There’s been mediation sought, it was initially accepted then declined. “The action being taken really is a last resort to bring all parties to the table.”  He said it was far from a typical employment dispute.

“Some of the arguments which have been raised… for instance, a priest has a calling, he’s not an employee. "He’s not subject to the usual laws or rule of law in the country that he’s working in.”  Tuck said his client had also been to the Human Rights Commission and were now taking it up with the Human Rights Review Tribunal.

The New Zealand Catholic Bishops’ Conference has been approached for comment. The Catholic Church has been making waves in Australia this week too, as Cardinal George Pell, the finance adviser to Pope Francis, arrived last week to face trial on historic sex charges.