The apex national body of the Catholic clergy has opposed a bill that allows the Centre to take over assets created out of foreign contributions if an organisation’s registration is cancelled or surrendered, or ceases to exist.
The Church's seemingly contradictory stand on last year's waqf law amendment has, however, come back to haunt it.
Catholic Bishops Conference of India deputy general secretary Mathew Koyickal described as "alarming" the provisions of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026.
"The CBCI strongly objects to the bill's alarming provisions, which empower the central government to deny licence renewals and subsequently assume control over the institutions, funds, properties and assets of minority organisations and NGOs by the proposed designated authority in the bill," Koyickal told reporters here on Saturday.
"Allowing the Union government to take over foreign funds and assets of the NGOs or its institutions, upon cancellation, surrender, and the mere expiry or delay in the renewal of an FCRA registration is undemocratic, unconstitutional and contrary to the principles of natural justice."
He continued: "These excessive regulatory measures grant wide discretionary powers to authorities, risking arbitrary decisions, misuse and executive overreach into constitutionally guaranteed freedoms. Such control severely undermines democratic principles and weakens public accountability."
Opposition MPs have called the bill "draconian" and used it to corner the BJP in poll-bound Kerala, where Christians form 18.4 per cent of the population and run several charitable institutions that receive foreign funds.
The bill, introduced in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, comes a year after the Waqf (Amendment) Act, which was opposed for allegedly diluting the Muslim community’s control on their charities.
The CBCI had, however, supported the amendment as it saw the existing waqf law as "inconsistent with the Constitution and the secular democratic values of the country".
Christian MPs had then cautioned the Catholic Church against shooting itself in the foot by allowing a waqf dispute it faced in Kerala to dictate its position on undue state interference in religious affairs.
At the time, the CBCI had in a statement said: "The fact remains that only a legal amendment can provide a permanent solution (to the land dispute in Munambam, Kerala), and this must be recognised by the people's representatives."
The BJP had lauded this stand.
Asked if the CBCI would now review its stand on the waqf law, Koyickal told The Telegraph: "We never supported that bill as such. We said that the bill should be within the parameters of the Constitution. It should not go beyond the Constitution....
"Then, we said, whatever law the central government makes, that should not be violating the fundamental rights of any human being. And also, it should not violate any minority rights."
A Christian Rajya Sabha MP from the INDIA bloc told this newspaper: "We will protest the FCRA amendment strongly, but the CBCI has a lot to answer for (relating to) how it could support the waqf amendment but is now crying about the FCRA (amendment), which is expected to hurt Christian charities more."
Koyickal said the CBCI was "trying to approach the government with our suggestions and requirements".
He urged the Centre to "include (the) setting up of an appellate authority in the bill and the immediate removal of all contentious provisions leading to the takeover of the asset".