Kerala catholic priest arrested in Canada on sexual assault charges

A Catholic priest from Kerala’s Syro-Malabar Church has been arrested in Canada on charges of sexual assault and sexual interference — offences that, under Canadian law, relate to sexual crimes involving children below the age of 16.

The accused, Father James Cherickal, was taken into custody by the Peel Regional Police, following which the Archdiocese of Toronto removed him from pastoral ministry with immediate effect.

In a statement issued recently, the Archdiocese said it had received allegations of misconduct against Fr Cherickal, who was serving as the pastor of St Jerome’s Catholic Church in Brampton. “On December 18, 2025, Peel Regional Police charged Fr James Cherickal with one count of sexual assault and one count of sexual interference,” the statement said.

The Archdiocese added that it had acted in accordance with established protocols. “Following our procedures relating to allegations of misconduct, Fr Cherickal has been removed from pastoral ministry.

As with any accused in our Canadian legal system, he is considered innocent until proven guilty and entitled to due process. Any accusation of misconduct is treated as an urgent matter requiring serious attention,” it said.

Following the arrest of the priest, who is in his 60s, St Jerome’s Church cancelled Holy Mass between December 25 and January 3.

Church sources in Kochi said Fr Cherickal belongs to the Syro-Malabar diocese of Thamarassery and had been deputed to Canada nearly three decades ago. He had served in various parishes under the Archdiocese of Toronto since 1997 and moved to the Brampton parish only last year. He had also worked with the Syro-Malabar mission in Canada, which caters to Catholic migrants from Kerala.

The Syro-Malabar Church, headquartered in Kochi, is the largest Catholic denomination in Kerala and one of the 23 Eastern Catholic Churches in communion with Rome. Over the years, hundreds of priests from Kerala have been deputed to churches in Canada, the UK and Australia to serve growing migrant Catholic communities and to address clergy shortages in Western dioceses.

Before his assignment abroad, Fr Cherickal had served the Diocese of Thamarassery in multiple roles, church sources said.