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"I don't understand why people are making a hue and cry about it," Father Augustine told UCA News June 3. The 42-year-old priest said he applied for the license in January and the authorities are still processing his application.

"As an Indian citizen, I can apply for a gun license," stated the priest, who manages an engineering college in Kanjirappally diocese in Kerala state, southern India.

He explained that he applied for the gun license "as a precaution for self-defense," since he stays alone in the 16.19-hectare college campus and keeps large amounts of cash with him. "But local media have distorted the news and I'm going to sue them in court," he said.

His reasons notwithstanding, some people find his decision to purchase the license "unbecoming of a priest," in the words of Joseph Pulikunnel, a Catholic lay leader who says he does not understand why a priest needs a gun for protection.

"Jesus never protected himself with arms. And when Roman soldiers came to arrest him, he restrained his disciples from drawing out their swords," Pulikunnel added.

According to the layman, Catholic priests are not "just ordinary citizens" and people expect them to follow certain norms. "Rambo priests do not proclaim a Christian value," Pulikunnel said, alluding to the action-hero character played by American actor Sylvester Stallone in the Hollywood movie series.

Father Augustine asserts he has acted within the law. "Any Indian citizen can apply for a license to possess a weapon," the priest insists.

Pulikunnel challenged this stand with a counter-argument. "Indian citizens can marry, but can a Catholic priest marry?" he asked, adding that people in highly visible positions have to be judicious. "A Christian priest, more than anyone else, has to depend on God," the lay leader asserted.

Thomas George, another Catholic layman, agreed. "As a priest, he should practice what he preaches. As Christians, we fear God more than (bandits) and believe in forgiveness," George told UCA News.

Christians form 19 percent of Kerala's estimated 31.8 million people

Father Augustine says he feels insecure with crime increasing in the state. The priest's Amal Jyothi Engineering College is near Kanjirappally town, in Kottayam district, where police recently arrested four youths in connection with a bank robbery. Kanjirappally, about 2,600 kilometers (about 1,600 miles) south of New Delhi, is north of the state capital of Thiruvananthapuram.

S. Sreejith, a police official in Kottayam, clarified that anyone who follows the specified rules and procedures can possess a weapon. "Just because the applicant is a priest, there are no rules to prevent him from holding a weapon. Rules are the same for everyone, and if he is eligible, he will get one," Sreejith told UCA News.

According to the 1959 Indian Firearms Act, possessing weapons without a license is an offense punishable with a prison term ranging from six months to life, with or without fine. Police are required to make detailed investigations before granting a license to possess firearms.

Reji Pazhayidam, a journalist based in Kanjirappally, defended the priest. He said he knows many priests who have a license to possess guns. "I don't know why Father Augustine's application generated a controversy," he told UCA News. But he acknowledged the controversy could tarnish the church's image.

Father Paul Thelakat agreed that the issue at hand is not about rights. "Technically, (Father Augustine) has the right to apply for a gun license as an Indian citizen. But we don't exercise many rights that are guaranteed by our constitution," the spokesperson of the Syro-Malabar Church told UCA News. Kanjirappally Diocese belongs to the Oriental Catholic rite based in Kerala.

"Being priests, we are role models for society and Kerala's situation doesn't demand a gun license for priests," Father Thelakat said. He recalled that in the past many priests had valid licenses for guns that they used for hunting.