Bishops in Mumbai pray for victims of western railways

(July20, 2006):-“Prayer, weeping and recalling the victims of terrorist hatred “should enlighten men and women, so they may see that violence only generates more violence ”. This was the thrust of the prayer of Aux. Bishop Bosco Penha of Mumbai, India, who, together with the rest of the city, stood in silence on 18 July to commemorate the 182 victims of the attack against the city’s western railways. Bishop Bosco said: “I prayed that God may enlighten men and women, and help them to see that violence does not bring peace, but only generates more violence -- a morass of devastation in which everyone is ultimately the loser." Another 13 bishops gathered to pray with Bishop Penha. When 196 sirens went off together at 6.24pm, the bishops stood in silence to commemorate the victims of 11 July. Bishop Thomas Dabre of Vasai, a district to the North of Mumbai, lost 50 people from his diocese in the bomb attack. He said : “I prayed for peace and understanding, that we all work for a society free of cruelty and inhumanity. The need of the hour is to create a dialogue with peoples of all faiths, to create a climate of tolerance. Terrorism is an evil with its divisive ideologies and it needs to be countered by a society which believes in spiritual values which has its roots in faith in God. Bishop Dabre said “In my diocese, I visited every family where there was death as a result of the bomb blasts. Together with other priests, I visited hospitals to comfort the injured. We also organized an inter-religious peace march followed by an inter-faith prayer meeting which was attended by about 5,000 people.”