Pastoral letter of Orissa Bishops read, to give hope to the persecuted

(Nov.04,2008):- A pastoral letter signed by six bishops of Orissa was read on Sunday (Nov. 2) in all the churches of the eastern Indian State, where for two months activities against Christians has been underway. The letter is the first document published by the pastors since the beginning of the violence. "Our people are traumatized by these ruthless and barbaric attacks, and we need to encourage them not to lose hope," Archbishop Raphael Cheenath of Cuttack-Bhubaneshwar told AsiaNews.
In the text, published "too late" by the admission of the bishops themselves, the pastors say the violence since August 23 has been extensive. More than 60 people have been killed amid horrible torture; more than 180 churches - both Catholic and Protestant have been destroyed; thousands of homes and church institutions like convents and hospitals have been devastated, and at least 50,000 Christians who fled the massacre are living in the forests or in unsafe refugee camps set up by the government.
Archbishop Cheenath said in the district of Kandhamal in Orissa, where the series of attacks began, there are no more attacks because there is nothing left to be destroyed as Hindu extremists have razed everything to the ground. He also said “our people are frightened of being forced to change their religion, as thousands have been forced to embrace Hinduism as a condition to return to their villages, and they have been warned that they can stay only as Hindus. And thirdly, many of the Kandhamal Christians have been forced to surrender their land and property.
The pastoral letter asks the government for security, justice and for adequate compensation for those who have lost their property. But above all, the letter highlights the reasons for the persecution. It said the Church has been standing by the side of the poor and the marginalized. Through education, health, housing and employment programmes, the Church has been creating awareness among the vulnerable communities, who in turn are demanding their rights, which is not liked by the powers, since they fear their position being challenged by the poor people. Hence, they have taken to violence. But we condemn this and restate our resolve to continue the services of the Church, said the Bishops letter, and thanked organizations, media persons, NGOs political activists and conscientious citizens in India and abroad for their support to the Christians.