2010-02-04 13:37:23

Buddhists award priest’s peace efforts


(February 4, 2010) An international Buddhist conclave has for the first time awarded a Catholic priest its top peace prize. Father Anand Muttungal, spokesperson of the Church in Madhya Pradesh, was handed the Buddhist community’s award for “World Peace and Harmony” January 31. The priest, the first non-Buddhist to get the prestigious award, received his prize from Senior Buddhist monk Venerable Bhadant Arya Nagarjun Surai Sasai. The award included an engraved commemorative plaque and shawl. The award ceremony attended by 15,000 people was part of a one-day international Buddhist conclave at Bhopal, capital of Madhya Pradesh state. Conclave coordinator, Bhante Sakyaputra Sagar, lauded the priest’s efforts for inter-religious harmony in the state, which witnessed a series of attacks on religious minorities such as Christian and Muslims. “I have personally seen his work and am convinced about his commitment to religious harmony,” Bhante Sagar said. Father Muttungal in his acceptance speech said “he believed in the prosperity of humanity” and works toward “it without bothering who belonged to which religion.” He sees this award as a recognition “of the service of the Christian community” in the state. Christians, who form less than one percent of the state’s some 60 million people, have witnessed some 150 major attacks on their communities and institutions in the past five years.







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