Christians march for peace in bomb-hit Pune, India

(February 25, 2010) Some 3,000 Christians, along with Catholic and Protestant bishops, held a peace rally in Pune, India on Monday, February 22^nd to condemn a bomb attack that killed 15 people and wounded 56. Students and teachers joined the crowd which gathered at a church centre in the city to pray for peace and for those who died. Later they marched to a bakery where the bomb blast occurred on February 13. Catholic Bishop Thomas Dabre of Poona and Protestant Bishop Vijay Sathe, who head dioceses in this western Indian city, joined the prayers and the one kilometre march. The procession saw Catholic priests and nuns carrying placards condemning terrorism and highlighting the promotion of peace, harmony and the protection of lives. Suspected Islamic terrorists planted the bomb allegedly to force India and Pakistan to resolve issues over the disputed Indian Kashmir region, India’s only Muslim majority territory. Bishop Dabre told the participants that religion was getting a bad name as such attacks have been carried out in the name of faith. True religion speaks of love and therefore should inspire all to protect lives, he stressed. The prelate said terrorism “doesn’t distinguish between the guilty and the innocent” because it has “no morality or ethical values.” People of good will should come together and oppose terrorism, he said. The peace marchers also lit candles and prayed in front of the destroyed German Bakery, a shop often frequented by foreign tourists. More than 500 students from various faiths joined the rally.