(July 26, 2010) Catholics in the northeast Indian state of Nagaland closed all their
schools for one day last week in protest against the demolition of a village church,
allegedly by Baptists. The Catholic Association of Nagaland organized the protest
on Friday after the newly built church in Anatongre, Kiphire district, was destroyed
on July 9. “We will not react hastily as Christians, but remain patient and make
decisions carefully,” said Father Carolous Neisalhou, vicar general of Kohima diocese
which covers the entire north-eastern Indian state. The inter-denominational tussle
in the village of the Christian majority state has been going on since 1973 when several
villagers resisted efforts to start a Catholic church. In 2001, the village council
decided there would be only one village church – the Baptist Church, but earlier this
year, 17 people wrote to the village elders saying they had formed a Catholic community
and had started raising funds to build a place of worship. In April, village authorities
wrote to the parish priest of nearby St. Peter’s Church opposing the construction.
The priest wrote to police along with 21 other people calling themselves Catholics,
declaring their right to have a church. They then built a wooden structure. But
before it could begin services, a crowd pulled it down. Church sources said of the
20 families who had embraced Catholicism, 11 families were pressured into renouncing
their faith. The Catholic Association of Nagaland has appealed to the state governor,
the chief minister and other top officials to ensure that Catholics enjoy “freedom
of religion” as guaranteed in the Indian constitution.