Protect Christians from Fundamentalists: Bishop to govt.
Balasore, India, 18 July 2013: Against the backdrop of the rape of a nun in Kandhamal
district in India’s Odisha state, Bishop Thomas Thiruthalil of Balasore has asked
the state government to protect Christians from Hindu fundamentalists.
“Violence
still strikes Christians in Orissa. Very often those responsible are Hindu fundamentalist
groups who do not look kindly upon Christians,” said the prelate, who is the president
of the state’s episcopal conference.
He said that as a Church they are insisting
the government to ensure the safety and security of Christian-faith citizens.
The
bishop said the Christians are victims because often they are accused of trying to
convert people.
“The fact is that our people are vulnerable and defenseless,”
he added.
It may be noted that Kandhamal was the epicenter of anti-Christian
violence in 2008 in the state, which claimed some 100 lives and displaced 50,000.
Groups
of Hindu fanatics looted, burnt or destroyed thousands of houses, 250 churches and
scores of Christian institutions, besides attacking and raping several women, one
of them a nun.
Few of the perpetrators were arrested; many are still free on
bail.Source: UCAN