Tabernacle desecrated, fears of the actions of Satanists in India
Cochin, India, 05 October 2013: The tabernacle of the Catholic Church of St. Anthony
in Aluva, in the Indian state of Kerala , was desecrated and the hosts stolen. As
reported to Fides, the episode which occurred in past days, has aroused serious concern
in the local Church: Church authorities suspect, in fact, that the desecration of
the Eucharistic bread can be linked to satanic cults or sects, and that the theft
was the work of people celebrating "black masses". Fides sources refer that the Bishops
of Kerala have invited all the pastors to "raise the threshold of attention". "We
strongly suspect the involvement of satanic groups. One can observe that the donation
box in the church was intact, therefore the purpose of the raid was not the theft
of money. Only those who practice black masses seek the consecrated hosts", explains
Jose Vithayathil, Secretary of the Commission for the Laity, in the Council of the
Bishops of Kerala. However, the police of Aluva have not confirmed the suspicions,
arguing that "the investigations have not tracked ties with satanic cults".
This
is not the first incident reported in Kerala, the state where the Catholic presence
is highly developed. After a similar incident that took place in September 2010 in
the Church of St. Francis of Assisi, in Alappuzha, the local Bishop, Msg. Stephen
Athipozhiyil, had published a pastoral letter asking the lay faithful to be vigilant
on the activities of groups of Satan worshipers. In another case, church authorities
in the Church of St. James in Cheranallore have stopped giving the host for Communion
in the hands of the faithful, noting that several times the host was not consumed
but taken away.The Indian Church has already denounced the spread of groups and satanic
rituals, which are capturing the attention of adolescents and young people in the
state of Nagaland in northeastern India. Source: Fides