Card. Cleemis deeply affected by meeting with raped Indian nun

(Vatican Radio) Cardinal Baselios Cleemis says the Indian nun who was brutally attacked and raped last week has forgiven the perpetrators of the crime and is praying for them. 
  
Cardinal Cleemis, President of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India (CBCI) travelled to Ranaghat on Wednesday to visit the elderly nun who is in hospital recovering from Saturday’s attack.

The Cardinal arrived in the area to bring his support to the nuns at the convent where the attack took place and to visit the 74-year-old nun, who was raped by bandits who ransacked the convent and school she directed in West Bengal's Nadia district.

In a press conference Cardinal Cleemis requested that authorities ensure that justice be done and made visible.

Speaking to Vatican Radio the Cardinal said that meeting the nun provided a moment of deep inspiration for him as she has forgiven the perpetrators of the attack and believes that what happened to her is a blessing for the Church.

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Cardinal Cleemis says his day started with a visit to the sisters of the Jesus and Mary convent in Ranaghat where the attack took place in the early hours of Saturday morning.

He says he spent some one and a half hours talking with them, praying with them and listening to them.

“It was an experience for me too” he said, and confirmed that they are returning to normality and are feeling more tranquil.

After that, he said he met with the press and expressed the Church’s concern and request that an investigation into the matter be immediately and speedily pushed forward.

“Then I went to see the sister in the hospital and that was something amazing: she is so graceful; she says that she is at ease and that she is praying for everyone including the culprits” he said.

“What struck me most – Cardinal Cleemis said – is that she said ‘what happened to me will bring blessings to the Church, not only in India but everywhere. That for me is a source of inspiration and hope that the Risen Lord is doing marvelous work”.

The Cardinal said that after praying together, he blessed her and took leave of the hospital.  Afterwards, together with Bishop Joseph Gomes, head of the school's Krishnagar diocese, and with other priests, he visited the Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee who assured them that just two hours earlier, she had issued the order that a CBI Probe be carried out into the incident (a CBI Probe is highest level Probe to be carried out in India.)

The Cardinal says he is happy with the procedures and he is grateful to the Government for what they have done.

He reiterates that the incident has caused a lot of pain and anxiety among the Christian community and amongst all people of goodwill.

The attack on the convent and on the nuns has provoked much anger and indignation within the local community and throughout India.

The Minister for Urban Development described it as “a rape against humanity” and affirmed his Ministry stands by the Sisters and will give them every possible help.

Other authorities have described the attack as a "heinous crime" caused by "a desire to destabilise the State.

Not long after the incident, students and parents took to the streets in protest. Angry school students blocked trains on the Sealdah-Ranaghat route and National Highway 34 in protest against the incident. Other residents joined them. Together, they blocked roads and highways calling on the government to provide swift justice for the violated nuns.