Faith will stay strong despite violence, say India’s Bishops

(August 26, 2008): - Bishops in India’s eastern State of Orissa say Hindu nationalism is the root cause of the spreading violence against Christians in the state, but faith will not be uprooted from its soil. Christian leaders say fanatics were fomenting communal strife for their own goals. Archbishop Raphael Cheenath of Cuttack-Bubaneshwar described the situation of Catholics as “tragic but the Church and its faith will not be removed from the state. The Church," he said, "will be the light for generations to come in Orissa." He said radical Hindus are targeting churches, social and pastoral centers, parishes and convents. Archbishop Cheenath said Fr. Thomas, director of the pastoral centre was hiding in the forest. “From there, with tears in his eyes and sorrow in his heart, he saw it go up in smoke.”
Just before the attack Fr. Thomas phoned Archbishop Cheenath, who told him to pray and be vigilant, but when he saw mobs of people coming towards the centre, he had to flee for his life. The pastoral centre had cost more than 15 million rupees. "We feel totally abandoned,” the archbishop said narrating that the government authorities sent three policemen on Monday to guard the nuns' convent and the bishop's residence, but they don't even have a stick to protect us from the fury of the mob, lamented Archbishop Cheenath .He said the attacks are rooted in the radical ideology that wants to make India a Hindu nation. The radical slogan is “One nation, one culture, one religion for India. The radical philosophy wants to eliminate the Cross, but its roots are too deep that the cancer of radicalism will not be successful. The Church will be the light for many generations to come," he said.
More than 94 per cent of Orissa’s people are Hindu. Christians are only 2.4 per cent, with some conversions among Tribals, who have been socially suppressed for centuries.