Italian prize for Fr. Thomas Chellan, one of Orissa’s first victims
(May 22, 2009) Indian priest Fr. Thomas Chellan, one of the first to be targeted in the wave of radical Hindu violence in the eastern state of Orissa last August, will be awarded the “Defensor Fidei” prize by the “Fides et Ratio” Foundation and the Catholic monthly “Il Timone”of Italy. Ahead of the awards ceremony at Oreno di Vimercate in Italy on Saturday, the 58-year old priest will speak to journalists on “India, democracy and persecution”. On August 25, 2008, two days into the violence against Christians, Fr. Chellan, the director of the Divyajyoti pastoral centre in Cuttack-Bhubaneshwar archdiocese was attacked by a group of about 50 Hindu thugs who stripped him naked and beat him savagely. A religious sister working with him was subjected to the same violence. Both risked being burnt alive after they were doused with petrol. Only at the end of their torture did the police intervene. The pastoral centre in Kandhamal district was among the first Christian constructions to be destroyed and burned. After a period of rehabilitation, Fr. Thomas was moved to a secret location in India because he had received numerous death threats, where he currently lives. AsiaNews agency that backed Fr. Chellan’s candidacy reported the priest’s moving testimony on September 3rd. Fr. Chellan said he was willing to go back to serve those who hurt him.
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