Fr. Chellan testifies to faith of Orissa’s Christians

(May 25, 2009) Indian priest Fr. Thomas Chellan, one of the first victims of the violence by Hindu fundamentalists against Christians in the eastern state of Orissa last August, was awarded the 2009 “Defensor Fidei” prize on Saturday for his witness to faith. “I dedicate this Award to all the persecuted Christians in Kandhamal, especially to those who lost their lives and stood by their faith,” the 58-year old priest said in his acceptance speech at the awards ceremony held at Oreno di Vimercate in Italy. “My own Calvary is nothing compared to the sufferings of the Kandhamal Christians,” he said. Orissa’s Khandamal district became the epicentre of the anti-Christians violence following the August-23^rd murder of Hindu leader Lakshmanananda Saraswati, falsely blamed on Christians. Two days later, 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 until the indifferent police intervened. Later, in a moving interview to AsiaNews agency, Fr. Chellan said he was willing to go back to serve those who hurt him. In his acceptance speech, the priest recalled the work of missionaries who preceded him and urged his listeners not to look upon the faithful of Kandhamal only with “pity”, but to “imitate them in their faith”. The award, “Defensor Fidei”, the Latin for ‘The Defender of Faith’, is organised by the “Fides et Ratio” Foundation in collaboration with the Italian Catholic monthly “Il Timone”.