Archbishop Moras calls for calm after attack on church

(September 12, 2009) Archbishop Bernard Moras has urged calm after vandals attacked a Catholic church in Bangalore, southern India. Scores of angry Catholics took to the streets on September 10 soon after hearing about the attack on St. Francis De Sales Church, Hebbagodi, on the outskirts of the city. The vandals broke windowpanes, a crucifix and statues of the Blessed Mother and Saint John the Apostle. Protesters blocked a national highway and demanded an investigation of the incident. Archbishop Moras visited the church and urged people not to be provoked by such attacks. But he said the Church would not surrender to forces trying to divide religious communities. Later in the day, the prelate met the state’s governor and chief minister to demand the arrest of the culprits. The incident occurred a day after several Christian denominations in Karnataka state, of which Bangalore is the capital, founded the United Christian Forum to oppose attacks on religious minorities. Parish priest Father Aloysius estimated the damage to be around 250,000 rupees (US$5,210). The real damage, he said, was not in terms of money but on community goodwill. Chief Minister B. Yeddyurappa who heads the Pro Hindu Bharatiya Janatha Party told the state legislative assembly that his government would not spare any effort to find the vandals.