Leaders’ Visit Cheers Battered Catholics

August 30, 2011: Political and Church leaders on Monday visited a vandalized church in Hyderabad in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, bringing hope to a tiny battered Syro-Malankara community.
“We are very happy with the visit of ministers and bishops and the co-operation from state officials,” said Father Felix Thondalil, pastor of the Syro Malankara Catholics in the southern city. Police had guarded Mother Mary Malankara Catholic Church after unidentified vandals torched its altar on August 25. The church serves some 110 members of the Catholic Oriental Church.
Archbishop Thumma Bala of Hyderabad, head of the Catholic Church in Andhra Pradesh who visited the church on Monday, expressed anguish at the “bad treatment” given to Christians who “participate in the nation building through education, health and social services.”
The prelate promised to resolve the problem through advocacy, dialogue and legal methods. Bishop Jacob Mar Barnabas, apostolic visitator for the Syro-Malankara Catholics in India, and state textiles and handlooms minister Shankara Rao were among the visiting group.
Bishop Barnabas said his Church was looking forward to resolving the tension amicably. Rao condemned the incident and said the government has asked the police to find the culprits. He also promised the government would pay to renovate the church and get permission to build a proper church in place of the current asbestos-roofed building.