Pope apprised of Christian Persecution in India

(September 05, 2011) The Indian bishops briefed Pope Benedict XVI about the level of Christian persecution in the country during their Ad Limina visit last week. “These have been a cause of worry and the Holy Father specifically asked also if there is violence,” said Cardinal Oswald Gracias, Archbishop of Bombay in an interview to the Vatican Radio. He said such fundamentalists want to create “animosity towards Christians and the Gospel” by making it appear as if “the whole of India is in danger because of the activities of the Christians and the missionaries.” But the Cardinal dismissed that assertion as not true at all. “It was a very good meeting with the Pope. We spoke about the situation in India, the challenges we have, the good news we have and also about the hopes we have for the future,” said Cardinal Gracias, who is also president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI). The meeting involved the bishops from Karnataka who told the Pope about the threat posed in their region by Hindu fundamentalists. Cardinal Gracias is in Rome as the Indian bishops conclude their 2011 “ad limina” visit to the Vatican to update the Pope on the health of the Church in India. The CBCI is the fourth largest in the world and so their ad limina visit had to be staggered over four sessions.