Christmas without fear of attacks in Nepal

December 21, 2012 - Without the threat of Hindu fundamentalist groups this Christmas, Catholic churches and institutions in Nepal are expecting larger number of believers from other faiths to join in the celebration of the birthday of Jesus. Sources told AsiaNews that hundreds of people, including Hindus, Buddhists and others are expected at Kathmandu's Assumption Cathedral. During Christmas Mass, Kathmandu's small Catholic community will welcome 24 new members, young and old, mostly Hindus. Fr Robin Rai, the cathedral's parish priest, called on the faithful to bear witness to the real meaning of the birth of Jesus for mankind. "I ask everyone to come to confession to strengthen your faith so that you may spread the Christian message to the whole country," he said.
For the past few years, people of other faiths have participated in the celebrations as well as in other initiatives in various parishes. Since the fall of the Hindu monarchy in 2006, the government has made Christmas a national holiday to boost tourism. This has enabled Christians to show their sacred images and decorations in stores and outside churches and homes. At present, Catholics number 10,000, 4,000 more than in 2006 when a secular state was declared. Greater religious freedom has allowed more Catholics to show their faith in public which in turn has attracted non-Christians in greater numbers. In recent years, Nepal was the scene of various attacks, including murders, against religious minorities, usually by Hindu extremists. The worst occurred on 23 May 2009 in the Catholic cathedral, which left two people dead and 13 wounded. Since 2011, the debate over the enforcement of anti-conversion laws proposed by conservative parties has also come into the picture. However, changes to the penal code have been stopped in parliament by the need to complete the drafting of the new constitution.