Card. Gracias urges Christians to bring God back to centre of life.

December 28, 2012 - A top Indian Catholic Church official has described the New Delhi gang rape of a young woman as a "terrible example of the malaise of India" which shows "the marginalization of God" from life. Card. Oswald Gracias, Archbishop of Bombay who is president of the Catholic Bishops Conference India, made the observation to AsiaNews regarding the December 16 rape, that has triggered nationwide outrage. The 23-year old medical student is fighting for her life in hospital in Singapore where she has been transferred for specialized treatment. In his homily at Christmas Mass, Dec. 25, the cardinal said the various forms of violence against women in the country, including rape and female foeticide, show contempt for women and disregard for law and order and the criminal justice system. He also decried the destructive forces against peace, such as greed, corruption, hunger for power and violence; and the neglect of the poor, the homeless, the migrant, the mentally ill and the unborn child. The greatest enemies of Christmas, he pointed out, are not those who do not know or believe in Christ, but those Christians who have become hard-hearted, self-righteous and have closed their hearts to the human needs of others. This, Cardinal Gracias said, is the consequence of the "marginalization of God" from the centre of our lives. To reverse this situation and to affirm the peace of Christ, he said, we must "bring God and Christian values ​​to the centre of our lives," especially "at Christmas in the Year of Faith.