Nepali Catholics pray for Consitution during Holy Week ‎

The Catholic community of Nepal marked Holy Week praying that the Constituent Assembley be able to forge a Constitution of the nation.  Starting from Palm Sunday the faithful, candles in hand, began to visit the Cathedral of the Assumption of Lalitpur and other churches in the country.  Fr. Ignatius Rai, pastor of the Cathedral of the Assumption, told AsiaNews: "If the laity follow us and trust in God, we will be able to spread the Kingdom of God in Nepal in a short time, making it a peaceful and prosperous country."  Although the Catholic community of Nepal is a miniscule 0.5% of the population, its prayer initiative was supported by a number of people belonging to different religions, who joined in the community’s  prayers.  In a special prayer intention,  Bishop Paul Simick, Apostolic Vicar of Nepal, said: "Our country is writing a new secular constitution but the leaders are still struggling to find a solution to the various disputes. So, as we celebrate Easter this year, we pray for the new secular constitution and for peace in the country. " Addressing a crowd of hundreds of people, the bishop added: "May God forgive lawmakers and politicians for their past mistakes and God bless them giving them the wisdom to write a constitution in this second term." 

 

After 240 years of absolute monarchy Hindu, in 2007, Nepal elected the first Constituent Assembly, which was to have enacted a charter by 2010. This assembly was dissolved in 2012 due to disagreements on issues such as federalism, the electoral system and judiciary and the form of government. Since November 2013, a second Assembly has been trying to agree on the promulgation of a secular constitution, which guarantees religious freedom and the right of citizens and "groups" to practice their  faith.

 

In January, the Assembly again failed to come to agreement on the draft of the new Charter. The political and economic instability of recent years - linked to the struggles for power between secular parties - has strengthened Hindu pro-monarchist movements, who have tried in every way to curb the rise of conversions taking place since the end of the reign.  (AsiaNews)