West Bengal Church robbed, vandalized

Unidentified miscreants vandalized a church in India’s West Bengal state in the early hours of June 6.

Police said they have launched search to find the culprits who attacked the 127-year-old St Luke’s Church at Dayabari Mission Gate in Ranaghat in the Nadia district. The miscreants stole old religious items,  3,000 rupees and desecrated the Eucharist,  the church authorities said.

According to Fr. Kishor Mondal, the parish priest, a church worker discovered the damage when he came to the parish around 4:30 am. He found the lock at the main gate broken and informed church authorities, who filed a complaint with the police.

Archbishop Thomas D'Souza of Calcutta said that they are saddened by this deplorable act of vandalism and theft. St. Luke's Church is a sacred place, a place of worship. All places of worship must be respected he added. He invited all people to pray and  keep calm.

The church is close to a convent of the Religious of Jesus and Mary where a 70-year-old Catholic nun was raped during a robbery in March 2015.

The devastation of the church in West Bengal is the last episode of a long wave of overwhelming and intimidating acts against the Christian minority in India. Only a few weeks ago in Telangana another church was vandalized.  (mattersindia,AsiaNews)