Rome, Italy, Sep 1, 2004 / 22:00 pm
The Catholic Bishops of India are voicing concern for a new wave of violence against Christians and calling on civil authorities to intervene and urging people to work to build religious tolerance and harmony.
The Fides News Agency reports that August 26 in the central eastern state of Orissa, a group of Hindu militants attacked and desecrated the parish church of Our Lady of Charity in the village of Rakia also destroying the homes of several Christian families near the parish.
According to Archbishop Raphael Cheenath of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar, the attack on the parish was organized and premeditated.
The bishops issued a statement which included the report of the pastor, Fr. Alphonse Baliarsingh, who said 300 fundamentalists broke down the parish door with clubs and destroyed a statue of our Lady, a Crucifix and other religious statues. The assailants made a bonfire with the Bible, liturgical books and other sacred objects, and they destroyed the tabernacle.