Mumbai, India, Jul 13, 2006 / 22:00 pm
The Bishops’ Conference of India has condemned the recent terrorist attacks in Bombay (Mumbai) in a statement released by the body’s general secretary, Archbishop Estanislao Fernandez.
The Fides news agency quotes the statement as saying, “We strongly condemn these acts. Our conference is profoundly disgusted that certain persons want to use these extreme means to resolve their problems, destroying innocent lives and harming property of the state,” the archbishop said.
Likewise, the president of the bishops’ conference, Archbishop Fernando Capalla, told reporters, “Terror can have no place in a civilized society. The use of terror as a means of expressing grievances is never justifiable.”
The July 11 terrorist attacks on the train system in Bombay left more than 190 dead and 700 injured. Although no terrorist group has yet to claim responsibility, officials in India suspect they were the work of Kashmir separatists affiliated with the Islamic group Lashkar-e-Taiba
Cardinal Ivan Dias, prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples and former Archbishop of Bombay, send a telegram of solidarity on Wednesday to the Diocesan Administrator of Bombay, Bishop Bosco Penha.