Rome, Italy, Aug 28, 2008 / 08:50 am
Archbishop Raphael Cheenath of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar in India said this week in response to the recent wave of violence against Christians by Hindu extremists that Christians, “especially Catholics, are persecuted above all because of our social efforts to help the poor.
In an interview with the L’Osservatore Romano, Archbishop Cheenath also said, “We Catholics have never proselytized but we have always given good example by helping others. I think that for these people who are fanning the flames, our charitable work is an unforgivable sin.”
He noted that the current problems go back to December of 2007 and January 2008. “At that time, the ire of extremists was concentrated on the destruction of the belongings of Catholics, and now it is on the direct attack of people. The number of victims is still not definitively known. I have received news of five victims and numerous wounded, some seriously. I pray to God this will all end soon and reason will soon prevail again,” he said.
The archbishop went on to say, “It is not necessary but it is fair to say that people are using a pseudo-religious pretext for matters of a political nature. Catholics in Orissa are a small community, about one percent of the population. Our faithful support peaceful coexistence with those who belong to other faiths and they have, whenever possible, good relations with their Hindu neighbors.”