Rome, Italy, Jan 5, 2016 / 16:41 pm
The green light has officially been given to open the cause for sainthood of the nearly 100 Christians murdered in the Indian state of Odisha in 2008.
The opening of the cause is a source of pride for the relatives of those killed, but also "for the whole Church this is a pride because our men, our women and our children, those who were martyred for the faith, they are not forgotten," Archbishop John Barwa told CNA Jan. 5.
Although those killed often lost their lives in gruesome ways, "their death has brought newness of life (and) newness of faith, and for this all of them (the victims' families) feel proud."
Archbishop Barwa oversees the diocese of Cuttack Bhubaneswar in India's Odisha province, and was put in charge of organizing the cause by Cardinal Oswald Gracias.