Nov 17, 2009 / 00:47 am
The Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI) has proposed to make the last Sunday of August a National Day for Indian Martyrs to commemorate the Christians who died in the August 2008 massacres in Orissa.
Nearly 30,000 people fled Orissa’s Khandamal district in 2007 and 2008 during Hindu extremists’ anti-Christian attacks on nearly 300 villages. At least eighty people, including a Catholic priest, were killed. About 270 churches and chapels were desecrated, while 6,000 homes were destroyed.
The CBCI’s Commission for Ecumenism developed the proposal for a National Day for Indian Martyrs after meeting with regional secretariats in Jhansi. The commission told Fides news agency that the proposal is expected to establish a special day to remember all priests, religious and laity who have “sacrificed their lives for their faith in Christ” and who are India’s “modern martyrs.”
The proposal won unanimous agreement among all Christian denominations present in India, Fides reports. If approved, it would be celebrated on an ecumenical level, giving the observance more strength and visibility.