Indian bishops conference condemns recent attack on priests, calls out ‘growing intolerance in the country’

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) has condemned a recent attack on two priests in the Indian state of Odisha and expressed concern about what it believes to be worsening conditions for Christians in the country.

The CBCI called the attack, which was perpetrated by a crowd of about 70 people, a “blatant violation of the constitutional rights and human dignity of minorities,” according to AsiaNews. The CBCI further said that it was part of a “growing trend of mass violence poses a serious threat to the security, protection and peaceful coexistence of all communities.”

The attack took place Aug. 6, when Father Lijo Nirappel, parish priest of St. Thomas Church in Jaleswar, and another priest, two religious sisters, and a catechist were traveling from a funeral to St. Thomas Church, as CatholicVote previously reported.

They were confronted by a mob, many of whom did not live in the area, according to AsiaNews. They began to accost the priests and catechist, though women from the village were able to intervene and prevent the mob from harming the two religious sisters.

The crowd claimed that the priests were attempting to convert Indians forcibly to Christianity. Religious conversions in the state of Odisha are strictly controlled by a 1967 law.

The priests and catechist were beaten, yelled at, and robbed by the mob. It took about 45 minutes for law enforcement to arrive and stop the violence, according to AsiaNews.

Archbishop Vincent Aind of Ranchi said that he believes the attack is part of “a broader strategy being implemented in many other states, especially those governed by the BJP,” Prime Minister  Narendra Modi’s nationalist Hindu party, according to AsiaNews.

“It is about creating a situation of public disorder, but above all about threatening and disturbing minorities,” the archbishop said. “In reality, it is an attack on constitutional rights.”

Despite the worsening political climate, Archbishop Aind said persecution “is part of [Christian] history. We have faced persecution of various kinds, and, in a sense, we are prepared to face it. This is the cross we are called to bear, as the Lord asks of us.”

One of the victims of the attacks expressed shock over the events.

“I never imagined that something like this could happen,” Fr. Nirappel said, according to AsiaNews. “We were attacked and humiliated on the basis of unfounded accusations.”

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