The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India has brought together supporters of Kandhamal survivors to seek fresh legal options for seven “innocent” Christians convicted of murdering a Hindu religious leader more than ten years ago. The January 29 meeting at the CBCI headquarters in New Delhi was held after the Orissa High Court summarily dismissed the bail application of the seven on December 4, 2018.
The national consultation also discussed the situation in Kandhamal and cases related to the 2008 communal violence in the district of Odisha state. More than 100 people were killed; thousands of Christian homes and places of worship damaged and tens of thousands of Christians were forced to flee their villages to refugee camps. CBCI secretary general His Grace Bishop Theodore Mascarenhas explained that “The consultation was convened at the request of Archbishop John Barwa of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar who wanted to review the Church’s interventions in Kandhamal, especially after the refusal of bail to the seven who he says were falsely implicated in the killing of Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati.”
His Excellency Bishop Mascarenhas underlined the need for patience and perseverance while commending the participants’ efforts in dealing with the cases of the seven and compensation for other survivors. The participants urged the Catholic Church to speed up the causes of canonization of the Catholic martyrs and that the Word Council of Churches take up the cases of other Christian martyrs through its own procedures.
Source: www.mattersindia.com
