The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India – Office for Dalits and Backward Classes (CBCI Office of SC/BC) and the National Council of Churches in India (NCCI) will jointly mark the Dalit Liberation Sunday (DLS) on November 11 nationwide. The theme “As for Me and My Household, We will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15)” is taken on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of Kandhamal violence (2008 – 2018).
As reported by mattersindia.com, Father Devasagayaraj M. Zackarias, CBCI office of SC/BC secretary, remarked that “The celebration of DLS is a clarion call to the whole Christian community in India to renew our faith and to awaken our consciousness to be the voice of the voiceless and to stand with the vulnerable Dalits in society.”
On the 10th anniversary of the violence against Christians in Kandhamal district of Odisha state, the Church admires the Christians who sacrificed their lives, land, houses, property, and livelihood for the sake of their faith. They sacrificial blood is the seed of faith. The CBCI continues to take necessary steps to eradicate the caste based discrimination that exists in the Church. In this regard a policy for empowering Dalits was released in December 2016 which declares that ‘Caste discrimination is a grave social sin.’
Source: www.mattersindia.com
