Church leaders denounce attacks on Christians in Manipur, other places in India
Trivandrum: Church leaders in Kerala state have slammed the attacks on Christian communities in Manipur and other places in India, and called for a united stand against divisive forces that seek to terrorise people in the name of religion and race.
According to Kashmir Media Service, Archbishop Thomas J. Netto, addressing a Christian gathering in Trivandrum, Kerala, said dark forces are unleashing violence upon Christians in Manipur and North India, yet there is no effective intervention on the part of the authorities. He underscored the need to fight and defeat narrow-minded approaches expressed through legislations such as the Citizenship Amendment Act.
Archbishop Netto said the need to adopt a strong stance against such disruptive forces should be clearly understood. He also urged Christian denominations to stand united to fight for minority rights, and the freedoms of religion and expression guaranteed by the Constitution.
Thomas Tharayil, Auxiliary Bishop of Changanacherry, urged caution against forces that attempt to terrorise the people in the name of religion and race. “If even one individual, be it the weakest individual in a nation, lives in fear, then we should be able to consider it the failure of the entire nation,” he said.
Church leaders have come out strongly against the attacks on Christians at a time when election campaigns in Kerala have picked up pace in the run-up to the April 26 Lok Sabha election.
