India: police disrupt Catholic protest; government denies visas to Vatican officials

February 05, 2015

Police in New Delhi, India, forcefully disrupted a peaceful demonstration by Catholics protesting a spate of attacks on churches in the region.

As Church leaders protested a rising tide of anti-Christian sentiment, India’s government added new fuel to the protests by denying visas to two Vatican officials who had been scheduled to address a conference on liturgy next week.

Archbishop Arthur Roche, the secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship; and Archbishop Portase Rugambwa, the president of the Pontifical Missions, quickly cancelled their plans for a visit to India after learning that they would not be granted visas. A spokesman for the Indian bishops’ conference said that the bishops would press government officials for an explanation.

In New Delhi, meanwhile, police announced that a demonstration by Catholics, who were calling attention to five recent acts of vandalism against Catholic churches, was illegal. Demonstrators reported that hundreds of police stopped their march, roughly handling the peaceful participants.

“What happened today is a shameful stain on secular and democratic India,” Cardinal Oswald Gracias of Mumbai told the AsiaNews service.

Tensions between Christians and Hindu nationalists have festered in recent weeks, exacerbated by attacks on churches and by the claims that Hindu groups have staged mass “reconversion” ceremonies, persuading scores of Christians to renounce their faith.

 

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Further information:

• Peaceful march in Delhi: police beat and stop priests, nuns and children (AsiaNews)
• Archbishop Arthur Roche cancels trip to India after being denied a visa (Catholic Herald)