Priest and 2 Laypeople Slain in India
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Italian Cardinal Urges Solidarity With Persecuted
MUMBAI, India, SEPT. 23, 2008 (
Zenit.org).- As the wave of anti-Christian violence continues in India, two more laypeople were added Monday to the list of victims.
A Catholic priest, Father Samuel Francis, was also killed over the weekend, but authorities have not yet ruled out the possibility that his slaying was the result of a robbery, according to AsiaNews.
Attacks continue against churches and Christian centers in the states of Orissa, Chhattisghar, Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala. The wave of anti-Christian violence at the hands of Hindu extremists has been heightened since the end of August.
The All India Christian Council reported that in Orissa alone, 37 Christians have already been killed, among them two Protestant pastors; more than 4,000 houses have been burned, and close to 50,000 faithful have fled to camps or sought refuge in the forests.
Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, archbishop of Genoa and president of the Italian episcopal conference, spoke out against these events, denouncing the “anti-Christian persecution taking place in India, Iraq and other parts of the world.”