Archbishop seeks action against ‘hate speech’ by VHP leader
Demanding action, the Archbishop stated, “We want you to book the said VHP leader and the organisers of the event in Kadi for inciting the people by organising such hate campaign and take stringent action against these hooligans.”
The Metropolitan Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Gandhinagar on Tuesday wrote a letter to Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel seeking “immediate and stringent action” against a Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader and organisers of an event at Kadi for “insulting the Pope and religious personnel”.
Citing and attaching a purported video clip of “hate speech” by a VHP leader in Kadi of Mehsana district, Archbishop Thomas Ignatius Macwan stated in the letter, “The speech is obnoxious and shameful as it denigrates the person of the Holy Father Pope Francis, with wild accusations against his character and integrity… He has also cast aspersion on the integrity of the nuns and priests who have been doing yeoman service to humanity irrespective of caste, creed or religion in Kadi-Unteshwari since many years…”
Demanding action, the Archbishop stated, “We want you to book the said VHP leader and the organisers of the event in Kadi for inciting the people by organising such hate campaign and take stringent action against these hooligans.”
Catholic Church of Gujarat spokesperson Father Vinayak Jadhav said, “The VHP event was held this week at Unteshwari village of Kadi taluka… the villagers informed that it was a trishul diksha programme.”
The letter also cited incidents in two schools in February, when “unruly elements caused ruckus and put the church personnel under great physical and mental risk”. The schools cited are St Mary’s School Amreli and St Thomas School Mahuva.
In a letter on February 20, Secretary of the Gujarati Education Board of Catholic Institutions, Father Telesphoro Tiago Fernandes, had drawn the CM’s attention to the stated incidents.
“…the large majority of our Hindu brethen are overwhelmingly appreciative and supportive the Church’s work in the field of education, healthcare and social service… Please take stringent action against the culprits and give us protection,” the letter stated.
https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/ahmedabad/archbishop-seeks-action-against-hate-speech-by-vhp-leader-8513423/
https://mattersindia.com/2023/03/insult-to-pope-gujarat-archbishop-seeks-stringent-action/
By Matters India Reporter
Gandhinagar, March 23, 2023: The head of the Catholic Church in Gujarat has urged the state Chief Minister Bhupendrabhai Patel to take immediate and stringent action against those who have insulted the Pope and Catholic priests and nuns.
The March 21 letter from Archbishop Thomas Ignatius Macwan of Gandhinagar draws the chief minister’s attention to a recent viral video clip where a Vishwa Hindu Parishad (world Hindu council) leader is shown using “demeaning, uncouth and crass words” in Gujarati to make “obnoxious, shameful and hurtful statements against the Pope” and cast aspersion on the integrity of nuns and priests.
“He has hurt the sentiments of more than 1.4 billion Catholics all over the world,” the 70-year-old archbishop says.
The Hindu leader, the Catholic prelate points out, made “the hate speech” at a function in Kadi, a village in Gujarat’s Mehsana district, where Catholic priests have for years served special children, the aged and the “so-called unwanted of our society” irrespective of caste, creed or religion.
“We want you to book the said VHP leader and the organizers of the event in Kadi inciting the people by organizing such Hate Campaign and take stringent action against these hooligans,” demands the Gujarat-born prelate, who was appointed the Gandhinagar archbishop on June 12, 2015.
The prelate bemoans that Christians in the state now experience extreme insecurity because of the increasing attacks, intimidation and “vitriolic hate speeches” against the community by sectarian and criminal groups.
“This is done systematically, consciously and deliberately with the tacit support of their local political bosses and their ideologues,” the archbishop alleges.
He also speaks about the attacks on St. Mary’s School in Amreli on February 20 and a few days later on St. Thomas School, Mahuva, by “unruly elements” putting Church workers under “great physical and mental risk.”
“Being a miniscule minority community, we have become soft-targets to these fringe groups,” Archbishop Macwan laments.
The prelate reminds the chief minister that Christians have remained a peace-loving community immersed in nation-building with the prime mission of reaching out to the peripheries of society.
He also acknowledges the majority of Hindu brethren who appreciate and support the Church’s work in education, healthcare and social service.
“They have been appreciative of the Christian Community’s contributions during the time of the Covid-19 pandemic, natural and man-made disasters,” he says.
Christians form just 0.52 percent of Gujarat’s 60.4 million people. Catholics live under Gandhinagar archdiocese, Ahmedabad and Baroda dioceses – all Latin — the Syro-Malabar diocese of Rajkot.
അഭിപ്രായങ്ങളൊന്നുമില്ല:
ഒരു അഭിപ്രായം പോസ്റ്റ് ചെയ്യൂ