By Verghese V Joseph –
The last couple of years saw the Indian church battling crisis after crisis – both internal and external. Indeed, the church had to face quite a few challenges including attacks on churches and carol singers, unnecessary targeting of church during elections and the unsavoury episode of former Jalandhar Bishop Franco Mulakkal, incidents against women in Kathua, Unnao and other places in the country, to name a few.
Last year, the period of Advent and Christmas was marred by a series of violent incidents that ruined the festive atmosphere for the birth of the Lord. The episode brings to mind a similar incident that took place last year in Satna, in Madhya Pradesh. On December 14, 2017, a group of 30 seminarians and two priests were held hostage by Hindu fundamentalists for a few hours, after being arrested on their way to a distant village to perform Christmas carols. One of their cars was set on fire by the angry mob.
It was literally courage under siege for the Indian church in 2018 as well. Despite all these challenges, the Indian church has put up a brave face in rallying the community together during these trying moments, and facing them fairly and squarely with dignity and firmness.
Indian Catholic Matters had an opportunity to speak at length to Bishop Theodore Mascarenhas, SFX, Secretary General, Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) on various issues that the church faced during these couple of years and the way forward. Please click the video below for the full interview.