Our sister group in Poland organizes protest against anti-Catholic violence in India

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Polish Parliament condemns anti-Christian violence in India 19.12.2008 Listen 3,66 MB

Destroyed church in Orissa, India

Polish MPs condemn Muslim attacks on Christians in India and urge the government to bring up the subject of growing persecution of the Indian Christian minority on the forum of the European Union. Break the silence on the persecution of Christians in India, do something to stop the tortures and killings - is the message of a resolution passed by acclamation by the Polish Parliament.

John Beauchamp reports

India has been shattered by anti-Christian violence for years now. Christian churches and settlements are being burnt down, lay and religious believers tortured and murdered. Recently, the most tragic attacks on Christians took place in the Orissa region. It is estimated that over 120 could have lost their lives. About 16 thousand believers where wounded and hundreds of Christian women raped. Forty four hundred Christian houses and nearly a hundred churches and places of worship were destroyed. Christians were expelled from three hundred villages.

'In the year 2007 in Orissa we had over a hundred episodes of violence against Christians. Until now, we know about four thousand acts of attacks in India,' says Fr. Waldemar Cisło of the Polish branch of "Aid to the Church in Need" Catholic charity.

India is not the only country where Christians suffer persecution on regular basis, continues Fr. Cisło: 'We are very much afraid also about the situation of Christians in such countries as Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Israel, also China, Indonesia and lots of other countries. Persecution is not just stuff from history. It's a modern day phenomenon. In many parts of the world religious groups experience violence and intimidation. But no one more than Christians. More Christians are oppressed than any other faith community. Leading experts in the field agree that today two hundred million Christians suffer for their faith. Many of them facing murder and other forms of violence. Individuals, families and local communities live in the shadow of violence and discrimination, affecting their jobs, pay, children, schools, health and sometimes their life, too.'

Western societies do not even imagine the scale of anti-Christian persecution worldwide, because for some reason, the subject is very much underreported in the Western media, says Tod Nettleton of "Voice of the Martyrs", an American organization monitoring human rights abuses against Christians worldwide. 'As far as the western media, I think there definitely is an underreporting of Christian persecution and religious freedom issues. It is something that is not usually on the radar of the average secular western media reporter,' says Nettleton.

The information on the grave situation of Christians in India has been reaching the Polish predominantly Catholic public gradually. Church and lay initiatives appeared in support of the persecuted Christian minority. Various individuals and groups organized e-mail campaigns, appealed to Indian officials and held rallies in front of the Indian diplomatic centers, calling for attention and help to the oppressed.

Sławomir Olejniczak of the Polish branch of "Tradition, Family, Property": 'To support the persecuted Christians we organized a protest by e-mails to the Indian embassy and also we organized a rally in front of the embassy and we delivered a petition to stop religious persecution in India, demanding from the authorities a proper protection of the people against the violence of pagan cults in India. When we started this campaign, many people said that finally somebody decided to do a public protest against this persecution, so I think people expected this kind of reaction. I'm very glad that Parliament condemned the persecution in India. Finally, I hope, it will help and we'll make bigger pressure on the Indian government. Perhaps they will take proper steps to stop this violence.'

The concern over the issue seems to be spreading. Poland's Ombudsman sent a letter to the Indian ambassador in Poland, asking the Indian authorities to look into the issue and take steps to stop anti-Christian violence.