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_WORLD WATCH______________________________
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Attacks on Christians continue
Prime Minister sees “conversion” as the problem
As attacks on Christian missionary workers by Hindu extremists continued, Church spokesmen in India protested that Prime Minister
A. B. Vajpayee had fueled the fires of religious extremism by saying that Christian aid workers are motivated by a desire to convert Hindus. The government leader thereby gave credence to the charges made by the leaders of Hindu nationalist groups.
“Conversions are the root cause of violence,” Milind Parande, a leader of the extremist group Bajrang Dal, had told reporters just before the prime minister issued his statement. “Our Hindu society will not take this lying down.”
India’s Catholic bishops issued a statement noting that they were “deeply distressed” by Vajpayee’s allegations “that Christian missionaries are making conversions in the guise of service.” The bishops noted that “this remark comes when the country is facing a renewed violence against Christian priests, nuns, and religious workers.” And they decried “the hate campaign and the canards, lies, and half-truths that are being spread in many parts of the country.”
Cause continues for Mother Teresa
First stage completed
A thanksgiving Mass was offered at the tomb of Mother Teresa on August 16, as the Archdiocese of Calcutta formally concluded the first stage of the inquiry that is expected to lead to her beatification.
Over 35,000 pages of information—based on oral and written testimonies, interviews, and other documents—were sealed and prepared for delivery to the Vatican, where the process will enter a new phase.
Father Brian Kolodiejchuk, a priest of the Missionaries of Charity, told Famiglia Cristiana magazine that despite Mother Teresa’s worldwide reputation for holiness, the cause for her beatification could take several years. He cited the sheer volume of information to be digested, and the care taken by the Vatican Congregation for the Causes of Saints.
Under normal circumstances, the cause for sainthood cannot begin until five years have passed since the person’s death, but Pope John Paul waived that requirement for Mother Teresa only two years after her death.
The world’s highest church
A parish in the clouds
The foundation for a church located at one of the highest altitudes in the world was laid this summer in the Ladakh region of India, in the Himalayan region known as the “roof of the world.” The church will stand at 11,550 feet above sea level in the
Jammu-Srinagar diocese.
“This is going to be the first church on the ‘roof of the world,’ and the Lord will be proclaimed, not just from the housetop but from the top of the world,” said Bishop Peter Celestine as he helped lay the foundation stone for St. Peter’s Church at Leh.
A predominantly Hindu and Buddhist area, Ladakh has a small Christian population, with many of them serving in the Indian army in the cold arid region. The land for the new church to be built near Leh airport has been provided free of cost by the Jammu and Kashmir state government. While Mill Hill Missionaries have been working in the region since 1880, Indian missionaries have been manning the pastoral center since 1978, holding church services in a small chapel.
Back to Catholic World Report October 2001 Table of Contents