AUCKLAND Christians have gathered in Auckland to pray for those in India who have been targets of violence and persecution. As NZ Catholic reported in our September 7 issue, Christians have been killed, attacked and forced from their homes as Hindu extremists seek revenge for the killing of one of their leaders, even though Christians were not responsible.
Some estimates say as many as 15,000 Christians from Orissa state have become refugees in their own country.
As well as the September 13 prayer service at St Mary of the Immaculate Conception Church in Avondale, Christian leaders have drafted a letter to the Indian president and prime minister, saying they are shocked and deeply pained to hear of the anti-Christian violence in Orissa.
The letter accuses state and central government of being mute spectators merely watching these crimes that violate the freedom and security guaranteed by the Indian constitution.
If the very agencies mandated by the constitution to protect the lives and property of the Indian citizens become mere spectators, what will happen to the democratic, secular fabric of our great country? the Christian leaders asked.
They urged the president and prime minister to display the courage and conviction to be decisive.
