By Matters India Reporter
New Delhi: The Catholic bishops of India have expressed “profound pain and sorrow” at the spiraling violence in the country.
“Lynching, killings, terrorist attacks in recent times are frightening and worrying. We appeal to all our brother and sister Indians to rise above religion, caste, language or region and to unite in promoting peace, harmony and brotherhood,” the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI) said in a press release on July 11.
The press note issued by CBCI secretary general Bishop Theodore Mascarenhas expressed “distress and sadness” at the “dastardly and cowardly attack on a bus carrying pilgrims to the Amarnath shrine.”
The apex body of the Church in the country was reacting to the July 10 terrorist attack on a group of Hindu pilgrims going to the shrine in Jammu and Kashmir in northernmost India.
Seven people were killed and more than a dozen wounded in the attack at 8:20 pm in the Bantegoo area of Anantnag district.
“This last attack is another sign of the flames of violence that seem to be unfortunately engulfing the country,” Bishop Mascarenhas said.
The Pilar society prelate also said the bishops’ body is “equally shocked and saddened by the lynching of human beings by mobs calling themselves, “gaurakhshaks” (cow protectors.
“Violence (in whatever name) be it the name of animals or of God or of religion is appalling and unacceptable. We also condemn atrocities against Dalits, Tribals and other weaker sections. We condole the death of so many innocents and pray for God’s comfort to their families,” the CBCI press release said.
The bishops are also “deeply worried by the communal violence that is being fanned in parts of West Bengal and other areas in the country.” They appealed to “all concerned to restore peace and communal harmony in our society. A nation cannot progress if it divides itself on the basis of caste, creed and religion.”
“Violence brings death and destroys lives and families. We cannot risk the future of our children, our youth and our country for narrow political gains or for one upmanship.”
The press release noted that India has been “known for its traditional peace and harmony and though there have been times when we have seen unimaginable violence, death and bloodshed, our society has bounced back to peace and brotherhood.”