Bhubaneswar: Divine Word Archbishop John Barwa of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar has set up a-four-member team to pursue the cause of ‘Odisha Martyrs,’ a process to declare as saints those killed during the Odisha anti-Christian violence.
The team comprising Catholic priests would be responsible to do systematic documentation and other processes that require for their declaration of martyrs in future, Archbishop Barwa told Matters India.
The committee members are Fathers Prasanna Kumar Pradhan, Pradosh Ch Nayak, Jugal Kishore Digal and Madan Sual Singh.
Odisha, an eastern Indian state, witnessed the worst anti-Christian violence in the country’s modern history and Kandhamal, the central region of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar archdiocese, was its epicenter. The four-month long violence claimed nearly 100 lives and rendered more than 50,000 homeless.
Father Pradhan, who is the vicar general, said the team would review every case of martyrdom in Odisha. “We would like to examine the way they witnessed their Christian faith, including their background. We would also see how their death has brought changes in the lives of others,” added the priest, who is also the parish priest of St Vincent’s Church at Bhubaneswar, the state capital
Another team member, Father Nayak, rector of St. Paul’s Minor Seminary at Balliguda in Kandhamal and Vicar General, said that the Church in Odisha would like to re-study how the victims suffered and the impact of people remembering and praying to them.
Father Sual Singh, assistant director of Janavikas (welfare of people), one of the social wing of the archdiocese, says the process would a long time to complete, but it would be an authentic record.
Meanwhile, Archbishop Barwa has requested Standing Committee of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India (CBCI), the highest Catholic body in the country, to discuss to celebrate “Odisha Martyrs Day” on national level every August 30.
The CBCI Standing Committee will meet during April 26-29 in New Delhi.