Kanpur: The Catholics of Kanpur, a northern Indian town, have expressed shock and dismay at what they said was the dastardly killing of an 86-year-old priest in France.
“There is no logic or justification to such cowardly and wanton killings of innocent people, including women and children, all over the world,” says a press release the Kanpur Catholic Association (KCA) issued on July 27, a day after Islamic State killed Father Jacques Hamel in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray, a town in France.
The association says it joins all those who believe in peace, justice and non-violence to condemn the horrific act.
The press release recalls the merciless slaughtering of four Mother Teresa nuns, who managed a home for the elderly in Yemen on March 4 and the abduction of Fr Tom Uzhunnalil, an Indian Salesian priest from the same place.
Earlier in Afghanistan Rev Alexis Prem Kumar, working among refugees, was also abducted. Fortunately he was released through the good offices of Sushma Swaraj, Minister for External Affairs.
The association also points out that the Catholic Church is in the forefront of serving humanity, without any distinction of caste or creed. Even in France, Catholic schools are the first choice of Muslim girls, as there is no ban on them wearing the hijab (veil).
“Here in Kanpur also our schools are the first choice of the Muslim community. Several Catholic schools have about 35 percent of Muslim students. Even some boys from the Muslim orphanage (Yateemkhana) are studying free of cost in one of our Catholic institutions, and the Shahar Qazi (head cleric) wanted his grandson to study in one of our schools.”
The KCA also condemns acts of violence against religious or ethnic groups in other parts of the world like Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Somalia and Nigeria; and hopes and prays that better sense will prevail on the perpetrators of such acts.
The association also expresses its dismay at the inaction of the UN, that is expected to send its Peace Keeping Forces to conflict areas.
The UN cannot be a mere tool in the hands of a few superpowers. The UN General Assembly should convene an emergency session and chalk out a plan of action to effectively counter terrorism masquerading as religion.