By Matters India Reporter
New Delhi: The Catholic Bishops Conference of India on April 19 urged the federal government to ensure that every citizen enjoys the basic right to worship.
The top Catholic body in the country alleged that police had interrupted Good Friday prayers of Dalit Christians in a Tamil Nadu village.
A CBCI statement condemned the incident at Sogandi in Chengelpet on February 14.
The CBCI is very distressed and saddened by the happenings in Tamil Nadu, on Good Friday, a day very sacred to Christians everywhere, a spokesperson of the body said.
“We request our Prime Minister, the Home Minister and leaders cutting across party lines throughout the country to ensure that every person continues to feel safe and enjoy the basic right to worship freely and without fear,” said Bishop Theodore Mascarenhas, secretary general of the bishops’ conference.
According to reports, police had allegedly prevented a group of “Dalit Christians” from worshipping at a hillock on Good Friday, in Sogandi village of Tamil Nadu.