By Santosh Digal
Bhubaneswar: The Archdiocese of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar will start praying for those who were killed during the 2007-2008 anti-Christian violence, diocesan sources said.
This prayer is a part of a process of the canonization of Kandhamal martyrs.
The Kandhamal Martyrs’ Committee held its meeting last March and has decided to compose a prayer in local language “Odia.” The prayer is dedicated to Kandhamal martyrs and will be
circulated in parishes, mission stations, convents, institutions and in every Catholic family.
“The purpose is to start praying for the cause of those who have sacrificed their lives for Jesus during the pogrom,” said Divine Word Archbishop John Barwa of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar, Odisha, Eastern India.
The prelate also said that the Committee members would visit 24 parishes located in Kandhamal, where the violence took place, to celebrate Mass on different Sundays and inform Catholics about the importance of praying for the cause of Kandhamal martyrs.
Meanwhile, the Committee has initiated to collect articles, memorials, statues and anything that are burnt and destroyed during the Kandhamal violence in order to preserve as a memorial in a common place.
“The proposed museum is planned for the sake of posterity and for educating the future generation about the persecution, people resilience of faith amidst those hard times,” said Father Pradosh Chandra Nayak, convener of the Committee.
The anti-Christian violence spearheaded by Hindu nationalists in 2007 and 2008 claimed nearly 100 lives, mostly Christians, and rendered more than 56,000 homeless. Several churches and Christians institutions in Kandhamal were also damaged in the violence triggered by the killing of a Hindu religious leader on August 23, 2008.