By Saramma Emmanuel
Indore: Catholics in a central Indian parish marked the first World Day of Poor with lepers.
“We joined them for lunch, sang Christian hymns and prayed,” said Father Thomas Rajmanikam, the parish priest of St Joseph Catholic Church, Nanda Nagar, Indore, the commercial capital of Madhya Pradesh state.
“We spent at least two hours with 20 inmates of an enclave of lepers at Doctors Colony, close to the church and observed the first World Day of Poor as announced by the Holy Father,” the priest told Matters India.
Pope Francis had declared Nov. 19 as the first World Day of Poor as part of his effort to bring the poor in the world in the focus of the Catholic Church once again who are close to his heart.
A 22-member Catholic group comprising two priests, nuns and lay people, carried specially prepared ‘dal bafla’, ladoo and fruits for the residents of the enclave.
Dal bafla is a local delicacy made of pulse and a ball of baked bread prepared for special occasion, George Joseph, a parishioner, explained.
“We also ate sweets with them to share our joy and concern for them,” Joseph told Matters India. The government-managed enclave is home for some 20 leprosy patients. Evan after the disease is cured, the residents are forced to stay back as none from their families want them back.
“This is my home since 30-years,” said Shanta Bai. The 60-year-old woman was abandoned by her husband and family members after she was detected with leprosy.
“My disease was detected in the early stage of marriage and I was instantly abandoned and therefore, I could not become a mother,” she told Matters India.
She is happy and grateful to the Church people for sharing the meal and spending time with them singing songs, praying and exchanging pleasantries with them. “We rarely get such visitors as no one would like to visit us,” she added.
Social activists say the plight of lepers in India is pitiable as the conservative society rejects them out rightly. The first casualty, they are thrown out of their own homes and not even allowed stay in the vicinity of their family members.
The people generally believe that leprosy is a disease caused by curse from God and nobody would like to offer any help to such victims.
However, over the years, the mindset of the people began to change, but still not enough to accommodate a former leper to one’s home. Catholic Church runs several centers across the country to take care such people.
“We are grateful to them for sharing meal and spending time with us,” said Babu Keshav, another inmate in the lepers enclave.
The 65-year-old man lives with his wife in the enclave for the past 40-years. “Generally people don’t come to us and therefore, the Christians’ gesture of bring special food for us and also sharing sweets and fruits with us was really enriching,” he told Matters India.
“We are considered social outcast, even our family members never care for us,” he laments.
Father Rajmanikam says the Pope’s call has once again brought the poor in the center stage of Catholic charity. “We have been helping the poor, but now with the fresh call from the Pope, it is time for us to give a fresh momentum in our services to the poor,” he added.
According to him, the Catholic Church is the first to declare a day dedicated to the poor. “It is an example of the Church’s concern for the poor and other religious groups can also get inspired,” he said.
“We need to collectively work for the uplift of the poor and those living in the margins to make the world a better place for everyone to live”,” the priest added.