Š L’Osservatore Romano
Aid to the Church in Need
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President of Aid to the Church in Need,
Cardinal Mauro Piacenza Executive President,
Johannes Freiherr Heereman Ecclesiastical Assistant,
Father Martin Barta
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Aid to the Church in Need
Contents
Page
Introduction - Cardinal Mauro Piacenza . . . . . . ................................................ 2 Farewell and Thank You to Fr Joaquín Alliende............................................ 3 God Sees Things Differently . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ................................................. 5 Faithful in the Land of Martyrs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ................................................. 6 “May My Great God Give Them Strength” . ................................................ 7 Through the Eyes of Children. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ................................................. 9 A LOOK IN THE
ACN’s Look at India – An Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . .............................................. 11 The Current Situation of Christians in India – A Brief Overview ................... 13 The Concerns of Indian Christians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .............................................. 15 India’s Anti-Conversion Laws . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .............................................. 15 Parity of Esteem in India . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ............................................... 16 Orissa State – The Rape of Sr. Meena Barwa and the Rule of the Mob ............ 17 Orissa State – The Murder of Rabindra Parichha, Catechist and Social Worker . 18 Jharkhand State – The Murder of Sr. Valsa John, Voice of the Oppressed ........ 19 Orissa State – Faith Increasing Despite Persecution ........................................ 19 Orissa State – Christians Must React in a Christian Manner ............................ 20 ACN Benefactors ‘Dry the Tears Where God Weeps’ - A Comment ............ 21 ACN Benefactors – Help Seminarians in Kerala ............................................. 22 ACN Benefactors – Help Seminarians in Orissa ............................................. 23
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Dear Friends, It is with great joy that I address myself to you for the first time, now that ACN has been established, at the wish of Pope Benedict XVI, on a new legal and canonical basis. Our charity is now a Pontifical Foundation, which “speaks” and “acts” in the name of the Church. Doing good, performing works of mercy, and fidelity to the Pope are characteristics and a legacy that sustain ACN and also make possible this new institutional refounding. I am convinced that by remaining steadfast to this vision and plan of action the charity will develop its pastoral work and its mission within the Church.
times that call for a “new evangelisation,” a time of renewed and still greater generosity so that faith can be re-kindled and our world be given a future.
As a Pontifical Foundation we are now called upon to strive, with heroic generosity, to support the Church in need and the evangelising work of her priests. In so doing we may perhaps be surprised to discover, again and again, how our own faith is enriched and comes to flourish mysteriously, in union with Peter, in a renewed sense of mission and redoubled Good deeds and generosity.
Essential to this mission of ACN is to support the Holy Father in his task works of mercy, in of “strengthening his fidelity to the Pope. I would like to thank you brothers in the Faith”. most warmly for your It is a task that urges us generosity and fidelity to this great work to console the afflicted and comfort the of charity to our needy brothers and grieving, and we must strive to discern the Face of Christ and “dry the tears of sisters in the Faith and to urge you to be unflagging in this love. God” in the poor and suffering. We can see very plainly how the needs are becoming greater everywhere. In addition to the persecution that has always existed– and remains a reality today – we now see the coldness of religious indifference, the rejection of God and a widespread secularisation. These are
It is a precious and propitious moment. The Spirit is calling us to renewal, in continuity. May we be conscious of the firm but gentle guiding hand of the Lord, who is providentially leading his Church in a great design of salvation and closer conformity with his will. So may we be
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able to respond as fully as possible to the needs of the Church. I pray, with you and for you, to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, in her sorrow at the foot of the Cross, for the protection of Heaven and a spirit of boundless generosity. I pray, with you and
for you, that, like Mary, we too may be “mothers” to all who turn to us in times of need.
Cardinal Mauro Piacenza, President of ACN
Farewell and Thank You to Fr Joaquín Alliende Father Joaquín Alliende, the President of ACN, has now retired. Here is a tribute from his Vice President. “Dear Friends” – how many times has Father Joaquín Alliende addressed us in these words, since the end of the 1990s, when he took over from Father Werenfried in writing the letter on Page 1 of the Mirror? Why was he the man to whom Father Werenfried turned, back in the 1980s, to help shape the work of ACN and revise his Spiritual Guidelines, together with the future Cardinal Scheffczyk? And why was it that he once asked this priest to be his successor – a request that Fr Alliende declined with the words, “Chopin had no successor, only interpreters”. And so instead, in the late 1990s Father Werenfried asked him to become International Ecclesiastical Assistant to ACN and thus, so to speak, to be his interpreter…. Father Alliende is a Chilean and he embodies the culture and temperament of his people. The eldest of 10 children, he grew
up in a family who lived their Catholic faith with heart and soul. Shortly before he left school, his father died. Before this, the young Joaquín had met the founder of the Schönstatt movement, Father Kentenich, in Chile, and was profoundly impressed with this priest and the spirituality of the movement he had founded. He felt God was calling him, and after completing his schooling he travelled to Fribourg in Switzerland to train as a priest of the movement. A year later his mother died. Following his ordination, and with the approval of his superiors,
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he moved back to Chile to look after his orphaned brothers and sisters, caring for their upbringing like a father. After this he devoted himself with all his love and energy to a widely varied apostolate. His creativity and gift with words – he developed into an acknowledged spiritual poet within the Hispanic world – were a part of this. He also proved to be a profound theologian,with a clear insight into the dangers and errors of some of the current trends in liberation theology, yet at the same time a lively awareness of the longing of the Catholic faithful for a God close to them in their need. Thus he did not go unnoticed and before long the leaders of the Schönstatt movement found a place for him within the international leadership. He returned to Europe and was also involved in the preparations for the first-ever World Youth Day. It was during this time, in the 1980s, that his intensive contacts with ACN began. For Father Werenfried was convinced, as he once told me, that ACN was in need of the new source of graces brought by the spiritual movements. Back in Chile, Father Alliende found himself having to defend the interests of the Church against a dictatorial regime. At the same time he developed an important media apostolate – just one of many evangelising initiatives that he started. The many books that he wrote likewise served this goal. He saw Mary as his mother, bound to him by a bond of love, and consequently it was quite natural for
him to point to her as the shortest way to Jesus and seek to lead others to her. Father Alliende has always been a man of prayer. As Father Werenfried once said, if ever a prayer was needed for a special occasion, “We will ask Father Alliende for one. He is a man of prayer.” Perhaps this is why Father Joaquín Alliende became such an important part of ACN and why the Holy See, in the shape of the congregation of the clergy, appointed him in the late 1990s as International Ecclesiastical Assistant and later entrusted him with the role of International President. Now his term of office has come to an end. His rich experience and talents, his profound understanding of what the successors of Peter expect from ACN were an integral part of his work and the reason why during the past 12 years he exerted all his heart and all his energies to this end. In gratitude for his work and initiative on behalf of ACN, we entrust him with an Ave Maria to the loving intercession of Our Blessed Lady, confident that this faithful servant of Mary will never be without the loving protection of his Mother. Dr. Pieter van der Velden Vice President of ACN
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God Sees Things Differently The “unworldliness” of which Pope Benedict has spoken is at the same time a personal choice. It takes shape in the response to the quiet call of God. Sister Marie Catherine Kingbo was one of those who heard and responded. Even as a child she had always been more inclined to pray with a listening heart rather than by speaking. At the age of 25, in Dakar, Senegal, she made her temporary vows, and at the age of 32 her final vows. Later she became the Superior of the congregation of the Daughters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Later still she was elected president of the Association of Religious Superiors for the region of West Africa. Then in Paris, after hearing a lecture on Christianity and Islam, she felt Our Lord calling her to something new: “You know my face; make it known among the Muslims”. The words were engraved on her heart; she founded the congregation of the Handmaids of Christ and asked the Bishop of Maradi, in Niger to find a home for her in his diocese. It is the only home-grown congregation in Maradi. Very soon the first postulant was knocking at the door of the new congregation. Today there are eight of them, and SisterMarie is seeking our help for the formation of her novices.
by Islamand a proliferation of sects. But this new congregation is already highly regarded, because these young women bear shining witness, helping and teaching with selfless devotion – the essence of unworldliness. St Therese of Avila put it like this, “How much better the world would be if there were no chasing after fame and money. Then I am sure the world would be back in good order.” But for now we cannot dispense entirely with money. In the convent of Our Lady of the Angels run near Canelones in Uruguay, the 14 Contemplative Sisters of the Poor Clares have to endure freez-
There are some 40,000 Catholics living in Niger today, in an environment dominated Aid to the Church in Need +e112ei_print.indd 13
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Ukraine. Youth work can be fun too! With the Holy Family Sisters this is no problem.
ing temperatures. Most of them are aged over 80 and some are even over 90, and the winters are cold in these mountains. The little they earn by the work of their own hands is not enough to pay for the necessary repairs in a convent that was never really even finished, let alone to pay for the heating. But they cannot and will not cut back on their prayers. For this is their most important contribution to the life of the Church in this highly secularised country. We have promised them our help. •
Faithful in the Land of Martyrs “Martyrdom is not a matter of heroic achievement, but of the grace to be able to suffer for Jesus”, writes Benedict XVI in his second volume on Jesus. Martyrdom is also a matter of faithfulness, just as Mary was faithful. From this perspective there can also be a martyrdom in the little things of everyday life. Many Religious Sisters live this martyrdom, patient and unseen, year after year. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the martyrdom of many priests and religious is an ever-present reality, the Sisters of the young congregation of Our Lady of Good Counsel maintain schools and kindergartens, bake hosts, embroider Mass vestments, care for families and minister in clinics and centres for the handicapped. “Mary is for us the model of devotion, of closeness to God and listening to his
Active workers in the land of martyrs – novices of the young congregation.
word”, says their Superior, Sister Marie Jeanne Kimenya. “And she is also the pattern for our mission of supporting the priests in their apostolic work.” ACN has promised the congregation support for their life and ministry. It will help many, day after day. •
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“May My Great God Give Them Strength” In the countries of the post-Soviet era the scars of communism run deep in many souls. In those countries where Christians were always a tiny minority it is particularly difficult for Christians to live their faith in everyday life as well. In Kazakhstan there is a strong Muslim element in the population. In the diocese of the Holy Trinity in Almaty there are 16 Religious Sisters and two Religious Brothers. They provide a very thorough teaching to the children and young people in their care. For the only protection against the prejudices of the world around them lies in sound arguments and prayer. 10-year-old Anja spent two years with the Sisters, preparing for her First Holy Communion. “When the day finally came, and Jesus was within me, I understood that I was following in the footsteps of Mary. In my First Confession it was hard for me to
Little Katja’s first real home – under the loving eye of Sister Teresa.
acknowledge my sins, for I felt ashamed. But I knew that it was necessary, so that Jesus could enter into a pure heart. And when I received him, my God, I had a thousand things to ask him.”
“Long live the old people’s home!”
Careful accounting in his last earthly home, helped by Sister Angelina.
Tolik, who is 12, lives alone with his mother. Ever since the summer camp with the parish he has been attending Mass regularly. “I am happy, now that I am an altar server. Since I began to pray, I have also taught my mother one or two
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ing again. “I love going to the chapel and praying to my great God, as I always call him, and I pray for the Sisters too, asking my great God to give them strength to stay faithful to the path they have chosen.” He signs his letter “Isaac, taken into the home by the Little Sisters of the Helpless and Elderly”.
Learning by doing – Sister Clara’s First Holy Communion children.
prayers. She says I have changed since I started going to church, and that I am more obedient now.” But without our financial support the Sisters cannot continue their teaching work, nor can the brothers organise the summer camps. We have promised them to help.
Anibal Ovidio, who is 86, was a craftsman and still helps wherever he can. He also looks after the sacristy and is happy to take on any task. His “only sorrow” is “the ingratitude of my children – but then maybe I wasn’t such a good father either”. But he tells the Sisters they must not be sad when he dies, although for him it will be hard enough to have to leave this place of peace one day, he says. The Sisters’ request is modest indeed. Altogether, in these two countries, there are 243 Sisters working in such homes, the last earthly home for many aged and lonely people. Ours could be the arms through which God reaches out to help them. It is up to us. •
On the other side of the world, in Bolivia and Peru, the Little Sisters of the Helpless and Elderly care for lonely old people in special homes. Pedro Oliver, who is 86, is so happy and thankful for this that he ends his letter with the words “Long live the old people’s home!” 89-year-old Isaac, a former singer, became a widower at an early age, and then lost his son, who died of cancer. The Sisters took him in, and very On the road with the Sisters – soon he was sing- lunch break on a day out.
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Through the Eyes of Children “I draw my inspiration from the sacred Scriptures and from people,” says Conchita Gomez, an artist, social worker and Religious Sister. Now aged 75, she comes from Pamplona in the north of Spain, but has lived and worked for years in Peru. Her artwork illustrates numerous different publications, including the ACN Child’s Bible God speaks to his Children. This little book has now been published in no fewer than 171 different languages and almost 50 million have been printed. Sister Conchita is perhaps better known to the wider world under her Basque pseudonym Miren Sorne. Since the age of 20 she has been a member of the Hermanas del Servicio Social de la Inmaculada, a religious community that cares for the poor and the sick in the slums of Lima and also high up in the Andes. Since many children and young people and adults there could neither read nor write, Sister Conchita soon discovered paint brush and palette as a way of bringing the holy Scriptures closer to them. As a child she had learned to draw and paint. Right from the start her bold and colour-
An artistic apostolate – Sr Conchita Gomez brings God’s Word to life.
ful illustrations met with an enthusiastic reception, perhaps partly because she has remained faithful to a simple pedagogical maxim – always treat children and young people with the same respect as adults. In the course of her work with young people in particular, Conchita Gomez has developed her own quite distinctive style. Her illustrations are appealing, and their portrayal is strikingly realistic. She manages to bring the Bible stories to life. The secret is to view the Gospel The Child’s Bible – almost through the eyes 50 million copies in 171 languages. Aid to the Church in Need
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of children and to express this on paper through their imagination. She stresses, she wants people to look at the pictures not as outside observers, but to be able to place themselves in the scenes. And another distinctive feature of the work of this Spanish Sister is this – she knows that her pictures will be seen by people throughout the world, usually young people, of every different nationality and race and very frequently from simple and even very poor backgrounds. And so her figures aim to reflect the features of these youngsters, the colouring of their clothing and of their everyday life. And so the Bible scenes she depicts do not seem strange and distant but real, authentic and contemporary. Sister Conchita has followed the progress of the ACN Child’s Bible God speaks to his Children for 20 years now, maintaining contact through the publishing house of the Steyler misReady at last – in China too the Child’s Bible is welcomed enthusiastically.
Go out into all the world – the same message, through modern means.
sionaries (Divine Word Missionaries) in Pamplona, where the Child’s Bibles are printed. She has also illustrated ACN’s Rosary booklet for children. Her illustrations are also to be found in many other religious publications. Sister Conchita does not like to talk about her success. Instead when she’s reminded of the huge number of children who have received a copy of God speaks to his Children, she says, “I feel quite uncomfortable. My only wish is to help through these images to convey the message, the Word.” • Reinhard Backes
A living narrative – so the message is brought to children everywhere.
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A LOOK IN THE
ACN’s Look at India A Chairde, India has a land area 100 times the size of Ireland and a population in excess of 1.2 billion, 200 times that of Ireland. With its fast-growing economy India, a regional superpower, is well on course to become a global superpower within the next generation. What happens in India economically, politically and culturally, is therefore not irrelevant to what happens in Europe and in Ireland and this will become increasingly the case. Given this it is remarkably how little media attention in Ireland is devoted to India and particularly to the persecution of Christians which for some time has been taking place on the sub-continent. In part compensation for this oversight, ACN’s ‘Look at India’ begins with a brief overview on the situation there as extracted from ACN’s authoritative 2010 Religious Freedom Report*. Among the many stories of Christian persecution in India during recent years, perhaps the one with the highest profile took place in Orissa during the summer of 2008 when an estimated 500 Christians lost their lives in mob violence and 54,000 Christians were forced out of their 4,640 homes to
Archbishop John Barwa SVD will visit Ireland in February 2012
live in make-shift camps. Many will recall from this time the horrific story of Sr. Meena Barwa’s rape and public humiliation. Her tale is briefly retold herein, as is the story of her uncle Archbishop John Barwa’s former pupil, Rabindra Parichha, who in recent months was murdered for spreading the Good News, the third such murder this year of a Catholic catechist in his diocese. The story of the murder of Sr. Valsa John and her heroic witness to her faith in the God of Justice and Love could have been written at any time in the Church’s history and in any place where Christians are being persecuted for speaking the truth to power. It is unquestionably the case that religious freedom for Christians in India continues to be limited by Hindu extremists who enjoy the tacit support of local officialdom in this predominantly Hindu land. Despite this, Archbishop Barwa of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar declares that in his
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diocese and throughout India, ‘Faith is increasing’. Here of course, some would argue that ‘the blood of martyrs is the seed of the church’ (Tertullian, 160-220 AD), and take the view that faith in Orissa is increasing precisely because of its violent persecution. Whatever may be the relative merits of such a discussion there can be no disagreement that Christians in Orissa and throughout India are suffering and suffering painfully for their faith. To highlight the plight of Christians in India Archbishop Barwa will visit Ireland towards the end of February 2012. During his visit the Archbishop will share with us his insights about leading a minority Christian community which grimly endures grinding poverty while being actively attacked for proclaiming that every human being having been made in the image and likeness of God is equallydeserving in dignity regardless of class, colour, ability, age or gender. In Orissa, India and throughout the world, Christians are being persecuted for telling this inconvenient Truth and telling it in selfsacrificing charity. Perhaps it is no small irony, that in this ancient land where Christians are being persecuted for living in truth, the national motto of India should read, ‘Truth alone triumphs’, a sentiment which deeply resonates within the hearts of all Christians who proclaim Jesus Christ as ‘the way, the truth and the life’ (John 14: 6). It is the case that at all times and in all places
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Christians proclaim ‘the truth which will set you free’ (John 8: 32) and that a loving God made visible in His only-begotten son, has created every individual human being to enjoy this God-given liberty. It is this fundamental understanding of the human condition which provides: • the essential basis of the social doctrine of the Catholic Church, • the key motivation for the Church’s promotion of integrated human development and • the very heart of what the Gospel offers, life in ‘communion with Christ and with one another’. We conclude this first ‘Look at India’, mainly North-East India with a profile of a recent pastoral project which ACN’s benefactors have made possible. As always on behalf of ACN may I convey our heartfelt thanks to all our benefactors who in silence and in prayer bear witness to the love of God within their hearts and who in communion with Christ and with one another help dry the tears of those who dwell in all those places ‘where God weeps’. Beannachtaí daoibh go léir
J F Declan Quinn * To read full report go to www.acnirl.org and follow the links.
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The Current Situation of Christians in India – A Brief Overview The Christian community in India is still overshadowed by the 2008 attacks against them. Violence erupted in Kandhamal, Orissa in August 2008, following the assassination of Hindu monk and political leader Laxmanananda Saraswati by Maoists. His party, Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), blamed Christians for the killing and this sparked a campaign of antiChristian violence which resulted in the torching of 4,640 houses, 252 churches and 13 educational institutions. Although the All India Christian Council’s figures for the number killed stands at 70, many are still missing giving credence to some reported estimates of more than 500 deaths. 54,000 were made homeless during the riots, and even until very recently significant numbers were still living in displacement camps.
Victims of the attacks have been unhappy with the official response. The fast-track courts created to hear cases relating to Kandhamal tragedy have been slow and many cases were rejected due to “insufficient evidence”. There is also a fear that little or no compensation will be received for the damage done to their homes. The Sampradayik Hinsa Prapidita Sangathana (the Association of the Victims of Extremist Violence) was created with the support of the Catholic bishops of Bhubaneswar and Berhampur and the Evangelical bishop of Bardhan to monitor these and other on-going problems arising from the violence. The 2008 attacks, and much of the continuing persecution of Christians in the country, are due to Hindutva groups and political parties. Hindutva is a rightwing form of Hindu nationalism, which broadly speaking regards India as a Hindu country, in which other religions and cultures should not be tolerated. A climate has been created wherein “the trend of attacks on the Christian community by right wing Hindu groups goes unabated. Overall, the Christian community feels insecure,” according to Dr. Dominic Emmanuel, spokesperson for Delhi Catholic Archdiocese . In 2009, Ajay Maken, Minister of Internal Affairs, presented a report to the Indian
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parliament’s upper house (Rajya Sabha) indicating religious-based violence has risen steeply in recent years. It described more than 3,800 attacks by extremists, with numbers of reported attacks rising from 677 in 2004 to the 943 in 2008. The country sees an average of two attacks every day. The states named as having the highest number of reported incidents are Maharashtra (681), Madhya Pradesh (654) and Uttar Pradesh (613). While in 2010, India did not see attacks against the Christian community on the scale of those that took place in 2008, a high number of isolated incidents of violence continued to afflict the community. Many of these assaults occurred in the context of false accusations of forced conversion. The north-central states of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, Orissa in the east, Gujarat in the west and
Himachal Pradesh in the north have laws forbidding “forcible conversion”. These laws only apply to converts to religions other than Hinduism. Should a Hindi wish to convert he must inform the district magistrate and obtain permission, if he does not his conversion is legally annulled. Hindu hardliners routinely have Christians arrested on such charges. The Dalit question continues to be of significance, as many Dalits, traditionally referred to as ‘untouchables’ have converted to Christianity. Dalits are considered to be at the bottom of the rigid caste system, leading to a blurring of the distinction between religion and social status. In March 2010 several bishops were detained in Tamil Nadu state after police halted a march protesting against the discrimination of Dalit Christians. •
‘Only in truth does charity shine forth, only in truth can charity be authentically lived. Truth is the light that gives meaning and value to charity. That light is both the light of reason and the light of faith, through which the intellect attains to the natural and supernatural truth of charity: it grasps its meaning as gift, acceptance, and communion. Without truth, charity degenerates into sentimentality. Love becomes an empty shell, to be filled in an arbitrary way. In a culture without truth, this is the fatal risk facing love. It falls prey to contingent subjective emotions and opinions, the word “love” is abused and distorted, to the point where it comes to mean the opposite. Truth frees charity from the constraints:• of an emotionalism that deprives it of relational and social content, and • of a fideism that deprives it of human and universal breathing-space.’ Pope Benedict XVI, §3, ‘Caritas in Veritate’
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The Concerns of Indian Christians Ahead of the 2009 General Election the leaders of Christian organisations drafted a joint memorandum addressed to all political movements in which they reminded politicians of all parties that • poverty and unemployment “concern all citizens with no distinction for religion, caste or gender,” • the crisis affecting rural areas “is monumental and requires urgent intervention, ” and • the “serious social crisis of religious, caste and gender intolerance” needs to be addressed. In addition they advised the political establishment that Indian Christian communities expect them to: • “strengthen the rule of law” and put an end to the impunity enjoyed by those responsible for attacks on minorities
and the immunity granted to “local administrators, the police and criminals” who through their actions endanger religious freedom. • put an end to the discrimination of women; • uproot the “disinformation campaign” against Christians implemented by political parties and the media; • guarantee “an adequate standard of living” to Christians in refugee camps in the Kandhamal district of Orissa and • “ensure that the refugee camps remain operational until adequate conditions are established for the refugees to return to their homes,” as well as • “provide adequate compensation” for those who lost their homes, property and jobs because of the 2008 violence.
•
India’s - Anti-Conversion Laws Although the Indian Constitution guaranteed religious freedom, including the right to change religion and evangelise, at a local level so-called “anti-conversion” laws are being enforced. While on paper India’s traditionally secular central gov-
ernment rejects the Hindutva ideology that claims priority for Hinduism and its cultural and religious prerogatives over all other religions present in the country, on-the-ground there is widespread recognition of these prerogatives.
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Indeed the principles of Hindutva continue to influence the political agendas of some states and local administrations. The anti-conversion laws for example were officially created to defend freedom of conscience. In practise however these laws forbid and punish conversion from Hinduism to other faiths, but not the opposite, because Hinduism is considered the “natural” religion of the Indian people. Christians and Muslims are not considered to have “converted” but rather have “returned” to the religion of their fathers. Moreover these laws are used as an excuse for attacks against Christians at
times violent at times verbal, inside and outside Churches, d u r i n g religious services outside such times and as justificaA vandalised church in tions for the Hyderabad, India police arresting, charging and imprisoning priests, religious and lay catechists. •
Parity of Esteem in India On paper, caste discrimination is illegal in India. In practice Muslim, Christian, Hindu, Buddhist and Sikh dalits, the so-called ‘untouchables’, are obstructed from social advancement. In December 2009, the National Commission on Religious and Linguistic Minorities (the NCRLM) presented to the Lok Sabha, India’s lower house of parliament, a proposal to amend the 1950 law that divided members of Scheduled Castes on the basis of their religious beliefs. This was the first time that the Indian parliament debated the possibility of granting Christian and Muslim dalits the same rights as Hindus and Buddhists belonging to Scheduled Castes.
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The NCRLM says that the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order goes against Articles 14, 15 and 25 of the Constitution. The arrival of the NCRLM Report in the Lok Sabha followed a long series of initiatives sponsored by Christian and Muslim dalits to have their rights acknowledged. On 18th November 2009 in New Delhi, thousands of Christian and Muslim dalits from all over India, protested together asking for the same rights as Hindu dalits. In response the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)organised a two-month long national protest in defence of the discriminatory 1950 law. The BJP accused the new government of betraying the Constitution and of conspiring in favour of minorities. •
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Orissa State – The Rape of Sr. Meena Barwa and the Rule of the Mob It took her weeks to overcome the shame and shock. But eventually she spoke out publicly. “I, Sister Meena, was raped by Hindus, and the police just looked on”. Such was the testimony given by this Catholic nun to the Indian Social Institute two months after the outbreak of the violence against Christians in the state of Orissa, India. Sister Meena Barwa described how she was working in the pastoral centre in Nuagaon with Father Thomas Chellan when a mob of radical Hindus attacked, raped her, beat him and dragged them through the streets. With axes, iron bars and clubs, they attacked the centre and burned it down. They hunted down the two fugitives, tore off their clothes, dragged them to the centre and threatened to throw them into the burning ruins. There, on the veranda, three of them fell upon Sister Meena, while someone in the raging mob shouted, “Where is the Sister? At least a hundred should rape her!” The police had been alerted, but did not intervene. Instead, the victims were dragged to a police station, where Sister Meena, weeping bitterly, begged for help. But the police were unmoved, and even chatted amicably with the perpetrators. Later, the police tried to prevent Sister Meena from writing anything in her report about the actions of the police.
But Sister Meena is demanding justice. In her testimony, given to the Asia News agency, she wrote: “The state police failed us. They failed to stop the crime and failed to protect me from the attackers. I was raped, and now I don’t want to be victimised by the police in Orissa. I demand an investigation.” And she concludes with the words, “God bless India, God bless you all!”
Justice for the Persecuted Sister Meena gives her testimony.
For months the mob rampaged, forcing many Christians to hide in the forests, too terrified to return to their villages, where fanatical Hindus waited to subject them to forced “reconversion”, just as they had already done with other Christians. The militant nationalist VHP Party and its youth wing Bajrang Dal incited these mobs and orchestrated the persecution of Christians in Orissa. The BBC even spoke of a “pogrom” (i.e. an organised massacre) against Christians. •
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Orissa State – The Murder of Rabindra Parichha, Catechist and Social Worker Three people have been arrested in connection with the death of a Catholic catechist and human rights activist who was killed in India’s Orissa State in late December 2011. Archbishop John Barwa of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar, India, told Aid to the Church in Need that the arrests had been made in connection with the death of Rabindra Parichha, whose body was found in Parichha Bhanjanagar in the Kandhamal district of Orissa State on Sunday, 18 December 2011. Rabindra Parichha, 47, was the third catechist to be killed during 2011 in Kandhamal, the scene of the 2008 attacks on Christians where 54,000 of the faithful were made homeless after 4,640 homes were torched by Hindu extremists. Archbishop Barwa said: “Police have arrested three people in connection with
The remains of a church set ablaze in Kandhamal district, Orissa.
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the case and Hindu radicals could be behind the murder.” The archbishop, who taught Mr Parichha as a student, went on to pay tribute to the murdered catechist. He told ACN: “Pariccha was a brave social worker in the field, in favour of Dalit rights” referring to Mr Parichha’s work with the most disadvantaged social group in the country.” Mr Parichha worked at the Orissa Legal Aid Centre. According to local reports the catechistactivist left home after receiving a phone call from a neighbour and did not return. After a fruitless search for him, Mr Parichha’s family alerted the police who found the body the following morning in the grounds of Kabi Samrat Upendra Bhanja College. Mr Parichha’s throat had been cut and there were stab wounds to both hands and the stomach. •
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Jharkhand State – Sr. Valsa John - Giving one’s life to the God of Light and Truth In November 2011, Sr. Valsa John, a religious Sister was murdered after years spent championing the rights of India’s poor. Sr Valsa had defended the rights of tribal peoples living in the Pakur district and campaigned against land acquisition by coal firms operating in the area. Cardinal Oswald Gracias, President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India, described Sister Valsa John as “fearless” and “a person of courage and faith who gave her life in the service of the Gospel”. The 52-year-old Sister of Charity of Jesus and Mary (SCJM) was killed when up to 50 people broke into her home in Pachuwara village, Jharkhand state (North East Sr. Valsa John India) and reportedly pulled her from her bed and attacked her with a scythe and other sharp instruments.
Within days of the killing, police arrested seven people reportedly linked to Maoist extremists operating in the area. However Catholic sources in Jharkhand suspect that coal business leaders are implicated in the killing. Sr Valsa, who had lived in Pachuwara for nearly 15 years, had taken up the cause of Santhali tribesmen and women who were being displaced by coal firms operating Cardinal Oswald in the region. In 2007 Gracias she was arrested amid allegations that she had blocked roads in protest against coal mine operators who were accused of illegally acquiring tribal lands. Senior clergy in the region have described how she succeeded in obtaining compensation for displaced families as well as employment, education and medical help. •
Orissa State – Faith Increasing Despite Persecution Archbishop John Barwa of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar has said that faith is growing in Orissa despite persecution of Christians. “The number of faithful is increasing. We
are not afraid, we will always be ready to tell the truth, to defend the person`s dignity and freedom of religion,”
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The prelate expressed concern over the situation of Christians after the 2008 antiChristian violence in the state. “Christians are treated as second-class citizens and struggle to get justice. The police do not protect us. As Christians, at the moment, we feel abandoned by the institutions,” he said. Archbishop Barwa said that Christians are terrified and cannot return to their homes. “There is a subtle form of oppression and
intimidation carried out quite openly by the Hindu extremist groups and Orissa is a test for the respect and administration of justice and the rule of law in India. ” The archbishop said, “we need to weave relations of dialogue at all levels with common people, other Christian communities, Hindu religious leaders, civil authorities and police chiefs to unite all people of good will.” •
Orissa State – Christians Must React in a Christian Manner Once, when Mother Teresa was asked to give a one-word definition of Christianity, she said: “giving”. The Christians of Orissa are giving, and forgiving. In the wake of the violence in Orissa, the six Catholic bishops within this state issued a strong and moving appeal to all the faithful • to show their solidarity and gratitude towards their brothers and sisters “who have given their lives for their Faith” and • to comfort those who have been injured and to demonstrate their closeness to all those “who have been traumatised by the violence”. In their appeal the bishops wrote: “We bow in humility before your great faith and your trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and 20 +e112ei_print.indd 28
Saviour. We bow before your noble willingness to endure every kind of humiliation, temptation and even persecution for the sake of your Faith”. The bishops’ letter was read out in all the parishes, schools and convents in the affected regions and the guilty were named: the authorities, who have “failed miserably” and the fanatical groups that instigated and fanned the flames of hatred towards Christians. In their letter the bishops emphasised that the Church will continue her work for the poor and the dispossessed. “As Jesus did, so we too pray for those who have committed these crimes. Likewise we pray for all us Christians in India, that we may continue to live as Christians in our own country”. •
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ACN Benefactors ‘Dry the Tears Where God Weeps’ Aid to the Church in Need was founded in 1947 to give practical and spiritual help to the suffering and persecuted Church in Europe. Since that time ACN has grown into a worldwide organisation which provides practical and spiritual help to the suffering and persecuted Church universally. Throughout all this time ACN has always acted ‘inside the Church’ with ‘the mind of the Church’ and in consequence the Lord has greatly blessed all its many endeavours. The elevation of ACN to become a ‘pontifical foundation’ which ‘speaks’ and ‘acts’ in the name of the Church is a great honour which has been bestowed on the organisation by one of its long-standing benefactors, Joseph Ratzinger, Pope Benedict XVI. It is indeed ‘with great joy’ and humility that we in ACN accept this great privilege and commit ourselves through the grace of God to spare no effort to do ever more to dry the Lord’s tears for his suffering and persecuted Church at all times and in all places. In this Mirror we begin our ACN ‘Look at India’ which we will continue over the next few months in anticipation of and following the visit to Ireland of the Orissan Archbishop John Barwa SVD. Now as we take this extended ‘Look at India’ over the next few months we fully realise that there are many other parts of the world, such as for example North Korea, Saudi Arabia and China, where the persecution of Christians is more harrowing, more systematic and more pervasive than that
experienced in India. Making such an observation however, should not serve to diminish in anyway our concern and compassion for the plight of our persecuted Christian brothers and sisters in India, rather it should serve to emphasise the over-arching reality that at the beginning of 2012, Christianity is, without doubt, the world’s most persecuted religion. Despite this truth and despite the growing problems faced by many Christians in all corners of the globe, media coverage of the plight of persecuted Christians remains scarce and careless. Indeed it is one of the challenges facing ACN is to raise the media’s and the general public’s awareness of this widespread disregard for what is among the most fundamental of all authentic human rights, the right to Religious Freedom. Future Mirrors will look at other parts of the world where this basic human right is being denied and violated. ACN of course does much more than public consciousness-
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raising, it provides practical assistance to enable priests, religious and laity spread and share the word of God to all nations and at all times. Within the ecology of the Catholic Church, ACN as an organisation could be seen as simple ‘water carriers’ who bring needed refreshment to the ‘labourers in the Lord’s vineyards’ and especially to those who labour in hard places and in hard times. As witnessed by the above reports, India is a ‘hard place’ for Christians many of whom are experiencing ‘hard times’. In response to these realities and the appeals of India’s bishops and religious superiors, ACN’s benefactors have been supporting the Indian faithful via a range of pastoral projects, two of which are illustrated below*. In all its work, ACN fully
realises that sustaining the faith, rebuilding Christian communities and addressing the on-going trauma of relentless persecution in India, as elsewhere, is not easy will take time and will involve a lot of work for which resources will be needed. As our Indian brothers and sisters are on a daily basis being ‘tested in faith’ so we in Ireland are now being ‘tested in love’, our love of God and our neighbour. For which reason let us not forget our Indian friends in our daily prayers and let us be prepared to give whatever little we can during these economically difficult times in our own country and in our own families, always as ever in the knowledge that it is ‘in giving we receive’. • * Others are described on our website, www.acnirl.org.
ACN Benefactors help Seminarians in Kerala In response to the support and love shown by ACN benefactors to his 82 seminarians, Father Superior wrote, “We pray for you and for your intentions, and our seminarians will likewise pray regularly for all your intentions. We don’t know how to thank you for all your generosity. But as St Peter said to the crippled man outside the Temple, ’Gold and silver have I none, but what I have, I give to you’. We too can give you nothing material in return for your gifts. But the priests and seminarians of St. Thomas Province of the Little Flower Congregation promise you their prayers.” •
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Seminarians of the Little Flower Congregation St. Thomas Province
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ACN Benefactors help Seminarians in Orissa Aquinas College, the philosophy seminary of the Vincentian Fathers (Congregation of the Mission) was founded in 1955 in Gopalpur-on-Sea on the east coast of India, close to the town of Berhampur. Here in this small coastal town of around 20,000, most of the people are fishermen, poor and often illiterate, and hence are easily oppressed by members of the upper castes. It is here that the seminarians of the Vincentian Congregation spend three years studying philosophy and preparing themselves through a practical apostolate in surrounding area for their future mission as Catholic priests. St Thomas Aquinas, patron of their college, understood that man, a unity of body and soul, is in need of continuing formation. “Therefore”, continues the Rector of the college, Fr. Louis Mittathany C.M, “stress is given to mission-oriented formation so that they may become priests and missionaries fit for the present day world by being fully aware of its realities, needs, and changing circumstances. The world stands in need of liberation and reconciliation. This requires witness and sacrifice. Above all it requires the transformation of oneself into the likeness of Christ”. The seminary in Gopalpur-on-Sea is the only philosophy seminary in Orissa and is highly regarded that bishops and religious superiors from the surrounding dioceses
Students reading in the library of Aquinas College.
who seek to have their own seminarians can be enrolled in it. This the seminary is happy to do as the rector believes that the opportunity to experience an early encounter with those of other ethnic groups and social outlooks can only help to broaden the minds and hearts of his seminarians and inspire tolerance in these future priests. He believes that this openness towards others, combined with a sound education, is an essential prerequisite for peace and harmony in India and in the world as a whole. “Tolle, lege - Take, and read”, was the invitation to Saint Augustine of Hippo. But this was becoming difficult as many of the texts in the seminary’s library were becoming scarce and somewhat out-dated. Thanks however to the generosity of ACN benefactors the library has been able to acquire new published works with which to equip the seminarians with the knowledge needed to propose a life of Caritas in Veritate, Charity in Truth to their Non-Christian and Christian countrymen. •
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Editor: Jürgen Liminski Publisher: Kirche in Not / Ostpriesterhilfe, Postfach 1209, 61452 Königstein, Germany. De licentia competentis auctoritatis ecclesiasticae Printed in Ireland - ISSN 0252-2535 www.acn-intl.org
Past president of Aid to the Church in Need,
Fr. Joaquín Alliende
“A man of prayer, and, faithful servant of Mary” Where to send your contribution for the Church in Need: Please use the Freepost envelope. Aid to the Church in Need, 151 St. Mobhi Road, Glasnevin, Dublin 9. Tel. (01) 837 7516. (Registered Charity No. 9492). If you give by standing order, or have sent a donation recently, please accept our sincere thanks. This Mirror is for your interest and information.
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Aid to the Church in Need
www.acnirl.org
© L’Osservatore Romano
Communion with Christ and with One Another
Farewell and thank you, Fr Joaquín Alliende
• • 12
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Thank you from Aid to the Church in Need
Need, love and thanks – Your letters Thank you twice over...
Each year thanks to the • Donations • Legacies and • Mass offerings of its benefactors in Ireland and around the world ACN is able to • Provide sustenance and the means of survival for approx. 20,000 Priests • Support approx. 18,000 seminarians and religious and • Distribute approx. 1.5 million catechetical books for children in 160 languages. Heartfelt thanks for all your prayers and support provided to Christ’s suffering and persecuted Church. May the Good Lord continue to bless you and your family, past and present, now and always.
J F Declan Quinn Director Aid to the Church in Need (Ireland)
...for your help in the hospitals, parishes and schools. Without the work of the Religious Sisters, our pastoral work would not succeed. And without your support for the Sisters, their work would be impossible. And so, both in the name of these Sisters and of the diocese, our heartfelt thanks for your help! Auxiliary Bishop J.Milyan, of Kiev
So that Jesus can be better known As a priest, I was very touched by your last but one Mirror. I know you are helping so many priests around the world and that my difficulties are nothing in comparison to what some of these men have to go through. I am happy in my priesthood, but stories like Fr Alliende’s, about the priest who was tempted to abandon his ministry, make me realise how important my mission is of making Jesus better known. I also love your clear sense of communion with the Church and with our beloved Pope Benedict XVI, who suffers so much for the Church. We will welcome him with great love here in Rio in 2013. I would like to contribute what little I can to this great work of God’s love that is ACN. I will also publicise your work in my parish. A Priest in Brazil
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