Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Church ‘failed the test’ over Orissa violence

A disturbing post. Please spare a moment to consider the points raised.

The Church’s response to the anti-Christian violence in Orissa was inadequate, a priest from the state says.
The massacre offered Church agencies and groups a golden opportunity to test their capabilities in a challenging situation, but most of them failed the test, Father Ajay Singh said.
Lack of funds, insensitivity to the crisis and poor coordination all compounded the problem, Father Singh, director of social service programs for the Cuttuck-Bhubaneswar archdiocese in the Kandhamal district, says.
The Church in India had never experienced a calamity of such magnitude, the priest told ucanews.com. But it still has not managed to evolve a system to face similar challenges in future.
Kandhamal was the epicenter of the violence that killed around 90 people and displaced 50,000 and the misery continues, with hundreds still without shelter as monsoon season approaches.
If Hindu radicals succeed in making Kandhamal a laboratory to test their hatred against religious minorities, “Christians should try to make it a laboratory of our charity and service,” Father Singh says.
The priest is urgently raising funds to help house the displaced Kandhamal Christians.

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