Ongoing problems for Christians.

New Delhi--Christians, Catholics in particular, continue to face many problems in majority-Hindu India. Zenit reports, dating as far back as December 20, 2004, enumerate many examples of violence and property damage sparked by rumours of conversions. Fundamentalist Hindus, and in some cases Muslims, are usually the perpetrators. Government sources do little to control the incidents and, in some cases, work openly against Christian interests. One egregious example of this was a January 27, 2005, attack on the convent of the Teresan Carmelites, who run homes for the elderly, in Ambernath near Bombay. The assailants desecrated a cross and left threatening graffiti behind.

Tribes' people in rural India have been particular targets of the fundamentalists. In February 2005, members of the Adivase Tribe, resident in Rajura, the only Catholic village in the Amravati area, were violently threatened with fines and ostracization if they refused to reconvert to the Hinduism practised by their ancestors.

Catholic clergy have also been targeted. In March 2005, Jesuit Fr. Prasad Gonsalves became the second priest to be arrested on a phony morals charge. He was the manager of a project to build houses for homeless tribal people in Gujarat state.

Some concern for the problem is now being evinced by the government. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, after meeting with a delegation of Catholic bishops and other religious leaders, sent a letter to each state asking them to deal with anti-Christian attacks (19 in Jan/Feb alone). Despite this, the attacks continued, this time chiefly against Protestants. Also, the western state of Rajahstan has caused concern to the bishops there by considering bringing in a law banning religious conversions.

Anti-Christian discrimination has been particularly noted in Orissa, whose state government is under pressure to fire public servants and police who are Christians. In this state, over 100 homes owned by Christian tribes' people have been demolished with the approval of local authorities.

Attacks on religious personnel and property continued throughout the month of June. Holy Trinity Church and the Infant Jesus shrine at Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh were both desecrated. On the same night, there were attacks, ostensibly robbery-motivated, on two convents, Notre Dame in Bettiah diocese and Sisters of Charity in Bhagalpur. In both cases, a nun was injured. A more serious attack occurred June 17 at another Sister of Charity institution in Rajger, central Bihar. This time the raiders were armed; they ransacked the centre, including the dispensary, terrorizing the handicapped children who resided there.

These and other attacks were promptly reported by the Indian bishops' conference to both state and federal government authorities. They have urged them to take appropriate action to break the pattern of violence, particularly as it affects vulnerable women religious. The Indian bishops have also spoken out on behalf of the country's lower castes and untouchables (Dalits). It is estimated that more than half of India's 25 million Catholics are converts from these classes. They are excluded from constitutional provisions for other Dalits, such as educational aid and job quotas, on the ground that their religion does not practise the caste system. So far the bishops have met with no success in seeking to remedy the social and economic disadvantages suffered by the Dalits.

Despite these troubles, the Catholic Church continues to be a considerable presence in India. In the coastal town of Velankanni, the Marian shrine known as the "Lourdes of the East," will this year host a large interreligious meeting. Many of the 20 million pilgrims who visit there annually are Hindus and Muslims. When the town was struck by the tsunami in December 2004, 2000 people inside the shrine were saved while almost the same number perished in the town itself.

Syro-Malankara Church

On February 10, 2005, one of Pope John Paul's last acts was to elevate India's Syro-Malankara Church to the status of a Major Archbishopric, becoming the third Eastern-rite Church to receive this designation. The Ukrainian Catholic Church was given the status in 1963, and India's Syro-Malabar Church received it in 1992.

A Major Archbishop has authority similar to that of the Eastern Catholic Patriarchs (e.g. Melkites and Maronites). The key decisions of their churches, including the election of bishops in their home territories, are made by their Synods of Bishops.

The main difference between an Eastern-rite Church led by a patriarch and one led by a major archbishop is that the election of a new major archbishop must be confirmed by the Pope. When a new patriarch is elected, he requests communion with the Pope. Cyril Malancharuvil is now the first Major Archbishop of the Syro-Malankara Church which has five dioceses and around 450,000 members. (Zenit, CNS)