2015-04-30 18:17:00

Archbishop Anil Couto speaks about Delhi Church attacks


Archbishop Anil Couto has been heading  the Archdiocese of Delhi, India, since Nov. 2012.  The Archdiocese of Delhi comprises the Union Territory of Delhi and 8 surrounding districts, with a total Catholic population of  over 101 thousand in 83 parishes and missions, which include also the eastern rite Syro-Malabar and Syro-Malankara Catholic Churches. Between December and February, six incidents of attacks or vandalism against Catholic institutions and places of worship took place in the Indian capital.  Church leaders say that the authorities have not taken the attacks seriously enough.  Delhi Police kept insisting they were incidents of theft and burglary rather than hate attacks.  Amidst all this, Prime Minister Narendra Modi neither took action nor made any pronouncement regarding these episodes, until the attack on The Holy Child Auxilium School in Vasant Vihar on  Feb. 13, when he asked Police Commissioner of Delhi and Union Home Secretary to speedily investigate the incidents.  Later, at a meeting with the Syro-Malabar Church leaders, Modi condemned violence against religions, saying “My government will act strongly in this regard."   The episodes caught the attention of human rights advocates, who have been alert to any new pressure on religious freedom in India since Modi and his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) swept to power in elections last May.  We asked Archbishop Anil Couto whether he thought there was a hidden agenda behind the attacks.

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