JABALPUR, India (CNS) Christians in central India have taken to the streets to protest an attempt to burn the Catholic cathedral. Two unidentified men entered the 120-year-old Sts Peter and Paul Catholic Cathedral in Jabalpur and set fire to its altar Sept. 18, Fr Joseph Christuraj told the Asian church news agency UCA News.
The priest, spokesman for the Jabalpur Diocese in Madhya Pradesh state, said the fire was extinguished before it could spread to other areas. The fire damaged altar cloths, the Bible, crucifix and statues of Sts Peter and Paul.
Several hours later, in protest, Christians peacefully blocked traffic on a main street in the city. Christian schools in Jabalpur did not open September 19.
The same day, Bishop Gerald Almeida of Jabalpur led a delegation to demand that Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan condemn the attack and protect Christians. The delegation also submitted a list of 56 cases of attacks on Christians in Jabalpur over the past two years and demanded judicial investigations into the incidents.
Speaking to the media in Jabalpur afterward, the chief minister condemned the attack on the cathedral and said he was ashamed it happened.
Bishop Almeida told UCA News the incident was "a shameful act," because the church "has done no harm to anyone."
"The nasty act of desecrating the place of worship is shameful for the entire city and humanity," he added.
He said the church wants the state to arrest the culprits, but is skeptical the administration will do so, since no one has been punished for any of the attacks on Christians the past two years.
Although the Indian Constitution guarantees citizens the right to practice and propagate their faith, law enforcement agencies in the state do not ensure these rights for Christians, Bishop Almeida said.
Police told UCA News they have registered a case against "unidentified persons and are investigating the matter." The state government has deployed police personnel to most churches in "sensitive" areas.
Church leaders have complained that Christians and their institutions in Madhya Pradesh have been targeted since the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party came to power in the state in 2003. The national party is seen as the standard-bearer of groups that want to make India a Hindu theocracy.
Of Madhya Pradesh’s 60 million people, 91 per cent are Hindus. Catholics and other Christians together form less than 1 per cent of the population.
