’We want govt. intervention to feel safe’

 

Church leaders propose to meet President tomorrow

New Delhi, 15 Jan 2015: Expressing shock and concern over the fourth attack on a church in the Capital over the past seven weeks, leaders and members of the Christian community have demanded urgent intervention by the government to reassure their safety here.

 

“A Marian grotto in West Delhi’s Our Lady of Graces Church in Vikaspuri was vandalised in the early hours of Wednesday, the fourth such incident in the Capital over the past seven weeks. We see a clear pattern in these attacks,” said Father Savarimuthu Shankar, the spokesperson of the Archdiocese of Delhi.

 

The incident occurred two days after the Election Commission of India announced the date for the Delhi Assembly elections.

 

Father Balraj Lourduswamy, the assistant parish priest of the Vikaspuri Latin Rite church, added that they have footage captured in the CCTV cameras installed at the church gate, which showed three people coming on a motorbike at 4:20 am.

 

Candle light march

 

The parishioners here participated in an evening mass and took out a candle light procession to register their protest about the incident.

 

Meanwhile, the archdiocesan spokesperson, said the repeated attacks on churches has unnerved Christians in Delhi.

 

Delhi Archbishop Anil J.T. Couto on Wednesday maintained that they would seek an appointment with President Pranab Mukherjee on Friday to express the community’s apprehension.

 

“A clear pattern of orchestrated attacks is emerging as more and more churches are targeted, vandalised and set on fire. This is very disturbing and we request the local authorities to take adequate measures to bring to book the miscreants who are threatening to weaken the social fabric of this great nation,” the Archbishop said.

 

The Archbishop also expressed concern at the continued silence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on attacks on churches and provocative Hindutva remarks by his party men.