The Archbishop of Vasai called for the law to be allowed to run its course after the arrest of a local official accused of assaulting some Christians. Members of a Hindu nationalist organization protested outside the police station demanding his release.
Chennai (AsiaNews) – “We must support the multi-religious and multicultural nature of India, and the spirituality of the country, to defend life, promote peace among peoples and care for creation, our common home. The freedom our ancestors fought for should be everyone’s guiding principle, especially to protect the weakest.” Archbishop Felix Machado, Archbishop of Vasai and Secretary General of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India, expressed concern over a high-profile case involving some Christian worshipers and members of Munnani Hindu, a Hindu nationalist organization based in India. the state of Tamil Nadu, in the south of the country.
On August 7, a local official named Uthman was arrested for attacking a Christian preacher and two worshipers. Some Hindu extremists protested outside the police station, accusing the police of supporting the religious conversion activities of the three Christians.
According to a first reconstruction, Uthman would have attacked the preacher Spendi Labersan and his friends who came to the city to visit a relative in Golden Nagar, near Nanjundapuram. Munnani Hindu members claim that Uthman only questioned Labersan while he was preaching in a public place in favor of religious conversion. Labersan states in his complaint that they held him down, threatened him and finally assaulted him.
“It is a question of legal right; if someone disagrees with what someone else does or believes, he is free to take legal action,” Archbishop Machado told AsiaNews. “The police made the arrests within the scope of their duties and following legal procedures. So let the law take its course.”
“Religious freedom is enshrined in the preamble to the Constitution. Practicing and spreading the faith is a right and if it has been violated, the law can be applied and the judges must decide”, added the prelate. “There are restrictions for preaching, it is not a free field. We must also respect the freedoms of others, but no one can prevent us from preserving the spirit of the Constitution.”
“Our religious traditions are different. But our differences are not the cause of conflicts and disputes or prejudices”, continued the archbishop, recalling that next week the country will celebrate the 75th anniversary of independence: “75 years is enough time to acquire maturity and wisdom as a nation” .
“We have inherited a great heritage, Mahatma Gandhi was an exceptional and courageous witness to truth, love and non-violence”, Msgr. Machado continued.
“I hope that we will be able to avoid all kinds of parochialism and restrictions with respect to people and to overcome the narrow horizon of individual interests, to open ourselves to a true and sincere confrontation, committed to the protection of the fundamental rights of all and in everywhere, remaining at all times faithful to the Indian Constitution. And may everyone be accepted as brothers and sisters.”
Tamil Nadu, Christians attacked: Archbishop Machado asks that religious freedom be respected