Catholics in India's Orissa state recall Christmas nightmare

Published: 2008-01-10

POBINGIA, India (CNS) -- As the vicar of St. Peter's Church in Pobingia was supervising his parishioners making decorations Christmas Eve, he got an urgent call from the parish priest less than 15 miles away in Phulbani, warning him that Hindu mobs were attacking churches. Father Prasanna Singh, the vicar, contemplated what to do next. Police, ordered by the government to guard the church, fled when they heard 600 Hindus approaching and shouting anti-Christian slogans. Other police officers stood by and watched. As the priest fled through the backyard, the mob -- armed with swords, axes, crowbars and spears -- broke the gates and destroyed the church. "See, this is not the result of an earthquake," Father Singh told Catholic News Service Jan. 5, pointing to the destruction around the church. The days of violence in India's Orissa state began with Hindus destroying Christmas decorations at the local market. In retaliation, Christians burned Hindu shops and houses, followed by widespread violence over 600 square miles and four days. Five Catholic churches, 48 village chapels, two seminaries, half a dozen hostels and four convents were destroyed. Dozens of Hindu homes and hundreds of Christian homes were burned and looted in the Kandhamal district.

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