(Friday, Sept. 26, 2008)
At a press conference yesterday in the Chicago suburb of Bellwood, Rev. Richard Vaz, SVD, superior delegate for North America, and other religious leaders urged the Indian government to stop Hindu extremists’ attacks on Christians in Orissa, India.

The recent violence stems from the Aug. 23rd assassination of Hindu spiritual leader Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati, who had in the past advocated assaults on Christians. Even though Maoist rebels claim responsibility for the swami’s murder, Hindu extremists continue to blame Christians.

“The killing of Swami is not the cause of the attack on Christians,” Fr. Vaz said. “Hindu extremists are using it as an opportunity to carry out their hidden agenda of eliminating Christians from Kandhamal. The district has become a killing field.”

Fr. Vaz reported that dozens of Christians have been killed and as many as 60,000 are living in the forests and in relief camps after perpetrators burned their homes. Of the 22 Catholic churches in Kandhamal, 18 have been destroyed.

“The extremists are trying to eradicate Christians because they are growing socially, economically and spiritually,” said Fr. Vaz, who worked in Orissa for nearly three decades and served as a regional director for Caritas (Catholic Charities). “Christian missionaries provide education, and through education the people can escape poverty.”

Jos Anthony Puthenveetil, regional vice president of the Federation of Indian American Christian Organizations in North America, also stated that the extremist groups do not want the Christians, who make up only two percent of the Indian population to gain power. “Slavery still exists in India,” he said. “They don’t want [economically disenfranchised] people to know that there is more to life than slavery.”

Puthenveetil and Fr. Vaz were joined by other Christian leaders, including Bishop Mar Jacob Angadiath of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Diocese of Chicago.

The group has organized a peace rally to be held at 1:30 p.m. on Sun., Sept. 28, at the Syro-Malabar Cathedral. The cathedral is located at 5000 St. Charles Rd., Bellwood, Ill. For more information, contact Theresa Carson at 847-412-1606.