Hundreds of thousands of Catholics throughout India dedicated on April 28, the feast of Divine Mercy, to pray for neighbouring Sri Lanka that was ravaged by serial blasts.

The Conference of Catholic Bishops of India, the national body of the Latin Rite Church, had called for observing the feast with various programs to show solidarity with the victims of the blasts that killed 359 people and wounded more than 500 in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday.

The Catholic Church observers the Sunday after Easter as the feast of Divine Mercy associated with special promises from Jesus and indulgences issued by the Church.

Expressing solidarity with the Sri Lankan victims, Catholics of Arunachal Pradesh conducted special prayer service and candle light rallies in various parts of India’s north-eastern most region.

About 3,000 people, mostly survivors of 2008 anti-Christian violence, joined similar programs in the Kandhamal district of Odisha State in Eastern India.

At Our Lady of Charity Parish Church, Raikia, a major parish in Kandhamal, the survivors marched with lighted candles and sang hymns for the Sri Lankan victims. Catholics in Raikia were attacked twice in the past — 2004 and in 2008 — by Hindu extremists.

“How can we the victims of anti-Christian violence of 2008 fail to show our solidarity towards the victims of terrorists in Sri Lanka?” asked Anita Pradhan, a widow.

She said, she could understand the agony of family members of Sri Lankan victims since “I had felt totally blind after the brutal massacre of my husband by the Hindu Extremist in 2008.”

India’s Catholic theologians on April 25 assembled in Bengaluru to analyze the current situation in the country and evolve relevant responses to help the Church address modern problems.

The 42 annual meeting of the Indian Theological Association (ITA) at the National Biblical Catechetical and Liturgical Centre addressed the theme, “Whither India.”

“Upholding democratic values and the secular fabric of our Indian Constitution is paramount. The ITA seminar to create awareness for people, civil society and entire Indian polity is timely,” says Father Udayanath Bishoyi, a visiting professor at Morning Star Regional Seminary, Calcutta, and a participant.

The Cuttack-Bhubaneswar archdiocese priest is among 74 women and men theologians from various parts of India attending the April 25-28 event. The association was founded in 1976 to promote the development of an Indian Christian theology.

Jharkhand State in Eastern India has sought a federal investigation into 31 Christian charity organizations to check for the mishandling of overseas donations.

The state government led by the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), suspects organizations have diverted donated funds for unspecified expenses and violated certain rules in submitting their annual reports, media reports said on April 13. Church leaders have termed the move an attempt to slander them and church bodies in the state.

“This is nothing but an attempt to give us bad press and malign our name,” said Archbishop Felix Toppo of Ranchi.

He said they have learned from media that the government has recommended the Federal Home Ministry to use the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to probe 31 Christian non-governmental organizations, most of them Catholic.

Bishop Simon Kaipuram of Balasore died early morning on April 22 due to massive heart attack. The Vincentian prelate was 65.

The funeral was scheduled at 3 pm on April 24, according to Father Prasan Singh, deputy secretary of the Odisha Catholic Bishops’ Council.

Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar has greeted the Christian community on Easter.

In his message, he said that the purpose of Easter is to spend time and share pleasantries with deserving people. “The Christian community is peace loving and we respect them and share their joys,” he said. He said Easter is the time to guide the humanity to welfare of humanity and promote pious qualities. “Islam teaches us to respect all prophets and we believe in all prophets, including Hazrat Essa (AS) as this is part of our faith. Brotherhood, harmony and forgiving are teachings of Hazrat Essa (AS),” he said.

Five days after a mob of Hindus beat to death a Catholic man for suspected cow slaughter in India’s Jharkhand State, Christian and Muslim activists joined in New Delhi to protest about violence against minorities.

A mob attacked Prakash Lakra and three others on April 10 after suspecting them of slaughtering a cow in Jhurmu village in the Eastern State’s Gumla district. Lakra died from his injuries hours after the attack, church sources said. About 100 protesters gathered in front of the Jharkhand Bhawan building in New Delhi on April 15 to shout slogans against the state government run by the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

“Such violence is nothing but a strategy to terrorize minorities and polarize the country in the name of religion for votes,” said Christian leader A.C. Michael, a protest organizer.

Speakers said violence in the name of protecting cows, which are revered animals in Hinduism, has increased ever since the BJP came to power in New Delhi. Hindu groups stepped up violence against Christians and Muslims because they considered the BJP victory a mandate for them to push for their goal of establishing a Hindu-only nation, activists said.

“We had never heard of people killing in the name of religion in our area. We tribals here respect each other irrespective of our faith. It is very unfortunate and shocking,” said Father Cyprian Kullu, Vicar General of Gumla Diocese in Jharkhand.

He told ucanews.com that Lakra and his friends did not slaughter a cow. An aged ox slipped in a pit and died and villagers decided to take its skin to be used.

Senior police official M.L. Meena told the media on April 13 that the attackers were armed with iron bars and sticks and attacked the victims brutally. At least 139 people were also injured in these attacks. More than half of the attacks were based on rumours, it is said.

Ending the denial of social welfare benefits to Dalit Christians, who hail from a group formerly known as untouchables, is among the undertakings given during campaigning for India’s national parliamentary election.

For almost seven decades, political parties have ignored the demands of Christians of Dalit origin for welfare measures enjoyed by others, particularly Hindus. “This has been a long-pending demand of the Catholic Church and we are happy some political parties are now raising this issue and making this part of their election manifestos,” said Bishop Theodore Mascarenhas, secretary-general of the Indian Bishops’ Conference.