Three weeks after police assaulted two Catholic priests and tribal women in a village in eastern Odisha, Church leaders say the Hindu-leaning state government has not taken any action against the attackers. Father Joshi George, parish priest in Juba village of Gajapati dis-trict, told on April 15 that they have “not heard from the police or any government officials” about any action taken regarding the March 22 incident. Police assaulted George, his assistant Father Dayanand Nayak, and several women cleaning the parish church in what was described as a targeted attack on Christians. George said a police team led by woman police officer Joshna Roy “singularly targeted Christians in the villages whereas the Hindus were let off.” The priest said the state’s inaction, even after three weeks, supports the argument that it was a targeted move. “Police have filed a false case of selling marijuana against a Catholic teacher of a government-run school in a neighboring village. He has been now suspended from his job, while a Hindu teacher detained by the police has been let off,” George said. Police used a lathi – a long, heavy bamboo stick – to beat up people “and molested women belonging to a tribal community as they barged into” the church premises said a fact-finding team in an April 13 report titled “Police turned from Protectors to Perpetrators.” “There is a palpable sense of fear, insecurity, and disbelief among the children, women, and two Catholic priests. This does not bode well for the administration,” the report stated. “This is the first time in the recorded history of the state” that police targeted, beat, and paraded Catholic priests, the report said.
Spanish bishops speak out after leaks of their meeting with Leo XIV
The executive committee of the Spanish Bishops’ Conference, (CEE, by its Spanish acronym) meeting in Madrid this week, issued an official statement regarding the leaks
