ASIA/INDIA - Salesian priest from India gives Agenzia Fides his testimony

Shillong (Agenzia Fides) – Below we have published the missionary testimony of Indian Salesian Father Joseph Puthenpurakal. Fr. Joseph was ordained a priest in 1968. He worked 20 years among the various tribes of Nagaland and Manipur, in Northeastern India. He has been in Shillong 15 years, among the Khasi tribe. He has worked at the Don Bosco Center for Indigenous Culture for 8 years.
“It has been a pleasure for me to come to Rome every year, for the last 9 years, leading a group of Salesian youth that go on missions every year,” writes Fr. Joseph. “This year, 2008, we have brought a fairly large group. It is a special group, because there are 7 lay Salesians out of the group of 27. This missionary expedition is the 139th since the first group that was sent by Don Bosco in 1875. There have been a total of 10,268 missionaries sent, on the 139 expeditions. The largest was in 1929, with 364 missionaries, and the smallest, in 1880 with the 3 missionaries. On average, there have been a total of 77 missionaries sent each year. During the last 9 years, every year I return from Rome after completing this small service as missionary leader, with increased enthusiasm, hope, and optimism after having spent a few days with these youth missionaries from various parts of the world. There is hope!
In this brief note, I cannot help but express a word of solidarity and prayer for the victims of anti-Christian violence in India, especially in the state of Orissa. In India, as you know, 86% of the population is Hindu, 14% is Muslim. Christians are only 2.6%. And Catholics are only 1.6%, in a population of almost 1.3 billion people.
Apart from the news of the persecutions and threats, many of which you have surely seen reported in the newspapers or on TV, I would like to just mention the causes of these horrible acts of violence that have left so many innocent people dead, and so many churches in flames. There are 50,000 refugees in camps and in the forest. We have never seen anything life this before. The Hindu extremists use the accusation of proselytism as the excuse for their violence. They do not understand, and it is difficult getting them to understand, that as Catholics, we do not participate in proselytism. Thus, the fact that the persecutions are so widespread, including the states of Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, and Kerala, where the Hindu are strongest, shows that the extremists’ motives are clearly militant and of a political nature! Otherwise, how would we explain the death of priests, sisters, and laity that only do good works? As you have probably read in the newspapers, a 50 year-old priest was found dead in his home, where he taught Yoga and meditation. His hands were tied behind his back and he had been gagged and wounded in the forehead.
The Catholic Church is trying to serve through education, development, and health care. In recent years, she has also been working in the area of information technology, to help the brightest youth to find well-paying jobs. Our service towards the poor and abandoned youth has won the praise of various governors, especially for the Salesian Order.
It is consoling to read in the newspapers in recent days that the anti-Christian persecution and violence in India will be discussed in the Inter-Parliamentary Union in Geneva in October, so as to influence the European Union and on the United Nations. As Catholics, we cannot forget that which offends human rights in various parts of the world, as in India. In addition to our prayer, we can spread awareness on various levels. In this awareness effort for India, we cannot forget the fact that there are people with political interests that use terrorists who in turn use religion to kill, threaten, and humiliate, to break apart society, to obtain some electoral advantage in upcoming elections scheduled for May 2009. We also know that these politicians with interests belong to the high castes of society and are against the Catholic Church precisely because she defends the rights of the dalit, those outside the caste, and those who are the poorest in society. These politicians do not want the poor to be educated by the Church, and thus, be capable of defending their rights. We should also observe that the persecutions has spread to the States in India where the Hindu political power has control of the government It is all a political scheme with a political goal of having a greater consensus among the Hindu population in the upcoming elections.
It is a political issue that infringes upon the safety of people and their religious freedom. This obviously creates a Constitutional problem in India as well, as the national Constitution defends freedom of religion and conversion.
And this is where our mission in education in general, and especially among the youth, becomes more important and more urgent.” (J. Puthenpurakal, SDB) (Agenzia Fides 29/9/2008)