Gang Rape Of Nun - Shameful Crime Against Humanity
- By Evangelical Fellowship Of India
- Published 10/13/2008
Evangelical Fellowship Of India
The Evangelical Fellowship Of India exists to empower and mobilize the local Churches, Church related institutions and individual Christians for effective witness for Christ. The Evangelical Fellowship of India crosses cultural and geographical boundaries and links Indian Christians with a world wide Christian community. EFI has continued to grow in recent years. Some of our newer areas of work now include advocacy (Christian Legal Association-CLA) and the Evangelical Financial Accountability Council (EFAC). It was founded in 1951 as a national alliance of evangelical Christians and is a central network of evangelicals in India. The vision of EFI is to strengthen Churches to live out the Gospel in the complex context of India.
NEW DELHI: Condemning violence against Christians and vandalism of churches in Orissa and elsewhere in the country, L.K. Advani, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, described the rape of a nun as “a shameful crime against humanity.”
Mr. Advani said this during a meeting with a delegation of Christian leaders here. The Christian leaders condemned the killing of Swami Lakshamananda Saraswathi and his four disciples in Kandhamal district in August.
A joint statement issued by Mr. Advani and the church leaders called for an end to religious conversions or re-conversions using coercive, fraudulent and allurement-based means, or through denigration of others’ faiths.
The Christian delegation comprised Archbishop of Delhi Vincent Concessao; Archbishop of Orissa Raphael Cheenath and spokesperson of the Delhi Catholic Archdiocese Dominic Emmanuel. Also present at the two-hour meeting were Bharatiya Janata Party leaders Sushma Swaraj and Sudheendra Kulkarni, journalist Chandan Mitra, and Sadhvi Bhagwati of Parmarth Niketan.
The initiative for the dialogue was taken by Swami Chidanand Saraswathi of Rishikesh-based Parmarth Niketan.
The meeting unanimously resolved that all efforts should be made to restore peace and a sense of security in strife-torn areas with the cooperation of the governments concerned and leaders of the Hindu and Christian communities. Justice must be done to the victims of violence expeditiously.
Swami Chidanand Saraswathi offered to rebuild one of the destroyed villages in Kandhamal in cooperation with the local church and the State government. Such confidence-building efforts should be replicated elsewhere in the country, he said.
Source: The Hindu
Date: Oct. 10, 2008