In an incident that has shocked the Christians of Mangalore, in southern India, a group of about eight dissident Hindu youth broke into the chapel of the Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration Monastery at Milagres, desecrated the Blessed Sacrament and then went on the rampage.  

One of three lay people who were in the chapel at the time, tried unsuccessfully to protect the tabernacle and the Blessed Sacrament as a youth climbed onto the altar in order to destroy the tabernacle, which subsequently fell on the floor and shattered. In retaliation, the intruders assaulted the person who attempted to prevent the desecration, inflicting injuries that required hospital treatment.

Eye witnesses in the chapel said that the youths were armed with big stones and heavy sticks. Although they attacked the statue of Our Lady with the stones, it remained undamaged, without even a scratch, whereas the statues of St Joseph and St Francis Xavier were both defaced. During the disturbance, which lasted about four to five minutes the intruders also broke the crucifix, oil lamps and vases on the altar.

Similar attacks have taken place elsewhere in the area.

In response to the break-in, Christians and Hindus came together in a mass protest against the continuing anti-Christian violence in the State.  Speaking on behalf of Bishop D’Souza of Mangalore, who is sick, Fr Onil D’Souza declared 'There is nothing left for us now to say anything on the issue, as the miscreants desecrated the cross and the Blessed Sacrament that are more precious than our own lives… No one should take the law into their hands. This applies to all the groups and violence should never be the chosen path of the Catholics,' he advised.

A Hindu spokesman said, 'All peaceful Hindus are with the Christians in their time of need... 95% of the Hindus are peace-loving and it is only the remaining 5% that are responsible for the attacks.'

A group calling itself the Bajrang Dal accepted the responsibility for the attacks, claiming that the violence is not directed at Catholics, who form 8.8% of the population, but at members of the New Life sect, an evangelical Protestant group, members of which are allegedly distributing anti-Hindu literature. However, despite that claim, there have been daily reports of attacks on Catholic churches, schools, Religious, priests and lay people.

Sr Sarita BS, the headmistress of St Joseph's primary school, Kulshekar, almost broke into tears as she narrated her experience. ‘Seven police broke open the door of the school, went in and started beating up the women as they came out.

'A few of the women suffered injuries in the event. While parishioner Gretta Gomes sustained a deep wound on her back just below the shoulder, our elderly 71-year-old Sr Denitia was beaten badly on her back, thighs and hips. Even Sr Selma who is diabetic sustained injuries and has been admitted to hospital. Two of our young novices were beaten up. One of the police even pulled the sari off one of them.’

In an attempt to stem the increasing violence, a demonstration staged by one of the deaneries, drew a crowd of 4,000 people, pleading for State protection for the Catholic community.

An Indian Jesuit reflected: 'I am really sorry that the violence has reached Mangalore... which is very Catholic... my family comes, until two generations ago from just a few kilometres away. They are going to have a hard time going beyond this, because there have never been any inter-religious problems except when Tippu Sultan took all the Christians into exile and wrought havoc.’

He added, ‘You never hear of Indian Catholics making any fuss anywhere in the world. Wherever they are, all they want is to be allowed to get on with life, to work and to practise the faith. Is that too much to ask? The Catholic community has never indulged in any forcible conversions, or spoken against, or derided, any other religion.’

Fr Alfie Ben SJ, Head of Vatican Radio’s South Asia Programme supported this. ‘Our programmes are directed towards India but we are extremely careful that they are directed towards the whole community. Since last year we have been able to put our programmes on community radio stations, but we are so careful in what we say that even the Hindus and Muslims are listening to us and saying that they want to hear more because we are talking about things that they also believe are important. What we are trying to do is to build community and to encourage people to live together in peace and harmony.’

Another Jesuit added that, in India, Catholic schools are extremely influential but that Hindus are never forced to take part in Catholic religious education. Instead, they have parallel courses in moral and ethical thinking which are perfectly in accordance with their own beliefs. He continued: ‘ India’s culture and religious experience is thousands of years old and very deeply inserted into the whole way of life of the Subcontinent. When we were children, we were in the minority but the Hindus would bring us sweets to celebrate a Hindu feast. We would make sweets to share with the Hindus and the Muslims on our feasts. That was how we grew up: respecting each other and sharing our joy, even if our religious beliefs did not coincide.’

Fr Ben continued. ‘When I celebrate Mass in the villages, the Hindus and Muslims come to me and say that I am speaking to the Catholics about family and good relationships. Do I not realise that these things are important to them, too. Can I speak so that they can hear what I am saying and thereby learn to improve their own relationships and family life? That is what it is really like in India.’

The Association for the Propagation of the Faith in England and Wales (APF), best known through the Red Boxes and for the World Mission Sunday appeal, supported several important Church and pastoral projects in Mangalore in 2007, to a total of £66,165. Along with supporting the ordinary running costs of the diocese, this paid for the building of two churches, the restoration of three convents and funding important lay leadership training. The Bishop of Mangalore said that without this constant annual aid his parishes would not be able to survive the current struggles.

Monsignor John Dale, National Director of the APF in England and Wales, commented that ‘our thoughts and prayers are with the Catholics of Mangalore at this time of difficulty. May God bless the efforts of all those who work for peace and understanding between Christian and Hindu.’