ASIA/INDIA - Bishops: yes to life imprisonment, no to capital punishment for the murder of a missionary

New Delhi (Agenzia Fides) – The Indian Bishops accept and respectfully welcome the decision of the Supreme Court to reduce the sentence of the death penalty to life imprisonment for Dara Singh, the man responsible burning alive the Australian missionary Graham Steines and his two young sons in Orissa in 1999. In a message sent to Fides, the Episcopal Conference states: “The Church has always maintained a clear position on the death penalty, in that she firmly believes in the opportunity to repent and to convert one's life. Even in the case of Dara Singh, the Church would afford the opportunity to change his life, even though he committed a hateful crime. The Church's view is to preserve and promote life, rather than destroy it, and thus she gives much attention to the values of forgiveness and reconciliation.”
The Bishops stress that the Court refused the request to remove all of the crimes ascribed to man, confirming the conviction of all those who adhere to extremist forces which are divisive for the country and disturb the social harmony. In addition, the Church expresses her perplexity for the concluding part of the judgement, in which the Court deplores “the use of force or provocation to interfere in someone's beliefs.” “To speak of forced conversion,” notes the Bishops' statement, “you can give the impression that the issue of religious conversion is the catalyst for the crime committed,” a fact which the Bishops deny categorically. The Church, they note, “has always argued that it does not believe nor endorse any attempt at forced conversion, considering it an insult to human dignity.”
The text points out that conversion is a choice that comes from the depths of the human soul, thanks to knowing God, and that “the Indian Constitution guarantees full freedom of conscience and religion”, principles that the Church has always respected fully. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 24/1/2011)