Kathmandu (Fides Service) - Daily life is a struggle with tension and fear in Nepal, also for the small Christian community. There is growing concern for the destiny of children abducted and enlisted among the ranks of the Maoist rebels according to a report sent to Fides.
In recent years attacks by Maoist rebels have targeted also Christian churches other institutions and personnel. On June 6 there was a bomb blast in a Catholic institute the Little Flower School in east Nepal. The criminals who claimed responsibility for the episode explained it on the grounds that “all Christians are spies”.
There is another emerging concern, child-soldiers. Maoists continue to abduct young boys for military training and employment. In fact Maoists troops are said to be 30% minors. The rebels break into schools, orphanages and homes searching for boys to swell their ranks. These institutions at great risk because they have no protection, and many are run by church personnel, a local source told Fides.
Nepalese children, orphaned or abandoned are being sent for safety to India after receiving first emergency care from Indian priests and nuns in Nepal. The children are housed at the “St Michael Centre”, a Catholic institute in the state of Manipur.
In Nepal since June schools of all grades, including Catholics schools, have been closed as the territory is militarised with road blocks everywhere.
In Nepal there are 23 Catholic schools and most of the pupils are non-Christians. Missions and schools in Nepal have been affected by the fighting between the army and Maoist rebels in seven years of civil war in which at least 9,000 people have been killed.
Nepal has a population of 23 million including 6.000 Catholics. The Catholic mission in Nepal was opened 1983, with territory taken from the diocese of Patna (India), and it was entrusted to the Jesuits. In 1996 it was raised to the rank of Apostolic Prefecture and there are four parishes. The Catholic Church has not yet obtained juridical recognition and is considered an NGO by the government of Nepal. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 30/7/2004 lines 32 words 356)