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Saint Thomas Church Inaugurated on Top
of the World
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Leh-Ladakh: SAR News
A church dedicated to St. Thomas the Apostle was inaugurated at
Leh, situated 11,550 ft. above sea level in the Jammu-Srinagar Diocese,
September 15 here. Archbishop Lorenzo Baldisseri, Apostolic Nuncio
to India and Nepal, declared the new building open at a ceremony
here in the presence of several bishops, top authorities of the
church and the Government, religious men and women and a large number
of the faithful of the Jammu-Srinagar Diocese.
Addressing the gathering, Archbishop Baldisseri said the Cross of
Jesus Christ, which the Catholic community has now carried to Leh,
is symbolic of Christian compassion and salvation. It is the Cross,
which ultimately leads to resurrection.
Following the holy Mass, Cardinal Varkey Vithayathil, Major Archbishop
of the Syro-Malabar Church, blessed a statue of St. Thomas in the
new church compound. This year is incidentally the 1950th anniversary
of the coming of the Apostle to India.
Later at a public meeting, Lieutenant Colonel Clifton thanked Bishop
Peter Celestine of Jammu-Srinagar "for raising a church in
the area where so far the Catholic community serving the armed forces
suffered spiritual neglect."
In his address Cardinal Varkey said, "The Constitution of our
great country gives right to every citizen the freedom of religion.
Conversion is God's work, human work is to make known God to the
people."
Mr. Thopstweswang, Chief Executive Councillor of the Ladakh Hill
Development Council, was all praise for the Catholic community "for
having chosen to come to a remote area like Ladakh to carry out
its humanitarian activities." He recalled the role of the Catholics
in the educational advancement of the country and assured full cooperation
to the Church in its work to reach out to the poor in the area.
A church in Leh-Ladakh is a reality today thanks to the assiduous
efforts of missionaries of the past. Saint Joseph's Society founded
by Father Herbert Vaughan of the Westminster Archdiocese in London
was the first Christian group to arrive here to establish a mission
1822. But its heroic attempt did not yield much fruit. Then in 1890,
Frs. Henry Hanlon and Michel Donsen tried to restart the mission
work and failed. Saint Peter's Mission started by Fr. Daniel Kilty
also could not last long and was shut down in 1898. Since then no
efforts were made to open any missions in this region despite the
presence of Catholics in Jammu and Kashmir. It was only after March
1979 when Fr. Hippolytus Kunnunkal OFM Cap ( now bishop emeritus
of Jammu-Srinagar) took charge of the Prefecture of Kashmir and
Jammu that he concentrated on restarting the Catholic Mission at
Leh Ladakh. Many parties were sent between 1979 and 1995 and finally
a tabernacle was installed July 3, 1995, in a rented building by
Fr. Peter Celestine, now bishop of Jammu-Srinagar.
Four Men Held for Attacking Christian missionary, Korean Nationals
Bangalore: SAR News
Bihar police have arrested four activists of Bajrang Dal, a fundamentalist
Hindu group, for allegedly attacking a Christian missionary and
eight South Korean nationals in Begusarai district, according to
an IANS report from Patna, September 24. A manhunt has been launched
to nab the culprits.
Begusarai Police said September 23 that Mr. Mathew Christopher,
a local Christian preacher, sustained injures in the attack. They
said they have evidence of the Bajrang Dal's involvement in the
attack on a prayer meeting at the house of a Christian, Mr. Anil
Juit. At the time of attack, eight South Korean nationals including
six women, were present, the police said, adding the Dal activists
assaulted the Koreans, suspecting them of being Christian missionaries
and snatched their belongings including a video camera, passports,
among other things. Most of the belongings have been recovered by
the police.
According to a source, the South Koreans were not Christians and
were associated with a Patna-based non-governmental organisation,
Centre for Community Integrated Development. They were visiting
the mission to get firsthand information on a particular project,
the Indo-Asian News Service report said. |
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