Posted on 10/28/2008 3:38:50 PM PDT by NYer
BANGALORE, India (CNS) -- Father Bernard Digal, the Bhubaneswar archdiocesan procurator who survived an attack by Hindu extremists and had been hospitalized for a month, died of dengue fever Oct. 28.
"We are saddened by Father Bernard's untimely demise," Archbishop Raphael Cheenath of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar told Catholic News Service.
"He was a dedicated priest at the service of the people," Archbishop Cheenath said of the 46-year-old priest from the Kandhamal district in Orissa state.
Father Digal was beaten by Hindu extremists and left to die in the jungle Aug. 26 before he was moved to a local government hospital. On Aug. 28 he was airlifted to Holy Spirit Hospital in Mumbai.
Father Digal fell into the hands of the extremists when he walked more than 10 miles into the jungle to fetch a motorbike to rescue an elderly priest. The elderly priest had been stranded in the violence after his own van was set on fire by the Hindu fundamentalists.
Archbishop Cheenath said the funeral arrangements for the priest had to be finalized, but he confirmed the funeral would be held in Kandhamal.
The violence in Orissa began Aug. 24, the day after a Hindu leader and four associates were killed in the Kandhamal district. The leader, Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati, had for decades opposed Christian missionary activities and Hindus converting to Christianity. A Maoist group claimed responsibility for the murders, but the Hindu extremists blamed Christians for the murders and began attacking them.
May he rest in peace.
RIP
I wonder if Catholics/Christians started being attacked because they either started getting political are started evagilizing with their mouths instead of their actions.
Mother Teresa, her people, and the other Catholic missionaries got along fine for many decades with no unrest.
Mother Teresa didn’t get into politics and didn’t evangilize except by example.
Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord. And let perpetual light shine upon him. Amen.
Catholics are of course Christians, perhaps you meant Catholics/Protestants or Catholic/evangelicals?
According to the article, the murder was triggered by the killing of some Hindu’s, including a Hindu leader, killings that Maoists claimed responsibility for. The Hindu’s took it as an opportunity to kill the Catholics. What is an easier target, Maoists who fight back, or priests,nuns and Catholic families?
David Griffiths in todays Guardian has an article about the unrest, the murders and background behind it. It’s worth reading.
Celebrate diversity.
Sad
Let’s don’t blame the Christians for BEING attacked. Kind of like blaming the wife for getting beaten. Perhaps the radical Hindus are reacting to the Christ Within.
From what I've read, it seems to me that the Hindus are the ones getting political after years of Christian success. Extremists see Christian inroads among the lower castes as attacks on Hindu-ness.
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