The National Council of Churches in India (NCCI) has called for repentance and reformation after the two recent gory instances of the rapes of young girls in the states of Jammu and Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh.
After the shameful rape in J&K, BJP ministers in State's coalition government attended rallies in support of the accused that were organised by the Hindu Ekta Manch, a nationalist group.
"'Repent and Reform, O Beloved Country!' is a call to us to address the challenges of the times in the spirit of the Nazareth Manifesto of Jesus Christ," NCCI quoted the gospel according to Luke.
In a statement, the church body said, "While endeavors and ministries of churches, councils and other bodies to bring about change are important, what is required is social/national repentance. Without such community repentance, our services and ministries remain largely as programs and events."
Reformation follows repentance, the statement continued.
"What is needed is community engagement in reform. As we read through Nehemiah chapter three, we find different groups of people engaged in rebuilding the wall: priests, Levites, civil leaders, perfumers, goldsmiths, merchants, and the Nethinim. Both men and women were involved in the work. No class or sex was either too high or too low for the task they had to do. The entire community was engaged in reform," it read.
