Face the challenges of fundamentalism with greater commitment to faith, urges CBCI president

New Delhi – Concerned but undaunted by the rise in atrocities against the Christian community in India, Cardinal Telesphore P. Toppo, the president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI) and the Achbishop of Ranchi, has urged the laity and the clergy of the Church to “face the challenge with our deeper commitment to faith and civilised behaviour.”

“There is no country in the world which is as diverse and yet as tolerant as India. All of us together have to make India a model to the world,” he said.

Though, saddened by the fact that acts of religious intolerance and communal violence are taking place in the world’s largest democratic nation, i.e., India, yet, the cardinal remained hopeful that things would change for the better.

“Such attacks have no place in a democracy. Unfortunately, ideology is behind many of the attacks on minorities,” he said.

“One must not forget,” he pointed out, “that there are fundamentalists and fanatics in all countries and in all religions. India is no exception. One should not be surprised or be deterred by it. We have to face the challenge with our deeper commitment to faith and civilised behaviour.”

In saying so, he tried to allay the fears of those who see India gripped by a vast campaign of persecution against minorities.

According to the cardinal, the Catholic Church in India, with its different ritual expressions and cultural multiplicities, “truly reflects the diversity” of the country.

“With its harmonious living and common action, the Catholic church in India should be able to contribute to projecting India as a model to the world,” he said.