By Michael Gonsalves
INDIA – Thieves have ransacked and desecrated a Catholic Church in the eastern Indian state of Odisha, stealing the tabernacle containing the Holy Eucharist and money from the donation box, sources confirmed.
The incident targeting the Holy Family Church in Sambalpur diocese, about 390 kilometers south of the state capital Bhubaneswar, took place on the night of Mar 21.
Church officials said the thieves broke into the Church, founded in 1981, in Titilagarh, in Balangir district, and fled with the tabernacle and money, but did not damage the statue of Mother Mary close to the donation box.
Church authorities lodged a complaint with Titlagarh police on Mar 22.
“My parishioners and I are shocked by this incident,” Divine Word priest Joseph Antony, the parish priest, told UCA News on Mar 23.
The thieves took advantage of stormy weather and a power outage to commit the crime, he said.
Prior to targeting the Holy Family Church the thieves stole a music keyboard and a donation box containing money from a nearby Protestant church, he said.
“CCTV footage showed three people were involved,” the priest added.
Bishop Niranjan Sual Singh of Sambalpur said Christian communities in tribal-dominated areas of Odisha have been targeted recently.
“Our churches and our Christian community have increasingly come under attack in these tribal areas,” Singh told UCA News on Mar 23.
Odisha is ruled by the pro-Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
On Mar 22, Singh sent a letter to Catholics in the diocese, lamenting the desecration of Holy Eucharist.
“The thieves have desecrated the species. The acts of sacrilege and vandalism have deeply wounded our faith community,” said Singh, who urged priests, nuns and lay people in his diocese to “stand united in prayer and solidarity” in “this moment of pain and sorrow.”
Singh also asked Catholics to be “vigilant as we grieve this desecration” and take “utmost care in protecting our sacred spaces.” – UCA News
