Cardinal Oswald Gracias, the Archbishop of the Bombay Diocese
While Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has given the state police 48 hours to find the men who vandalized a church in Mumbai over the weekend, an important leader of the Catholic community in the city says more needs to be done -and urgently.
"The government not acting swiftly and strongly enough. I don't want to say BJP has an anti-Christian agenda but one cannot close eyes to fact that these attacks have multiplied after they came to power," said Cardinal Oswald Gracias, the Archbishop of the Bombay Diocese.
On Saturday, a group of masked men were captured on security cameras throwing stones at a church in Mumbai. Despite the video, nobody has been arrested yet.
"If Prime Minister Modi wants to be an effective leader then he should take his assurances to minorities to their logical consequences," Cardinal Gracias added. "This is happening far too often and we would be blind not to see the systematic attacks against Christians. I do not believe the BJP government wants this, but I fault them for acts of omission."
In the last few months, churches, convent schools and Christian buildings have been vandalized in Delhi, Karnataka and other parts of the country. Earlier this month, a 71-year-old nun was raped at a convent in Bengal.
"This is not India. These are stray elements. These are not real Indians and certainly not the real Hindus. Vast majority of Hindus are tolerant, understanding and friendly," Cardinal Gracias said. .
The Cardinal, who is scheduled to travel to Rome later this month, said the spate of attacks on Christians in India is being discussed worldwide. "I am very embarrassed by what is going on in India. The image of India across the world is getting damaged. "