Celina Das, a Catholic, holds the photo of her
missing son, Elvin, at the gates of the mortuary at Safdarjang
hospital in New Delhi, India, Oct. 30. The woman's relatives could
not identify the body of her missing son among the three dozen
dismembered and charred bodies kept in the mortuary for
identification after blasts in the Indian capital Oct. 29 killed 59
people and injured more than 200. (CNS photo by Anto
Akkara)
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Indian bishops pray for victims,
condemn violence
NEW DELHI (AsiaNews) The Indian Bishops Conference assured
families deprived of precious lives of solidarity and most
profound prayer after three bombs killed 61 people here on Oct.
29.
Cardinal Telesphore Toppo, president of the Indian Bishops
Conference (CBCI) said: We pray that God may grant peace to those
departed souls and give strength to all those who bear serious
losses.
Acts of violence can, by no means, be a solution to grievances of
any kind. On the contrary violence will only further aggravate the
situation and create more disorder and chaos in society.
CBCI spokesman, Babu Joseph, said, the terror and fear in the
people can be felt. The streets are deserted, there is hardly any
traffic on the roads. No one would have guessed that the Festival
of Lights (Diwali) is just a day away. The lights have gone out for
most people. I visited Sarojini Nagar, one of the stricken areas,
and I witnessed tragedy, death, and sorrow. I also visited the All
India Institute of Medical Sciences to express solidarity with
relatives of the victims.
John Dayal, president of the All India Catholic Union, said, the
pope has spoken for all of us in describing terrorism as a sin and
a scourge of the present times. There can be no justification for
the killing of innocent children, women and men. That the Delhi
bombs went off during the festive season in crowded market places
speaks of the macabre cynicism in the heart and minds of those who
put them there.
The Christian community abhors violence and condemns the massacre
of innocents in the name of ideology or religion or politics. We
pray for the victims, the survivors and for the bereaved families
who must live with this terrible loss all their lives.
Saudi Arabia today joined the unanimous chorus of global
condemnation: These criminal acts show once again that there is
need for joint efforts by the international community to eradicate
terrorism.