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Rss-affiliated Group Writes to Pope Francis and Demands Apology for "Religious Discrimination and the Rape of Women" by Christians in Meghalaya

By Siddhartha Rai
Daily Mail
August 24, 2017

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/indiahome/indianews/article-4821132/RSS-group-writes-Pope-Francis-demands-apology.html

Pope Francis celebrates a Mass with new appointed cardinals during the solemnity of St Peter and St Paul at St. Peter's Square

The right-wing in India is taking its fight to re-create India in its own image even further afield.

The battle for the RSS and its many affiliated groups has moved away from the major metropolitan areas and towards the far-flung regions of the North East that are sometimes overlooked.

In anger over the alleged cases of so-called religious discrimination, domination and the rape of women by the Christian missionaries in the North East, an RSS-affiliated legal rights body has written an angry letter to none other than the religious leader of worldwide Catholic Church, Pope Francis in the Vatican.

Pope Francis, full-name - His Holiness Pope Francis, Bishop of Rome, Vicar of Jesus Christ, Successor of the Prince of the Apostles, Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church, Primate of Italy, Archbishop and Metropolitan of the Roman Province, Sovereign of the Vatican City State, Servant of the servants of God - has yet to acknowledge the letter.

The right-wing legal body has threatened Pope Francis with legal action in India if he fails to condemn the acts of his community members in India, it would sue the Indian leadership of the Church in a court of law.

Mail Today has accessed the last letter written to the pope via the Ambassador of the Holy See over religious discrimination practiced by Christian bodies in Meghalaya against the indigenous faiths that have refused to bend their knee.

Hindu nationalist organisation Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) on the march

Volunteers of the Hindu nationalist organisation Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) shout religious slogans as they arrive to attend a conclave on the outskirts of Pune

Another letter concerning the alleged cases of rape, including those of minors in which the accused have been Catholic office bearers, is being prepared and is going to be sent to the Vatican in a matter of days.

The Holy See, also referred to as the See of Rome, is the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, and an independent sovereign entity.

It serves as the central point of reference for the Catholic Church everywhere. As an independent sovereign entity, holding the Vatican City enclave in Rome as sovereign territory, it maintains diplomatic relations with other states.

John Paul II In New-Delhi

The Archbishop of New Delhi, Alan de Lastic kisses the hand of Pope John Paul II

The letter addressed to the pope refers to the incident in which the priest of local faith 'Niam Khasi', Bah Kulam Nongrum, was not allowed to be cremated at the traditional crematorium in the Mylliem village in Meghalaya's Khasi hills.

Violent protests were orchestrated, claimed Legal Rights Observatory run by former RSS pracharak in Megahalaya Vinay Joshi, who forced the cremation venue to be changed.

The letter said: 'With this letter Legal Rights Observatory demands immediate apology from Catholic Head His Holiness Pope or serious condemnation from Pope for violent undemocratic behaviour of Catholics in Meghalaya and their bullying tactics vis-a-vis indigenous people of Mehgalaya.

Meghalaya is a state in northeast India. The name means 'the abode of clouds' in Sanskrit

RSS promotes the ideals of upholding Indian culture and the ideology of Hindutva, to 'strengthen' the majority Hindu community

There are over 19.9 million Catholics in India, around 1.55% of the population

'If His Holiness Pope, as the head of Catholic community worldwide, fails to do so, LRO reserves the rights to sue Indian Catholic leadership for inherent animosity, cultured arrogance and nurtured hatred towards indigenous faiths of India in an appropriate legal authority of our convenience to expose and punish those guilty in your community.'

Joshi told Mail Today: 'We are in the process of drafting another letter in which we will be bringing to the notice of the pope such cases of rape and sexual assault aimed at intimidation which have been happening in the state and the neighbouring areas, and in which the members and office bearers of the Catholic Church have been accused.

'We demand action from the highest religious authority. The state has Christian majority and the police and administration have so far desisted from taking action against Church members who have been accused or found complicit in such acts of criminal nature as rape'.

A Bangladeshi boy looking across the border at Meghalaya (pictured - A Bangladeshi boy walks towards Meghalaya hill at Tahirpur in Sunamgonj, northeastern Bangladesh)

 

 

 

 

 




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