Catholic church attacked in Punjab while Sikhs threaten Catholics
A parish church located some 50 kilometres from Amritsar is vandalised. The Nihang, a Sikh warrior order, threatens to “take action’, targeting Christians for allegedly carrying out conversions. The local parish priest, Fr Poochalil, urges Catholics to pray to Our Lady Queen of Peace for peace and tranquillity.
Amritsar (AsiaNews) – A group of unidentified men attacked the Catholic Church of the Child Jesus in Patti, an ancient city in the Indian state of Punjab. During the attack, a statue of the Virgin Mary was vandalised while the car of the parish priest was set on fire.
According to Fr Thomas Poochalil, the local pastor, the raid took place around 12.45 am when a group of people held up the church’s security guards at gun point, while others broke into the church shouting, "We are Khalistani”.[*]
The parish is located in the Diocese of Jalandhar, while the city of Patti (Tarn Taran district), is about 50 km south of Amritsar, the Sikh holy city.
In the nearby village of Jandiala, threats were made against local Catholics in recent days.
The Nihang, an ancient armed Sikh warrior order, accuse Christians of carrying out conversions in the area and claim that the Punjab government is not heeding their warnings.
The recent arrest of some Nihang for forcibly breaking up a Christian celebration in a village has further angered some Sikhs.
A Sikh congregation is set to meet next Monday in Anandpur Sahib to pass a resolution against conversions.
“An action plan will be chalked out if the government fails to curb the conversions,” said Giani Harpreet Singh, a Nihang leader.
Fr Poochalil, whose church was devastated, urges Catholics to pray to Our Lady Queen of Peace to bring peace and tranquillity to the area and bring the guilty to face the law.
[*] Khalistan is the rallying cry for Sikh nationalists who want to set up an independent Sikh state called Khalistan.
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