Delhi: Catholics in the Indian capital denied their Stations of the Cross

The police denied permission for the Palm Sunday initiative that had been held for years, gathering thousands of faithful, for reasons of ‘public order’. The Catholic association protests in the metropolis where BJP nationalists have recently returned to government: ‘Other communities and political groups are allowed processions and gatherings: the authorities must guarantee respect for religious freedom and equality’.

Delhi (AsiaNews) - The Delhi police have denied permission for a Via Crucis procession to be held on Palm Sunday from Saint Mary's Church to the Sacred Heart Cathedral. The local government of the Indian capital - which a few months ago returned to the hands of the Hindu nationalists of the BJP - cited ‘security reasons’ as the justification, forcing the rite to be held inside the church. Obeying the decision, the cathedral's parish priest, Fr Francis Swaminathan, recalled that in the last 15 years a Way of the Cross had been held regularly in Delhi, attended by about 2,000 faithful, but he also added that permission had been denied in a similar way years ago.

In a statement released yesterday, the Catholic Association of the Archdiocese of Delhi (CAAD) expressed ‘deep shock and anguish’ at the police refusal to authorise the procession on the grounds of ‘public order and traffic’. This reason ‘is difficult to accept, especially when other communities and political groups are routinely granted permission for processions and gatherings, even during peak hours on working days. Christians now wonder if their constitutional right to religious freedom is equally respected’.

‘For over a decade,’ the CAAD statement continues, ’the annual Way of the Cross has been conducted with the utmost discipline, peace and full cooperation with the authorities. There has never been a report of traffic disruption or public order problems related to our event. The denial of this year's permit seems to us to be biased and unjust, and casts a shadow over the principles of equal treatment and religious freedom‘.

‘The Christians of Delhi - and of all India - have always been a peaceful and law-abiding community’, concludes the Catholic association. ‘We appeal to the authorities to act with judgement and to guarantee justice and equality. We ask that these actions do not create a sense of exclusion or doubt in the minds of minorities who contribute positively and peacefully to the fabric of the nation’.