Mumbai bishop: "Stricken by tragedy, let us pray for healing of the suffering"
The diocesan administrator, Mgr Bosco Penha, told AsiaNews about the solidarity of the church. The bishops' conference and lay associations of the diocese and the rest of the country have heaped condemnation on the attack.
Mumbai (AsiaNews) Tragedy "has struck Mumbai once again. The Church expresses her sympathy and solidarity to the city at this moment of shock, trauma, pain and suffering, and offers special prayers so the wounds wrought by the attack may be healed soon". This was the reaction of Mgr Bosco Penha, Administrator of the Archdiocese of Mumbai, given to AsiaNews, about yesterday's terrorist attack against the city's railways. The attack left more than 180 people dead and over 600 wounded.
"As soon as I heard the news, I offered prayers for the people and this morning as I celebrated the Eucharist, I prayed very specially that through the Eucharist, a great sacrament of healing, He may heal the physical and emotional scars of the people traumatized by the blasts. Even now, I have constantly been praying for the people of Mumbai."
Mgr Bosco has been running the diocese in the stead of the archbishop, Cardinal Ivan Dias, who was appointed by the pope to be the new prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. The bishop communicated "the sympathy and concern of all the bishops of the archdiocese to families, who may have been adversely affected by this trauma" and gave assurance of "special prayers, which will be said in all masses in churches in the diocese over the weekend, so that peace, calm, normalcy and stability may return".
"I would like to commend the services offered by the Railways, the Municipality and the Police in this crisis as well as the countless 'Good Samaritans' who reached out to people in need." He added: "I invite the clergy to place all their resources at the disposal of those in need, thus revealing the true teaching and compassion of Jesus."
From Bangalore, Archbishop Oswald Gracias, president of the Indian Bishops' Conference, told AsiaNews: "These attacks have to be condemned in the strongest possible terms. No religion or philosophy can ever condone such acts.
Violence is senseless, innocent victims have died hundreds are lying wounded in hospitals, and these scars never go away. I pray that this violence which ripped across metropolis does not result in even more violence and acts of reprisals."
"Christianity always speaks and announces religious understanding," said the archbishop. "I hope the Church plays a part in bringing cultures together, acting as a beacon of understanding between cultures and peoples of different faiths and communities. With this commitment, the Church will make possible the healing of these grave emotional wounds."
He added: "Mumbai is very close to my heart. I come from there and my family lives there; I only heard from them through a message. Let us pray that acts like this do not happen again."
There was a hard hitting reaction of the Bombay Catholic Sabha, an organization of lay Catholics in the city. In a statement, it "condemned this inhuman act" and called on the government and police to "to hound out these wretched beasts who are a blot on humanity for committing such beastly crimes".
The All India Catholic Union, the largest association of Indian lay Catholics, expressed condemnation and sorrow and said "our hearts go out to the victims, those who have suffered and who are grieving their loss."
The union chairman, John Dayal, wrote: "Innocent people were targeted in the mindless violence, which was designed to create distances between communities. We know from experience that these dark forces of fanaticism strengthen each other in disseminating hate and intolerance. The nation must be united in defeating them wherever they exist."
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