Insulting Our Sacred Cross by Saffron Activists Against Conversions is Not Acceptable – Catholic Sabha
Udupi: “There is no truth in Christian conversions. We are not against the protest that is the right bestowed in our constitution. Insulting our Sacred Cross by saffron activists against conversion is not acceptable. We are deeply hurt by the Holy Cross being desecrated in the viral video posted on social media by our Hindu brethren. The Holy Cross is sacred to Christians as it is the sign of victory over sin”, said Alwyn Quadros, president of Catholic Sabha Udupi Pradesh.
Speaking at a press meet held at the Press Club on Tuesday, September 24 Alwyn Quadros said, “There is a news circulating since a few days that a Hindu man, hailing from Udyavar was forcibly converted to Christianity by the Divine Retreat Centre, near Mulky in Mangaluru taluk. In this backdrop, Catholic Sabha Udupi Pradesh wanted to clarify that the protest call given by Hindu religious outfits in this regard has indeed hurt the sentiments of peace-loving Christians”.
“The Christian community has been contributing to the health care, education and socio-economic spheres in the country for hundreds of years. It co-exists peacefully with multi-religious and multi-cultural society. They have been living harmoniously with the key objective of serving the society in the undivided Dakshina Kannada district, but the Christian community has been saddened by a few people who are trying to cause a communal flare-up in the guise of conversion thereby causing discord among brethren of different communities,” said Alwyn.
Alwyn further said, “Over 350 Christian education institutions including hospitals in the undivided Dakshina Kannada district are serving the people of different faiths and communities. The students of different communities are studying in Christian institutions and there are no instances reported of conversion. We are proud to state that all Christian education institutions teach Indian cultural values to all students. Despite many Christian education institutions not getting any aid from the state government; they are offering subsidized fees, and in a few cases even offering free education to students; besides paying the salaries of honorary teachers through the governing council of respective schools. It is significant that the majority are non-Christian employees serving in all these institutions. In spite of this, there are no instance of forcible conversion reported from anywhere”.
“There is no truth in Christian conversions; if that was the case, the Christian population would have been anything between 15 to 20 percent in India. Despite this, it remains static about 2.5 percent since the British rule. The first census was taken during post Independence in the year 1951, the Christian population was 2.3 percent and it has remained the same in the census taken in 2011. Meanwhile, it would be a fraction less in the proposed census in 2021. All this proves that it is not spiraling at all. It has come to our notice that Hindu religious outfits have decided to hold a mega protest on 26 September alleging that forcible conversion is taking place at the Divine Retreat Centre-Mulky. Also, they have made a mockery of Our Sacred Cross on social media. It is sad to note that the protest organizers are unaware of this fact. The peace-loving Christians are urging the organizers’ that such actions will have an adverse effect on the society and may lead to communal disharmony”, added Alwyn.
While concluding Alwyn said, “The issue of conversion has its own narratives in the Indian constitution; while desecration of Christianity is unjustified for propaganda by a few people of Hindu brethren whose ideology lies in equal religious freedom to all people in the society. Moreover, through proper talks, this issue could have been resolved rather than making false allegations. Therefore, we urge our Hindu brethren to seek legal action in case they find that there were forcible conversions and the Christian community will support them in this regard. And also due to this issue, Christian institutions are facing the threat and therefore, we urge the state administration to take notice of it and do the needful,” he said.
Valerian Fernandes outgoing president, Robert Menezes, designated president, Elroy Kiran Crasto former President, and Mary D’Souza were present during the press meet.
This is going to be the norm now that BJP is in power. Remember what happened during previous Yediyurappa rule ?
It is wrong to convert either by coercion or by inducement. But even worse is insulting the Holy Cross. There is no justification for that. Hinduism does not condone this. I am equally hurt with these acts because I believe in Jesus Christ.
But, let us not be beguiled to believe that non-voluntary conversions take place.
There is a strong reason for the percentage of Christians to remain the same since independence. In many places across India, such as Tamilnadu and Orissa for example, the converted people will not take any Christian names but rather stick to some local or even Sanskritized names such as Jagadeesan and during consensus, they say that they are Hindus mainly because they want to avail reservation facilities. This is not a fiction. One of my colleagues who is a converted Christians himself told me this. Of course, he had the justification and I had counter-argument and heated discussions. BTW, we are still friends.
I am presenting this case only to say that the stat does not reveal vital insights.
In any case, I unequivocally and unconditionally condemn any insult to the Holy Cross and sincerely apologize to all Christians as well as Hindus who revere Jesus Christ.