"The Christianity of history is not Protestantism. If ever there were a safe truth it is this, and Protestantism has ever felt it so; to be deep in history is to cease to be a Protestant." (-John Henry Newman, An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine).

"Where the bishop is, there let the people gather; just as where ever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church". -St. Ignatius of Antioch (ca 110 AD)a martyr later thrown to the lions, wrote to a church in Asia Minor. Antioch was also where the term "Christian" was first used.

“But if I should be delayed, you should know how to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of truth.” 1 Timothy 3:15

"This is the sole Church of Christ, which in the Creed we profess to be one, holy, catholic and apostolic." -CCC 811

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Another Catholic church attacked in Kerala

by Nirmala Carvalho
The police has not yet identified the culprits, probably Hindu extremists. About 20 masked men forced the door of the building, broke windowpanes, and destroyed the altar, the confessional, lights, and sacred ornaments, desecrating the sacred building. Hearing noises, Catholics rushed to the church where they were threatened by the attackers.

Kollam (AsiaNews) – Police has not yet identified the extremists who on Sunday sacked the Catholic church in Kottenkulangara, near Kollam, in Kerala.

Twenty masked vandals, probably Hindu extremists, forced the door and broke the windows, destroying the altar, the confessional, lights, and sacred ornaments, thus desecrating the sacred building.

Their suspicions aroused by the noise, Catholics rushed to the church where the attackers threatened them. One of the attackers also stole a gold chain from Susi Antony, whose family lives nearby.


“We are deeply saddened by such an attack against a Catholic Church,” Sajan K George, president of the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC), told AsiaNews.

“The GCIC condemns the attack in the strongest possible terms. It is a matter of grave concern. An attack on a place of worship is extremely serious and this is the third attack on a Catholic Church in two months. The previous one were in Pune and Secundrabad.”

“This attack on the Church,” the GCIC president explained, “is aimed at grievously wounding the religious sentiments of the vulnerable Christian community.”

The local church, Our Lady of Vailankanni, was built in 1986. The Marian shrine is visited by thousands of people who attend Mass as well as Wednesday novenas.

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