CAA protesters found support from churches with some church leaders pointedly referring to the Citizenship (Am... Read More

NEW DELHI: Christmas-eve and morning-mass sermons at churches in four states went beyond the usual homilies to speak of the challenges of living in “turbulent times”, with some church leaders pointedly referring to the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the proposed NRC.

In Kolkata, the surge of sermons calling for an end to the “politics of hate” came just before all churches get together for a procession from the heritage St Paul’s Cathedral to protest against the new law. “We hope people of all faiths will walk against CAA at Thursday’s march,” Father Dominic Gomes, vicar general of the archdiocese of Kolkata, said.

The famous midnight mass at St Paul’s Cathedral, the principal church of the Kolkata diocese of the Church of North India, was focused on finding a way for “unity and peace” to prevail despite the “current divisive atmosphere”. The message was carried forward by Parish priests representing various denominations while addressing congregations at morning mass on Wednesday.

“The perpetrators of coercion should develop the fear of God in them, and should know where they are going instead of creating this fear psychosis in people. I have asked the congregation not to fear NRC or CAA, and help the poor and needy as much as possible by driving out of their minds the fear of whether they have relevant documents or not,” said Father Pradip Nanda of the St John’s Church and Union Chapel.

Kerala's Syro-Malabar Catholic Church also sent out a strong message, saying the “barriers of differentiation and division being created among people and society are making us anxious”.

In his Christmas sermon, Archbishop Mar Antony Kariyil said: “Laws and the causes for creating legislations should be aimed at ensuring unity of the country and among the people. Attempts to divide and to create confusion and complexity among the people should not be encouraged. Responses in public discourses should have a tone of peace.”

On the home page of Jesuits in South Asia, a message attributed to its head, Father George Pattery, invoked the circumstances of Jesus’s birth to raise the topic of citizenship. “Jesus was born with questionable identities of citizenship, place of origin and even parenthood. In fact, Jesus was born in a makeshift manger while his parents were struggling to get themselves registered according to the newly introduced and unquestioned Citizenship Amendment Act of Augustus Caesar. Was he from Nazareth? Bethlehem? From nowhere? From anywhere? Of insignificant location?” he said.

In Telengana’s Secunderabad , the Christmas Day congregation at Wesley’s Church included dozens of people holding placards bearing messages like “We Indians reject CAA and NRC” and “CAA against Constitution”. The flash protest happened just after morning prayers. “It seemed there were people from across faiths,” said Mubasshir, a local resident.

In other churches, priests asked the people to be careful while voicing their opinion on CAA and NRC. Visitors to the Holy Family Church in Tirmulgherry were told to be vigilant as the country was going through “difficult times”. The citizenship law and NRC also found mention during sermons at the 150-year-old St Mary’s Basilica.

In Assam, a banner put up outside the Dibrugarh Catholic Church — one of the oldest in the northeast — read: “We unite hand in hand with the nation to protest against CAA in a peaceful manner. May God enlighten our leaders and fulfil our demands. We pray for the departed soul of our brothers who lost their lives during protests against CAA.”

(With inputs from Kochi , Hyderabad, Chennai and Dibrugarh)

