Two Churches attacked in Kerala

Two Churches attacked in Kerala

Two churches close to Kochi’s international airport were attacked on Saturday night, but the Church does not see sectarian violence in the incidents.
A Catholic Church and a Jacobite Syrian Church near Nedupacherry were seen vandalized on Sunday morning when people came fro Sunday morning services.

The Police have arrested a mentally deranged person from the neighborhood in connection with the case. Police said the incidents cannot be connected with other incidents of violence against churches in other parts of the nation.

The Church also maintained the events are not Hindu radical attacks. Kerala Catholic Bishops Conference spokesperson Father Stephen Alathara, told ICNS that these are “stray incident.”

“The Catholics here do not want to see this as part of continuation of attack on Christians in Karnataka or Orissa,” he said.

He said the people of different religions around the church live peacefully and harmoniously and therefore the church does not see any sectarian reason for the incidents.

The officials of the Jacobite Church said some window panes of the church were broken and the front grills of the church have been smashed.

Some window panes of the Catholic church were broken and the water pipeline to the Church and the presbytery broken.

The Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council in a statement asked its people to remain calm. “Miscreants may want to create trouble but Christians should not get provoked by the incident," it said in a statement.

"The Church considers this as an isolated incident. The area where the attack has taken place is a peaceful place,” said the statement.

State Fisheries Minister S Sharma, visited the places and promised a speedy arrest of the miscreants. State Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said “religious intolerance in any form will not be entertained” in the state