NEWS & VIEWS
from a CATHOLIC perspective

      NEW DELHI (CWNews.com) - Secular women's groups and activists joined over 3,000 Catholics in central India on Sunday in a rally to protest the rape of four nuns last week and to demand a special court for the trial of the culprits.

      "We are surprised that even four days after the incidents, the culprits have not been apprehended. We demand that the administration make every effort to arrest the culprits at the earliest opportunity and set up special courts to speed up the process," Bishop George Anathil of Indore said in a statement to federal officials.

      Bishop Anathil said that Catholics in remote areas "feel insecure after the latest incidents." The rape of four nuns and the looting of their convent was followed by an attack on another church. Gunmen knocked on the doors of a church in Jhabua Saturday night and the priest, fearing for life, bolted the doors. While the thugs broke one lock, the noise of passing vehicles made them run away before gaining entry.

      Following the Saturday night attack, the state government posted police at all twelve churches in the region. Digvijay Singh, the chief minister of the state, said that the attacks on Christians is not a "law and order problem." The minister said, "There is a conspiracy behind these attacks. It is not happening in my state alone. It's taking place in Uttar Pradesh, in Gujrath, and even Delhi." A Clarist convent near New Delhi was looted and the nuns attacked on Thursday. Another convent near Calcutta was robbed and the maid raped while the nuns attended Mass on Friday.